Speak Blog

I define who I am in many obvious ways. For one, I play sports all year round. I play sports for many reasons. One reason I plays sports is because I love them. Even if it’s a sport I’m not particularly good at, I like learning new things, which says something about my character as well. I’m not too afraid to make mistakes, which is why I play sports all year round, even if it’s not a sport I’m particularly good at. Playing sports all year round says a lot about my character. It shows that I’m athletic, or at least in moderate consideration, I like to keep busy and out of trouble, and I am committed. These are all things I would like people to think about me. However, I am not too involved in sports to the extent that people think I’m too sporty or am completely centered around sports. Another way I define myself is by how I dress. I try to not wear sweats too much because I don’t want people to think I’m lazy or I don’t care about how others perceive me, which would be a lie. Despite the comfyness a nice sweatshirt can bring, I feel like some people view that as being sloppy. I try to look put together with my clothes, so even if I’m having an off day, where things are extremely confusing, I am still put together in one aspect of my life. I hope that my appearance gives off a somewhat organized appearance because of my lack of sloppiness most days. I also define myself by my academics. I try to do very well and I get down on myself when I don’t do too well because I’m quite the perfectionist. My grades are fairly good, so I think that shows how I work very hard and I always try my best. In the social aspect of things, I always try to be friendly to people, even if I’m not necessarily friends with them. I try not to appear unfriendly to people I don’t know too well because I don’t want to get the reputation of being mean. And another way in which I define myself is by taking part in many different things. I don’t like to devote all of my attention to one certain aspect of my life, because I don’t want to get a title that defines who I am. I think that is one of the great things about University is that it is so small that I can do a lot of different activities because there is a no-cut policy for sports and the clubs are open to anyone. At bigger schools, I feel like people achieve titles much more easily as the “nerd,” the “jock,” the “popular people,” and so on. Of course, everyone thinks of somebody when they think of all of these titles to connect to somebody in our school, but not everybody knows that certain person as that title, which is great. I try to not define myself as a certain person, and more a unique person with a lot of different stuff going on.

I agree with William James’ argument in “The Social Me,” and it is definitely obvious in the way I craft myself. I know I definitely change myself based on whom I’m with and how I want people to think of me. The characters in Speak are definitely defined by their given titles. Because the school is much bigger than University, titles are more common for people. Melinda definitely crafts herself to make others not notice her. She tries to stay under the radar as much as possible, which is definitely evident in her lack of talking in class and at school in general. She is titled as the weird girl, which she hates, but it’s better than being in constant spotlight. Also, Rachel very obviously crafts herself to make people think a certain thing about her. She changes herself based on who she’s hanging out with at that given time. Every person, especially in high school, changes who they are to make others think a certain thing about them. This is certainly true for me in the way I craft myself to present a certain image to my peers.

Censorship and Relation to "Little Brother"

The conversation we had this morning was extremely beneficial in helping to clear up all the questions I had about censorship in China, with google, and in the book. The articles we read as homework were incredibly interesting and before I read the articles, I had not known quite the extent of censorship in China. After some discussion, having the opportunity to search the Chinese google and compare it with our American google, was very interesting. There were slight variations for certain topics, but then for topics such as the Dalai Lama, the two versions were night and day. Being able to play with certain aspects of our computers is also very fun, and the technology talks are very helpful in me understanding a lot of the words in the book.

This discussion today allowed me to utilize literature in my life in significant ways because the censorship in China is something that is incredibly important to our time. It is important to know what is going on in the world around you, and reading these articles and discussion this topic, greatly enhanced my knowledge of what is going on in China. It is also important to realize what is going on in China because some things are also going on in America. We are not censored nearly as much as China, but our lives are censored to some effects. The government can look at anything we do on the internet. Although they don't, they have the opportunity to whenever they feel they should. This thought is incredibly terrifying to me. Another point of our discussion this morning that really stopped me dead in my tracks was when we learned about ACTA. I, as well as about 99.9999% of Americans have illegally downloaded one thing or another. It is crazy to imagine that all of these people would be losing their internet privileges for the rest of their lives. I am glad that the government has this opportunity because it could make a positive effect on our country, but it scares me because I don't know how far they will take it in the future. I don't think America wants to be like China, completely censored, so I'm wondering where they will cut off. This discussion was beneficial because it gave me a lot of knowledge over our government in America, the government in China, and the technological aspects of censorship and the effects it has. This discussion made me more knowledgeable about a lot of stuff going on in our worlds behind the scenes, but is still vital to know.

Reading "Little Brother," is a huge eye-opener for me. I cannot imagine America becoming that hostile, paranoid place as it is described in the book. However, after this discussion over our current government's position, it is evident that a similar America could become a reality in our near future. Reading "Little Brother," has truly made me question my life as an American, the rights I have, and how far the government should go. I'm on the fence a bit as to whether I think the Government should have access to our internet trails and every aspect of our lives. This book really makes me think of both sides and weigh the outcomes, which have left me still undecided. The questioning nature that this book creates in me is evidence that this book is being utilized in my life in a significant way. It is helping me to form my opinion about technology, the government, as well as other areas of uncertainty. However, I am not taking everything Marcus and his friends do as right or good. I understand that their decisions are not the best, and a lot of the problems in this book arise from their poor judgement, but I am taking in what I am reading, and trying to make sense of it by connecting it to my feelings on the government and spying.

The Dumbest Generation? Don't Be Dumb

This article was extremely astounding at first, because it amazed me how some teenagers can be so cut off from the world and society to not know some basic knowledge of our world. But then, after I began to think about it, I began to realize that I wouldn’t know some the answers to some questions about our basic history. We know what we are taught and what we have kept in our brains because we found it to be important. It is amazing if you think about the way we now learn, and what teens now excel in, but it also makes sense.

While reading this article, I immediately flashed back to Ortega y Gasset’s piece, “On Studying,” which criticized the way in which students are now being taught, emphasized the errors in our teaching and the importance of instilling a curiosity in students, and acknowledged that students will find the answer if they need to know it. In this article, it mentions that, “60 percent [of college freshmen who found it important to keep up with political affairs] in 1966 to 36 percent in 2005,” (2). However, it also states that this is a direct result of the fact that these college freshmen were fresh bait to be shipped off to Vietnam to fight in the war, so it was essential that they knew what was going on in the world and politics.

Also, I feel that although we do not know a lot of facts or knowledge of the world around us, despite how necessary this is, we are not dumb. We possess other forms of knowledge, something that may not be as easy to measure as whether someone knows the correct answer or not, but just as vital. I think it could be considered right to call our generation dumb, just because we do not know certain answers, but we are not stupid. There are new extraordinary advancements made everyday thanks to our generation’s minds and way of thinking. If we were stupid, this would not be possible. Also, knowing the capital of a state is not necessary to build a robot or a new cell phone. All that is necessary for that is knowledge on how these things work and a way of thinking how to create what is needed. It may be decent to say that our generation lacks vital knowledge, but we also hold extreme amounts of knowledge. Knowledge comes in different forms, and as Ortega y Gasset said in “On Studying,” we learn and know what we need, and our generation needs to know how to advance our culture and technology and how to improve people’s everyday lifestyles. Although it is important to know our history so we do not go to repeating ourselves, I think that is no longer the most pressing issue.

Despite the fact that some people did not know the answers to some of the questions about history, that does not mean that as a whole, we are dumb to the world. There are still those great number of people who would answer all of the questions in this article with the correct answer. Also, I think it is important to note that most likely the people in power in America are not the teens so the “unknowledgeable” teens will not be having to make decisions that could be a result of not knowing our mistaken pasts.

I will admit that teens are our country’s future, and some are not extremely bright, but the majority of our teens, who are excelling on the SAT, and going to top universities, are the people that will lead our country in the future. It is not quite a threat to our wellbeing for our teens to be unknowledgeable because they will most likely never get to a place of extreme power where they will have to make decisions that affect our whole country. It is the teens that are excelling in rigorous classes, getting perfect scores on the SAT, and creating new technological codes, who control the reins of our future and their way of thinking is a way of thinking that is necessary for our modern world. We no longer need to know about politics, because we are no longer drafted. Although it would be much better if more of the teens in America knew the answer to more of these questions, the knowledge these teens possess may be more substantial to our modern world, thus bringing us to higher ground and rising our country to a better place. And for this reason, I believe it is unfair to call American teens dumb for not knowing certain facts because their knowledge of other areas, perhaps more vital areas, surpasses that of previous generations.

Why Americans Are So Restless Interpretive Questions

2. A society that is devoted to equality, such as that of Americans, weakens each individual to try to reach equality. Equality itself weakens individual in an effort to help other individuals who are "below" the previous individual. Tocqueville says, "The same equality which allows each man to entertain vast hopes makes each man by himself weak. His power is limited on every side, though his longings may wander where they will," (166). If one individual is incredibly strong, this force of equality that is so persistent in America will somehow weaken that individual. If one individual were to be above the others, equality can never be reached. Equality weakens individuals so it can provide a state of everybody being equal to each other in every aspect of life. When equality is involved, one can never be above the others and one can never be below the others. It is the individuals that are below the majority that cause the individual above the majority to be weakened. Some has to be taken away from a successful individual to give to the weaker, so to speak. The weakening of one individual is essential on the search for equality. Certain individuals have to be weakened in order to reach equality for all, according to Tocqueville. If one is a step above the others, America will take that step out from under that individual so that everybody is on the same level once again, where all are equal. According to Tocqueville, "When all prerogatives of birth and fortune are abolished, when all professions are open to all and a man's own energies may bring him to the top of any of them, an ambitious man may think it easy to launch on a great career and feel that he is called to no common destiny," (166). Equality is chased after so much because equality encourages all men to try to burst past the rest. Life becomes a "competition of all," (167), which provides a different barrier for people to fight against to get ahead. Because men have such a rich desire to reach their goals, they will fight strongly to beat all of their competition and reach their goal before the others. Equality, however, can never fully be reached because certain individuals are born with a certain level of intelligence that separates them from the group. However, Americans will still try desperately to reach this level of equality that is so unattainable because it will help those that are behind the others, and because Americans like the competition that equality can cause.

5. Tocqueville thinks Americans are so restless for a mix of both of these reasons. Americans know what they want for a while and they will pursue that thing but then they will find something else they want. They know what they want but what they want changes once they achieve the first thing they wanted. Americans "clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose grip as they hurry after some new delight," says Tocqueville (165). They find something that they desire and then they hurriedly chase after it but by the time that have reached it they will have found something better and worthy of their attraction. So Americans do know what they wan it is just the problem of not sticking to one goal. Tocqueville says, "Men are often less afraid of death than of enduring effort toward one goal," (166). Americans can attain things more effectively than other groups of people because they live in the "circumstances the happiest to be found in the world," said Tocqueville (164). If something is unattainable to them, they will do whatever they can to make it attainable. So in a sense, that unattainability of certain things to Americans encourages them to be restless because it encourages their pursuit of that thing. Americans never see a goal that they can't reach, so they will brush past whatever level of unattainability that there might be to reach their goal, which is their ultimate purpose. Americans will continue to fight to reach their goal even if it is unattainable, they will not accept defeat and will continue to try to reach that goal. This is extremely evident in Americans' desire to reach equality. Equality is never really attainable, but still America is desperately trying to reach it. Americans have that desire to reach their goal whatever it may be because at the moment that is the most important thing to them, that is, until they find another thing that attracts their attention. Also, the strong presence of equality that lingers in our country helps all men to be able to attain what they want. It is not that Americans don't know what they want or that they can't reach what they want, it is that Americans changes their desires so frequently that makes them so restless. The definition of restless is "unable to rest or relax as a result of boredom or anxiety," and that is exactly what Americans are. Not because they don't know what they want or they can't reach what they want just because we have set the stage for Americans to constantly strive and desire for something more and something different than what they have.

Comparison of Peasants to Ruling Class

The behavior of the empowered peasants and the behavior of the previous ruling class is not very different. Both are very unjust and violent. Remembering back to Charles Darnay's trial in London, beheading people was very common. The most trivial of cases sometimes resulted in the beheading of the criminal. The French revolutionaries are likewise very violent and use their violence as a way to oppress the people they don't agree with. The revolutionaries had tried to appeal to the aristocracy several times, but the aristocracy did not answer their questions or fulfill their requests. Because of this, members of the aristocracy were taken prisoner or were killed. One example of this is the death of the Marquis. On page 135, at the body of the dead Marquis, they find "Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from Jacques," attached to the knife that killed him. This shows that he was killed by some revolutionaries due to the name Jacques, which was connected with the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries and aristocracies deal with personal appeals differently, however, in the light that the aristocracies already have a great deal of power. They do not need to rise to the top before they can have any of their goals met. The revolutionaries however have to struggle to get some power and so their struggle to have their appeals met, is more strenuous. They have to secure their power, whereas the aristocracy are kind of given their place in society. Both of the court systems are very similar and are unjust. In both, Charles Darnay was found innocent of his crimes. In the new found court system of the revolutionaries, Charels Darnay gets released because he tells his story to the jury, and reaches them on an emotional level. Both groups of people are very similar in the way that they acknowledge the appeals of others. They both don't really listen to what others ask of them. For instance, the aristocracy doesn't listen to any of the appeals of the people, which is why people grew to be so angry with them. The revolutionaries don't listen to the appeals of the people towards them, which is shown through the way Madame Defarge acts towards Lucie Manette's plea to help her husband. Both sides are very similar in their actions towards the people and their requests, despite their desire to be different.

Book the First

1. For how long has the man in Jarvis Lorry’s thoughts been buried?

18 years

2. What else do we know of this man who has been “buried”?
Lorry Jarvis is supposed to recall him, Dr. Manette, to life. He has been "dead" to all those who knew him because he was in prison, he changed his name, and he has been in the room in the wine-shop for so long.

3. What are the two conditions concerning Dr. Manette? 

He has forgotten everything from his past and has been living alone for a very long time, under a different name, "buried," if you will. He is supposed to be "recalled to life" by Jarvis and brought back into civilization.

4. Who are the proprietors of the wine-shop?

Defarge and his wife are the proprietors of the wine-shop.

5. Why does Defarge show Dr. Manette to the “Jacques”?
They all have the name Jacque, which is his name, and a good name in his opinion, and Defarge thinks showing Dr. Manette to the "Jacques" will do them well.

6. What is Dr. Manette doing when they enter his room?
He is making a pair of lady's shoes. He is hard at work when they enter and doesn't barely notice their entrance.

7. What does Dr. Manette say his name is? What is the significance of what he says?
He says his name is One Hundred and Five, North Tower. This was the prison where he was a prisoner.

The Social Me

            It is difficult not to care what others think about us because others’ opinions mean so much to us. We are so worried about the way others view us that their opinion is very important to us. Our worry about what others care about us fuels how we act and carry ourselves. Everything we do is in reaction to how others act towards us. We don’t control the way that others see and think about us, but we do the best we can do make others see and think about us in a positive way. We often times change ourselves to meet the opinions of other people. It is not possible for us to control the opinions of others, but we do our best to make their opinions be positive. Everyday we get dressed thinking of what others will think about our outfits that day. One may wake up and chose an outfit that he/she knows someone else will like. We are entitled to want to please other people and make them think highly of us. We are so preoccupied worrying about what others think about us that we usually lose ourselves in the process. We base all of our actions on how others will react towards them. We cannot directly control others’ opinions about us but indirectly, we do so by acting or carrying ourselves a certain way to make their opinion about us change. Even when people are trying not to conform or meet the desires of others, we do so unconsciously. The opinion of those around us is as important as breathing. What others think about us determines how we live. Once a feeling has been made towards you, you will accept that feeling and live according to that feeling. It seems that whatever others think about you is what you are because you make yourself what they think you are. It is a continuing process of wanting to make others like/accept you, and one is never truly able to escape it, even after death.