So…How Individual Are You?

During Jonathan’s IOP Presentation, he raised the point that as humans, we present ourselves based on the conventional views of society. In other words, our exterior appearance is based on what is appropriate or accepted by others. However on the interior, we can choose to be whoever we please.

For instance, when listening to an IOP, students tend to nod their heads and smile at the presenter; yet, on the inside, they could have negative thoughts. This is because it is unconventional for a student to openly reject or debase another student’s work. If a student were to do this, they would be sent to the principal by the teacher, and would be reprimanded for their actions.

We humans are subject to the orthodoxy of society. It would be unwise for someone to display hostility against authority. It is alright for humans to be incongruous with conventional beliefs, but disagreeing or going against these doctrines is a one-way ticket to criticism.

In 1984, Big Brother and the Inner Party convert people with unconventional beliefs to the norm of society. In Winston’s case, the Inner Party converted him into somebody who had conventional beliefs by terrorizing him in Room 101. Winston acts in accordance with the Inner Party in public; but in private, he is his true self. For example, when he is with Julia, he considers himself in private because he is sheltered from the eyes of the Inner Party. He also displays his true feelings when he is by himself and writing in his diary.
On the exterior, he is a worker of the Outer Party; however on the interior, he is Winston. Eventually, Winston cannot handle this dual-sided personality, and is caught acting unconventionally with Julia. If people continue to behave unconventionally for an extended period of time, they will be caught.

On a smaller scale, consider an outing with your friends. One of your friends may make a joke, and all of your friends will start to laugh. On the inside, you may find the joke condescending or demeaning; but, you won’t want to be the odd one out, and will therefore join in with the jubilee.

At the end of the day, we are all individuals, but to a certain extent. The majority of us know the boundaries to our individuality, and those who don’t, normally end up being criticized or reproached by the authorities. Which raises the question: to what extent can we overtly display our individuality without being censured?

Portfolio A

The Blog Portfolio is potentially one of the smartest innovations in High School English. I cannot begin to comprehend the number of students that envy the luxuries we take for granted. Our blogs are our platform, a forum for us to share our opinions, where we can be ourselves. In the literaturemachine, you bring your best ideas to the plate, and let your views loose for the student population to read. Hate it or love it, your ideas and beliefs will be recognized, either through praise or through condemnation.

Below are a number of posts representing my personal thoughts on certain topics. Some of these topics have been initiated through the HL English class, while others have been posted based on my own personal interests. I encourage you to read them, and post whatever comes to mind. Whatever your opinion, feel free to share it.

Remember:

“Every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences”

Sonia Sotomayor (Associate Justice, US Supreme Court)

Coverage: These are the required blog entries for Blog Portfolio #1.

i.              Writing English As A Second Language

ii.             Free Will & Fate

iii.           The Leader & The Follower

iv.           The Importance of Nature

v.            Contemporary English: The Game of Euphemisms

vi.           Is That All There Is?

Depth: These are the blog posts where I felt I went far and beyond. I thought about these topics, doing outside research and talking about the issues at hand with my peers. (Some of the posts contain their reactions)

i.               What Is Reality? : A North Korean Outlook

ii.              Contemporary English: The Game of Euphemisms

Interaction: This post was created based on a discussion between Naoise and I on the environment. Throughout September and October, Naoise and I discussed the issue of environmental walls and boundaries. Our conversation derived from the text, “Forests: The Shadow of Civilization”. We both shared different perspectives, and the distinction between our viewpoints were growing so much, that I decided to post on my blog, not only a rebuttal, but also an analysis of the situation.

i.               Do you enjoy living on Earth? I sure do. So what are you doing about it?

Discussions: As expected, some of my posts incited a lot of differences on certain issues. Therefore, debate ensued and in some cases, conclusions were made. It was rewarding to see comments on my blog; I felt that people were clear in their points of view and ready to share and discuss their ideas.

i.              The Importance of Nature

ii.             What Is Reality? : A North Korean Outlook

iii.           The Leader & The Follower

iv.            Free Will & Fate

Xenoblogging: I felt that one of my strengths as a blogger was my ability to post detailed responses and questions to people’s blog posts. I made sure to follow up on their responses, and contribute to the entire online classroom community.

i.     http://theliteraturemachine.com/nora/2010/08/17/are-you-one-of-a-whole/#comments

ii.     http://theliteraturemachine.com/justin/2010/08/26/the-tawantinsuyu-incans/#comment-9

iii.     http://theliteraturemachine.com/naoise/2010/09/01/forests-and-civilization/#comments

iv.     http://theliteraturemachine.com/anuraag/2010/10/03/ask-not-what-your-country-can-do-for-you-ask-what-you-can-do-for-your-politicians/#comments

v.     http://theliteraturemachine.com/flall/2010/08/18/whats-more-important-happiness-or-freedom/#comment-9

Wildcard: The wildcard was a highlight for me. Very rarely are students given the opportunity to share their views on any topic on such a grand scale. With this in mind, it is tough to decide on exactly what to write about. You think about your audience, your tastes, and how to merge the two so that you can appeal to both. Although my wildcard did not incite a lot of comments, that was not its objective. The wildcard was simply a post by me, for me.

i.    Is That All There Is?

"Is That All There Is?

August 9^th 2010:

I was embarking on yet another journey. A journey that many of my peers recognize as, the passageway to death, the IB diploma. I took a cursory glance at my schedule:

Period 1: Spanish III

Period 2: HL Economics

Period 3: International Relations

Period 4: HL History of the Americas

Period 5: SL Mathematics

Period 7: SL Environmental Systems and Societies

Period 8: HL English

Exciting? Definitely. There is so much knowledge to be gained, numerous theories to learn, so many formulas to practice, volumes of books to read, a myriad of definitions to memorize! Each year my intellectual capacity has been expanding, increasing, and maturing. Have I finally reached butterfly stage? Have I begun to emerge out of my cocoon? The tentative answer is both yes and no.

Every school year, the agenda is the same. We, the students, learn techniques that have been used in the past. Our math teachers give us a number of formulas and techniques to solve everyday problems. Our science teachers go into detail about a number of theories discovered by great scientists in the past that explain how the world works. Our history teachers hand us a list of dates, and if possible, will enlighten us about their rise and fall of certain cultures and civilizations. With this knowledge, we take an exam at the end of the school year, which analyzes the extent of our knowledge in a particular subject. This cycle repeats itself until we graduate, and we receive a diploma that symbolizes our knowledge.

The educational definition of knowledge is, “the facts, skills, and information acquired by

a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.” AES provides me with the facts, skills, and information for a number of subjects.

‘Gautam Kapur, you have a 4.0 GPA, congratulations. You have demonstrated appreciation for knowledge, and will be rewarded with a diploma that symbolizes your keen and rapid absorption of knowledge. Next in line awaits an undergraduate diploma, and following that, a graduate diploma….if you maintain your skills of absorbing knowledge.’

I am speechless. Moreover, I am angry and confused. Is it really all over? So now I head off to college?

It seems as if all I have done is memorized and learnt the great works of human civilization in the past, but I myself have not created any works. What about my contribution to the world? Why am I spending my time sitting in this science lab, learning about how gravity works? We know what it is, we know that it’s true, so why dwell on the subject any longer? I should be spending my time in the world, discovering my OWN theories and sharing them with my peers. If I discover something new, I can help humanity advance, and truly make a change.

The IB diploma states the following in its mission statement:

“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end, the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”

Alright, so say I’ve finished all my programs.

Where do I apply my knowledge?

What do I do with this knowledge, these theories and formulas that have already been discovered and are commonly known?

With two years left in my high school education, I have come to terms with the fact that I have not changed the world. What have I contributed to humanity? Have I had the opportunity to utilize my new “inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring” mind? As of now, my life is a treasure hunt for diplomas, and I am still searching for the buried treasure. I could take a gap year, in order to utilize my “developed” brain, but that would only extend my service in the diploma search. To earn a high income, I’ll need a diploma; that is how human society operates today.

It is understandable that not everyone will contribute something incredible to civilization. But in this regard, are we simply clones of our intellectual predecessors? We have taken what they created, riveted it into our brains, and consider ourselves “smart”. Surely I am not the only one who sees something a flaw in this system. Our entire education system is a game of memorization is it not? Sure, call me a polemicist, but I highly doubt that these radical ideas will be forgotten. Like environmental concerns in the 20^th century, these kinds of thoughts will eventually materialize and develop into contentious issues in our world. How is society to develop, if our children, the future of our society, simply soak up the great discoveries of our ancestors?

Reality.

Shin Dong Hyok wakes up everyday at 5 am to work in a labor camp. At midnight, his service is over and he rests for a total of 5 hours; but the scars on his back sting when he lies down on the floor to rest and his feet shiver due to the nature of North Korea’s harsh winter. Just another day in the life of Shin Dong Hyok.

In 1982, Hyok was born in Kaechon, in camp number 14, a North Korean gulag. He had been working all his life, it wasn’t abnormal to see death everyday. “He assumed everyone lived this way.”

According to upiasia.com, North Korea’s gulags host 200,000 political prisoners. These prisoners deal with the same hardship that Hyok deals with on a daily basis. Not only is their treatment inhumane, but also merciless. Guards sadistically mistreat prisoners, distorting the concept of human rights.

Daily NK, a North Korean newspaper, describes the “total-control zones” where prisoners like Hyok live.

“A total-control zone is for malicious people that must be removed from North Korea completely. Once you are sentenced to this camp, you may never return to society and must live there eternally. People imprisoned in the total-control zone usually meet their death fatigued from forced labor. In order to keep living, a person is forced to work 12~15 hours as a levy for some food. They must live in complete isolation and only engage in activities that will lead to production.”

“Shin’s father had been sent to the camp in 1965 after his two brothers had defected to South Korea. As a reward for good work, the father was allowed to marry a female inmate who gave birth to Shin and his elder brother.” In essence, Hyok was born in a society similar to hell.

The most implausible aspect of this entire situation is that Hyok had no loathing of the authorities that beat him. Hyok’s life in the gulag is a clear example of how ignorance is bliss. It’s a chilling thought, to imagine life in a gulag. However, for an insider, someone who was born in a gulag, that is their reality, there is no other way of life.

At this moment, I am writing a paper for my school. My school will take this paper and give it a grade. Based on that grade, I will either be rewarded, or abhorred. Everyday, (excluding weekends) I wake up at 7:00 am and go to school. On most days, I finish at 6:00 pm and go home to write more papers for school. This is my reality, this is my life.

Obviously, I am not a prisoner of a North Korean gulag but I also have a regulated schedule and way of life in some respect. Since I was born, I’ve been going to school. That’s just how it is, it has never been any other way. I have been working all my life, and those who work more diligently will rise in their position or ranking in our society.

An outsider may view my reality as a gulag. The mission of the oppressor, the school, is to “turn kids into well behaving adults”. Certain gulags may require students to take Physical Education, forcing them to do physical labor out in the hot New Delhi sun.

My point is that your reality, your morals, what you think is right or wrong, generally comes down to your childhood. Whatever you learn, whatever you are told, whatever your milieu, it sticks with you. In Hyok’s case, he was born in and lived for the majority of his childhood in a North Korean prison camp; therefore, he had a particular set of morals and goals based on his circumstance. In my case, you go to school from grades 1-12, then undergraduate school, then graduate school, and finally earn a living through a time consuming job; therefore, I will have a particular set of morals and goals that are dissimilar to Hyok’s. In the end, it all comes down to your perception.

Here is a link talking about suicide as a means to stop the agony and pain inflicted in the Gulags: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-1-2005-77923.asp

Here is another pertinent link regarding an American prisoner in a North Korean Gulag: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/09/american-prisoner-attempts-suicide-in-north-korean-gulag.html

Attention: All Earth Lovers.

Throughout September and October, Naoise and I were discussing the issue of environmental walls and boundaries. An excerpt from the book “Forests: The Shadow of Civilization” initiated our discussion. Ravi added that these walls are sometimes established because nature intimidates people due to its unruliness. For example, Naoise depicted how his room was completely separated from nature.

“As I’m writing this I looked around my room and saw that there is nothing really from nature in my room. Sure my desk might be made of wood, but nothing in this room is living, besides myself of course… The walls of my bedroom are there to stop the contact of it and the nature outside”

I’m very concerned about this issue because if we start to create more and more barriers, we will completely isolate ourselves. We will become may become terrified of the environment. We will create these boundaries to such a great extent that we as humans may completely lose contact with the natural world. Naoise stated that,

“in order to have a perfect functioning society there is no room for something you cannot control. And nature has no place in a society where things are predictable and simple”

Readers, with all due respect, this is NOT the mindset we should be developing in our current circumstances. The environment is in an exceedingly fragile state.

According to National Geographic News:   (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming_2.html)

• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies.
• Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth’s surface.
• Some hundred million people live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world’s population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.

And there are an incredible number of even more disturbing environmental facts. If we continue to establish boundaries between ourselves and the environment, we will be doomed. Honestly, we will, because we will create these boundaries to the extent of the green wall in WE. D-503 stated that the boundaries had to be installed because  “the animalistic ways of our ancestors lie within the forests, while the future is within civilization.”

If we continue to distance ourselves from the environment, the earth will be in trouble. It already is, and creating boundaries will simply further this “inconvenient truth”.

Some of you may already be thinking of closing this page, thinking that the whole concept of a green wall in today’s society is far-fetched, but it really isn’t. If we’re not careful, we may end up with designated areas for human activity, and environmental activity. And this is NOT the course of action we want to take.

Leading members in society are already beginning to reject these feelings. John Foley, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment stated, “It’s a crude attempt to map the environmental space in which we can operate.”

With all due respect, I cannot support this growing conception that nature has no place in a perfect society. Yes, nature is ungovernable, but without nature, that society will die out. Nature is our heart, it is what keeps our societies alive. If we separate ourselves from our heart, life on earth will cease to exist.

Here is the link to the initial blog post: http://theliteraturemachine.com/naoise/2010/09/01/forests-and-civilization/#comments

Please post your opinions, concerns, or anything related to this topic. I’d like to hear what your perspectives are.

What has contemporary English become?



The one word that repeated in my mind throughout George Orwell’s piece was euphemism. In politics, politicians don’t speak with words or phrases, but with euphemisms. Yes, euphemisms are a mixture of words to make a phrase; however, the difference is that a politician’s euphemism has no meaning. The politician’s phrase itself is vague, incoherent, and ambivalent. It is another one of their political weapons—along with filibusters and stonewalling—that they use to hush and control the public, the common people.

George Orwell states how this vagueness and ambiguity in politicians’ speech and writing is found in the English language as well. People try to imitate their politicians, their leaders, who are clearly poor role models when it comes to making clear and meaningful statements. “Political writing is bad writing”, and we must be able to express our thoughts clearly. Often times, people use banal metaphors because they are afraid of sounding infantile. In fact, “modern writing at its worst does consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug”. Orwell states that people choose this path because it is the easy way of writing, which is true. Not only students, but all contemporary writers and politicians will almost always take the easy way out. Why? Because we live in a world of convenience and simplicity. If things get too hard we will quit; that is what modern human nature and essentially modern English has become.

For example, politicians speak in euphemisms when they have made a poor decision. They will deliver long rambling speeches in response to all questions that are fired at them, or even avoid the question. In fact, it has gone so far that politicians don’t really say anything at all. Through written or oral deliveries, there is always ambiguity. Politicians avoid clear-cut perspectives and statements because if those assumptions turn out to be wrong, they will lose their position of power.

Similarly, modern English has become a game of deflection. Simple statements will send you back to pre-school and sentences shorter than 6 words will help you lose your credibility. Therefore, we confuse people with our contemporary English and end up solving nothing because our statements are meaningless or too convoluted to understand. That’s a fairly disturbing outlook wouldn’t you say?