Best of Week: Irony

This week we took the Heart of Darkness test, and one of the major themes/questions was irony. There are 3 types of irony: verbal, dramatic, and situational. Through much discussion in English class we came across the idea that an author intentionally creates irony to make his literature deft and complex. Verbal irony is when you say something and mean the other, dramatic irony is when the readers see something that the characters can't, and situational irony is when something unexpected happens.

But the thing that struck me the most was not just irony; it was the fact that we use so much irony in our everyday lives which we tend to overlook. I used to be blind to the irony present in our everyday lives. After having discussions about irony, I started listening closer to my usual conversations.

Sarcasm, one of my favorite things to evoke laughter, is no other than a pseudonym for verbal irony. Someone may ask an obvious question, and often it seems natural to respond with a sarcastic comment. After the other person realizes the sarcasm, they realize that their question was blatantly obvious, and then they look back at you and realize your wittiness, and realize their own foolishness. Point and case, this is also how authors build character in their stories.

Another good example is in modern television, when an idiotic character (e.g. Dwight from the office) is unaware of the actual situation he has put himself in, while the audience members are fully aware of it. The character may do something he thinks is beneficial, when everyone else knows he is just doing something stupid. This dramatic irony shows the producer's brilliance.

Overall, throughout the many pieces of literature we have read, especially Heart of Darkness, I came to recognize that irony is often an author's best tool.

What If?: America No Longer a Superpower

During this week we have repetitively discussed America's limited status as a world superpower. I kind of realized this from all the buzz going around about the recession. From watching Obama's State of the Union and its controversial Republican response, I realized that America is no longer on a steady path. The fate of our country lies in the hands of the newest generation. But I keep thinking: what if we can't turn it around?

Ironically, if I had to rate the impact of recession on my lifestyle from a 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, I would give it a 2. It made me understand that I have a lot to be thankful for. But simply saying my thanks is not enough. Maybe I have nothing to worry about my future; maybe I do. Either or, I should have my best interests in the greater community. The same goes for the rest of the new generation. It's scary to think about making the world better for my children, when I was just once a child. But it's imperative. It's nerve-racking to imagine children 6 years younger than me 6,000 miles away on the other half of the globe are surpassing me in knowledge. But we can't just accept defeat. We have to compete back.

What if China does really become the next superpower? What will the implications be? Will we become "Easternized"? Will China become the next world model, the country that has the best education, the best healthcare, the country that people turn to for help? It's a scary thought. We keep trying to prevent this shift of power, but do we need a backup plan in case America collapses? I guess it's for us to decide.

Metacognition: 1st Semester Reflection

A lot can change over 4 months, and for me, in these last 4 months my thinking and learning processes have transformed. I remember that in the beginning of the year every major assignment, every piece of literature, really anything that was time consuming, seemed like a struggle. From the moment they were assigned, I kept wishing I could hop into a time machine and teleport to the second after I turned in the project. But over the course of the first semester, I figured out what was really pulling me down. In my head I wasn't grasping the depth of the project. I'd begin working on a project and stare endlessly at a bright computer screen for hours. I forced myself to believe that the time wasted was "brainstorming", and so then it was okay to keep switching between Facebook and Microsoft Word, since I was seeking 'inspiration'.

It's funny; after I procrastinate and rush to finish a project, expecting a horrendous grade I tell myself that the next project I will space out, and do my best on to bring my grade back up. But yet the same cycle repeated, sitting in front of a computer, spending hours typing out no more than a sentence, and then spending the last half hour rushing it all in. The Healing of America essay, Ishmael essay, etc. It soon became routine; I decided it was time for a change.

And luckily, so did my well-educated English teacher Mr. Allen. After doing projects such as the King Lear group performances, we talked about patterns in class of how the tasks were completed. Most people agreed that first the quotes were chosen, then the plot was decided, and then the script was made. And I think that's what triggered this other side of my brain to go off; it told me that I needed to have some structure in what I did. Writing gibberish down on a page and later editing into a 'final draft' was Rohan no more. After that project I knew that the next time we had a project, I was no doubt going to feel much more confident.

Lo and behold, when the Sophie's World essay came around, I felt mentally prepared. I thought about possible topics in my head, and found possible philosophers to back each thesis up. My strongest topic was globalization. After I chose my topic and had my quotes, I had all I needed to start writing my essay, right? No. This is where the biggest improvement my thinking came in. I decided to take that next step, and plan out what each paragraph would be about. First paragraph introduces the topics, next three introduce the subsets, 5th poses the question, next 3 answer the subsets with each of the 3 different philosophers, 9th is conclusion. THEN I started writing my essay.

It felt miraculous. I was stress-free. If I got stuck somewhere, I could just skip to the next paragraph because I knew what had to be in it. Ironically, even with the planning ahead, my essay took a lot less time then it would normally take me.

I applied this attitude to almost everything I did, and something must've clicked in my head, because that month everything I did felt incredibly easy. Even in the most stressed situations, I didn't think "ugh I'm never going to finish", I thought "this will not take me that long, I just have to think about all the things I have to do breeze through it". The feeling is so hard to explain. I felt as if I started doing things backwards. It was like I finished the ending, and all that was left was the beginning and middle. My mind was revitalized.

Blogging Around

Josh Tolmatsky - Metacognition: Playlists
Josh talks about how he took the time to categorize his iTunes library into different categories. He said that as time passed it became easier and easier to organize his music, and that after he had finished he felt that it was easier to grasp his collection of music better.
My comment:
I feel your pain- over the summer I went through the same experience. Having upwards of 2200 songs, it was an even more rigorous task. I made playlists based on my personal genres similar to yours, and also a favorites and new music playlist. And since I listen to so many genres of music, the playlists I could've created were endless.

But another thing I did was fix up songs. By this I mean correct the artist, add the correct album artwork, and manipulate music so songs by the same artist would group together (many artists feature other artists and so the artist name doesn't group with the album artist). By doing this I actually learned a lot more about the history and basis of my music. I learned that the name of the album/album artwork tells you a lot about the artist. I've noticed a new trend in designing artwork that draws attention and strikes people as abstract. And since my 5-year collection of music only grew bigger, I owned multiple albums of an artist and was able to draw conclusions on the artists influences and ideals. For example, when looking back on my collection of the rapper Eminem's music, I found that all of his albums related to a stage. The Eminem Show, Curtain Call, Relapse, Encore, and Recovery. And his albums represent what he views as the high and lows of his career, as he named his most recent album Recovery in efforts to Recovery from his Relapse album.

Over the years my taste in music has transitioned, and when I had to go back and fix up songs I was astounded at what I found. Music I would now simply laugh at used to occupy my ipod. When I was younger, a lot of my music came from my dad as he was my only real source for music. Car rides featured classic rock such as Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, The Police, and Sting. I was shocked at how big of a collection of that genre of music I had, as now I rarely listen to that. My next phase was more mainstream/hip-hop, and as I saw my older music I realized all of it was discovered through the radio. After that I found that my taste in music broadened, as things like Pandora and YouTube sprouted. I was able to find more and more music, and really decide what I liked. And of course, as I made new friends in high school my music taste was influenced by them. I think organizing your music is a project necessary to all, as it helps you determine who you really are.

Ryan Bunny - iMedia: Kayaking with Sharks
Ryan shows a picture of a person kayaking alone in the water with a massive shark trailing behind him. He claims that naturally he assumed that if the picture were true, the person would've been dead by now as the shark would've swallowed the kayak whole. After making a second analysis, he realized that this false perception was solely due to the media, and its representation of sharks as "vicious man-eaters".

My comment:
I was thinking the same thing as I saw this picture- "Please. Can you say photoshop?" I enjoyed this blog because I have the same fear. It's an appreciation for shark's almightiness. The funny thing is, I used to watch many shark shows claiming that almost all sharks are completely harmless as long as you don't provoke them, but yet if I did ever encounter a shark I'd be sure to have a stroke. I always wondered WHY I was so afraid of sharks. Your article makes it clear- it's the media. When I think of a shark, I picture my torso being mercilessly ripped in two. I picture me getting a small cut, and leaving a drop of blood that draws a 2-ton man-eater to my falsely-assumed safe-haven known as the beach. I picture a lifeguard monitoring me, but not able to reach me in time. Classic shark movies have made this stereotype part of society, and so I completely agree with your statement that society should concentrate more on scientific truth. Maybe then I would be less afraid of sharks!

Metacognition: Cleaning Up the Garage

Each year the time comes when the garage needs organizing, and at least in my house, summer objects need to be shifted into the garage and 'hibernate' for the winter. My family and I spent about 30-45 minutes moving things around in the garage and bringing backyard items into the garage. The things we brought in from outside included a patio dining table, a portable bonfire pit, and a hammock. Also, our backyard grill had to be covered and wrapped tightly so the cover would not fly away. In the garage, among the plethora of balls, sports equipment, shoes, and bicycles, there were a lot of Halloween decorations that were piled up in the garage but not organized. A multitude of shoes had to be put in their proper place on their racks. And items to donate to the Salvation Army had to be sorted out.

This day was dreaded for a while. In my head, I kept thinking I didn't want to tidy things up because it was cold and I liked the warmth inside my house. Cleaning up the garage required being fully dressed in order to prevent becoming sick.

But as I reflected back on this process, I realized that there was a more subconscious reason as to why I was not looking forward to this event. Dreading the cold translates to dreading the arrival of the winter. The transitioning process can be hard, especially because summer is my favorite time of year, and naturally winter is my least favorite time of the year. It's almost like I don't want to face the harsh cold of the winter, along with the temporary cease of outdoor sports and happiness. And the apex of schoolwork takes place during the winter, right around the end of 2nd semester/beginning of 3rd semester. Also staying uncluttered symbolizes my mind being cleared up and organized, awaiting a rigorous 'winter' of hard learning and swim practice. In order to stay on track during the winter, I have to organize and use my time better to do everything that needs to be done. In the same respect, the garage needs to be organized in order for all materials of the Summer to fit in to the garage with all the Winter objects lurking around.

During the process of cleaning up my garage, I grouped things together by category and the things that would be soonest to come in to use stayed up front and visible while everything else got buried in the back. In a more figurative sense, this represents the cycling of life. Years pass, the days change, and the appearance of my garage changes by the day. If I were to take a picture of my garage all 365 days of the year, I think I would be amazed at how vividly I would be able to remember that moment in the year just by the looks of my garage. The trails of water from the cars may show the snow and the winter. The new golf clubs or shoes may resurface a birthday. After doing this project, I gathered that organizing things such as my garage helps transition my mind between different states.

iMedia: LeBron James- The Decision

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdtejCR413c

This Nike commercial that former Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player (now on the Miami Heat) sparked heated controversy when first released. And every time I see this commercial, I realize how much it reflects our culture. LeBron James became a free agent last year, and his "decision" of which team he was going to be on turned into a national press conference. Although this commercial was geared towards the Nike slogan "Just Do It", after watching this commercial I realized that with easier communication and the press and biased news channels, in the big world you have to watch your every step.

LeBron James grew up looking up to Michael Jordan, and now he IS the Michael Jordan. The only difference is, every step LeBron makes has 10 times as much weight as when Michael Jordan played basketball. I'm positive that LeBron James loves the game of basketball, and would like nothing more than to be able to play competitive basketball without any other worries. But with fame and fortune comes a whole lot of other 'luggage' to carry. People expect so much from him. Every slight mistake made is blown up by the press. And in this commercial, LeBron addresses all his fan's concerns. No matter what decision he made, he would've received criticism from the opposing side.

I think that this commercial matters to others because it finally opened people's eyes to the difficulties LeBron has to face. It's not as easy as every one may make it out to be. This matters to me because I've decided that I am no longer going to let others influence my actions if their influences are driving me away from what I love most. Sometimes it's about what you really care for, and not what you're supposed to care for. This commercial, on multiple levels, reflects modern society and the development of the media.

Connection: King Lear and Family Value

In the Shakespearean play King Lear occurs a bit of a role reversal, as King Lear loses his land and his wealth to his 'ungrateful' daughters. Though the story of King Lear was written hundreds of years ago, it is closely comparable to modern day familial relationships. Many claim that the new generations of children are showing much less respect to their parents and are becoming 'spoiled'.

Back in the 1800s/1900s, it was not uncommon for a child to be beaten for simply questioning his/her parents authority. Nowadays, children talk back to their parents as if they were simply another one of their friends. I'm not completely disagreeing with this, as this means that the child-parent barrier is being shredded down. But still, morals become corrupted as children quickly realize they do not have to watch their words.

Another direct example of how family value relates to King Lear is that in this century parents kick their parents into senior homes, as they believe that their parents are too big of a burden on themselves. They don't even consider the fact that their parents had to take care of them for years, throughout their whole childhood, and they might've once thought the same thing, that their children were a burden.

As time goes on, culture changes, and our changing culture and the crumbling formality between children and adults greatly resemble King Lear's conflicting situation.