This is Water

In David Foster’s essay ‘This is Water’ he argued that “true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious and sympathetic”.

     Breaking down this main argument that he puts forward during a commencement speech, he seems to have come to this conclusion through the observations he might have made of the population in general; in accordance to how people act, social norms and maybe through personal accounts. David Foster specifically refers to traits or perhaps qualities of great importance in human nature that people are lacking today’s society (adjusted, conscious and sympathetic) through the change our world has gone through since these qualities seems to have been overlooked by the modern day society.

     The fact that this essay was originally made for a commencement speech played an important role in forming David Foster’s thesis and that is where he really develops his thesis and explains the meaning behind it by using real-life examples and evidence that everyone understands. To put things into context, commencement speeches are spoken to university or college graduates as they say it in America on their graduation day, and there are many different messages conveyed through these speeches depending on the speaker, but usually it is to provide graduates small insights on the upcoming challenges of life or even (if you’re lucky) tips on how to deal with these challenges. 

     So based on his thesis, David Foster really emphasised freedom through education and that this freedom is meant to be achieved after going through all the years of study in school and university but real freedom, according to David Foster is different. To explain this he uses the example of a day-in day-out middle class worker’s life where a person might go through their day according to their personal schedule, personal necessities and personal view of the things going on around them and that this could develop the protagonist disease where one thinks that he/she is the centre of the universe (as if he/she were the main character to every story). Foster then quoted, 

     “But if you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you will know you have other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same force that lit the stars — compassion, love, the sub-surface unity of all things.” 

     Basically, where he is getting at is that people need to be more open to perspectives in this world, embrace the reality that they are situated in through the freedom they have acquired through education with the ability to be adjusted, conscious and sympathetic.

     This relates to our inquiry question ‘How can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence’ since literature enables us to take the role of different perspectives other than ourselves and help us to be more conscious and sympathetic.

Alice Munro IOC 2

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzpD1Rg_bKCsR1VIUXhlTDFCX2s/view?usp=sharing

Alice Munro IOC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzpD1Rg_bKCsbGExVXk5UnBOdmM/view?usp=sharing

Last First 4 lessons Reflection

What is the purpose and benefit of the study of literature? 

I believe that the purpose of studying literature is to offer students a new perspective on literature, a deeper insight on the study as a whole and to allow them to input their perspectives in order to build an analytical perspective in students as they discover more about the world in the lens of writers, which in return benefits them by making room for a bigger and a better idea of the world.

What is women’s literature and what is the value in studying it? 

Women’s literature is a genre of literature that is written by women and it is generally written for or targeted at women since it provides a feminine perspective but women’s literature can also be found relatable by men. The value in studying women’s literature is again very similar to the values of studying literature in general. However because male authors are generally the norm, looking at women’s literature from an analytical standpoint is very valuable since the female gender are able to engage more and the males can definitely learn something new from a different perspective.

Why were the themes and values of Munro’s social realism so significant during the 1950s-1980s? 

The theme and values of Alice Munro’s stories is very significant to her audiences back then since back then, people within the same community pretty much share the same values and principles. In other words, life was simple (not necessarily easier) and writing about the any aspect of life is very significant and definitely something readers would engage with. 

Although she does not identify as a feminist writer, how has Munro’s work contributed to gender equality? 

Having established herself as a renowned female writer, Munro has paved the way for other feminists out there during her peak. Referring back to the previous question, her work as a writer contributes to the feminist movements going on in the 50s-80s although it might not have been the author’s intention

What do you enjoy most about the content of Munro’s work and what impact has it had on you?

For the most part, Munro’s short stories have shown a great insight on her values as writer and her ideologies. Her stories impact me almost indirectly since I often find it hard to focus less on the plot and engage more with the protagonists of the stories. So, I find myself relating the stories to people I know might relate to the stories better than I do. As a whole, yes her stories opened up my perspectives on some of the themes she discussed but that’s just about it. Maybe after a more thorough analysis of the stories, learning more about the author in class and reading them over, I might have a better understanding on its impacts and have more to say in terms of its influence. 

General Musing

        If there was one characteristic to tell someone about how people in Indonesia speak, it’s their willingness and ability to shorten the amount words they have to communicate. Indonesians believe that by shortening the amount of words they have to say in person, 

1. They gain more time to chat with people on their phones as opposed to the people around them
2. They type less words when they chat 

Upon my annual return to my home country, I have only recently noticed that Indonesians tend to form portmanteau words and utilise them in daily conversations. For those of you that do not know what a portmanteau word is, it is basically a combination of two words to form a new word, usually but not always by adjoining the first part of the first word and the last part of the second. Some common examples from the english language would be brainiac from the words brain and maniac and also bromance from brother and romance.   

Indonesia is a country comprised of more than 17,000 of islands with a population of more than 255 million people, it is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with more than 700 languages being spoken to this day. While the official language of Indonesia is Bahasa, Javanese remains more widely spoken since it is the largest and most politically dominant ethnic group in Indonesia. 

         Although the portmanteau frenzy emerged in the capital city, the case was the same in my hometown as I continued my travel to the villages on a separate island up north called Sulawesi. I believe that because the portmanteaus were used in local Television, the villagers started to use pick up these words and as a result started to develop their own words within their surroundings and the community.  

        Based on my observations during my time in Indonesia, Indonesian portmanteaus are often either nouns or adjectives. To be frank I rarely make full observations on particular languages and draw comparisons, so this is definitely not my field of expertise. As a result looking at the use of portmanteaus in Bahasa Indonesia and its origins is a first of many firsts for me. 

*note

I am fully aware that “shortening words in casual speech” is a key characteristic that is not specific to Indonesian only but this post is only a general musing of mine based on my experience

Paper 2

Show how and to what effect Achebe makes use of myth, legend or other stories and tales.

        

         Things Fall Apart is Achebe’s fictional but realistic narrative on the Igbo culture. Written in a post-colonial perspective, Achebe decided to include certain myths, legends, stories and tales. These elements add certain effects to the narrative and explores the Igbo culture in greater detail while exposing the culture’s values and unique ideologies. So, how and to what effect Achebe makes use of myth, legend or other stories and tales? 

First and foremost, Achebe’s way of conveying these stories are in great detail and clarity, as if he was telling the stories to little kids in primary school. This parallels the purpose behind the characters in the text when they were telling the stories. In the text, the stories were being told to children. This was to show them that the Igbo culture knows the answer questions they would ask about life and their environment, to show the children that Igbo is love and Igbo is life. One story in particular that correlates to this claim was the story about The Tortoise flying to the sky; told by Ezinma’s mother to her.  The outcome of the story explains why the tortoise’s shell is not smooth . Stories like these somehow restricts the childrens’ curiosity to explore beyond their realms. However, it can also be argued that these stories are told for educational purposes because they teach about the values of their ancestors about how actions can lead to consequences and these stories can also teach the readers a lesson or two. 

As the audience learns more and more about the Igbo culture and their values, they form an intimacy with not only the book but also the culture, but then these cultural values are suddenly forgotten by their own people and left behind and Achebe makes this clear in the second part of the novel where no more stories, or tales are being told, where everything starts falling apart. So we can also say that the inclusion of these elements add more dramatical effect in the fall of Umofia. 

Oberika Memoir

It is now over, our beliefs, customs and traditions have all been taken away by the white men. More Importantly our children, our future, our youth have been brainwashed under the influence of these people with rather strange beliefs. They made us questions our own beliefs and brought curiosity within our community. Our people were drawn away from our belief system and started to convert to their religion in order to follow them. They were able to expose our faults through manipulation and this tore the Igbo people apart from one another. They even did so in a non-forceful manner nor did they do it through violence, they did it in a peaceful manner and this perhaps signified the attraction of the Igbo people, especially our youth.

Okonkwo would’ve regarded those young, converted individuals as the less masculine members of the Igbo people who are drawn away through affection and new ideology. Only his pride, courage and determination to withstand change would have stood a chance to resist these influences. These traits that my great friend, Okonkwo possessed, separated him from the rest of the population. However, certain factors in his life restrained him from playing out his heroic actions to bring back his unique ideology in our community and implement it. He was the last beacon of hope the Igbo people had to fight these outside penetrations but it was also our fault to not see this in him, which resulted in things falling apart.