Kite Runner Seminar Reflection #2

The seminar deepened my understanding of Hassan's respect. One thing said was that the fact that Hassan lived in the servant house despite Amir no longer living in the main house shows Hassan's infinite respect. I thought about this more in depth and realized how truly incredible Hassan is.

The statement that I agree with the most was that moving to America strengthened Baba and Amir's relationship. Being in smaller spaces and the lack of a high position for Baba allowed him to see Amir at eye level. The statement that I agree the least with is that Baba and Amir are cowards for "abandoning" their country in a time of disaster. I rebutted by saying that no one would call me a coward if I decided to leave DC because it was being bombed, and I stand by that claim. There wasn't anything that I can think of that I wish was said that wasn't. In fact, I remember that on many occasions there were things I was about to say when someone took the words right out of my mouth.

What worked very well was that the seminar never got out of hand. We were the dominator group, so we were expected to be screaming over each other like 3rd period. However, as it turns out, we were very respectful and everyone got to talk when they wanted to and no one dominated due to the collection of all dominators.

The only thing we could improve is spending too much time on one topic. Since we were all dominators, we all had lots of things to say, and therefore we would spend endless amounts of time on one topic because everyone had something to say.

Kite Runner Seminar Reflection #1

The seminar influenced my understanding of the friendship between Amir And Hassan. I now understand Amir’s conflict of being friends with Hassan, but being ashamed of him at the same time due to his status. One specific thing said that deepened my thinking was that Hassan might only have this great respect for Amir due to his social superiority, an idea that I’m unsure whether or not I agree with. 

The statement from a peer that I agree with the most was that Baba doesn’t believe that Amir is worth the death of his wife. We constantly see Baba being disappointed with his son’s life choices, and I believe he wouldn’t care as much if Amir’s birth hadn’t killed his wife. I least agreed with the idea that Hassan’s mother was a terrible person for leaving. She was forced into an arranged marriage to a man with physical disabilities, she can’t be fully blamed for leaving. However, this isn’t an opinion that I was able to fully vocalize, and I wish I were able to have said this because the discussion continued in a direction I didn’t agree with.

Almost everyone seemed to have understood the material very well and this led to a very deep and intellectual conversation. We were also finally able to establish emotional appeals in our conversation. 

I still think many people are too shy to talk… we have a few dominators that make their points and a few kids that have things to say but they don’t. The idea of splitting up the dominators from the less vocal kids is one I support.

Dramatic Reading

The tone I chose for this monologue by Othello was passionate, yet honorable. In this speech, he's trying to convince the senate that he is a good match for Desdemona, so he displays his care while maintaining the powerful presence they all respect. This balance is what I tried to achieve by speaking very deliberately, while emphasizing phrases such as “would Desdemona seriously incline" to show passion.

By becoming Othello, I learned that he has many sides, including two positive ones displayed here. The first side was the one his army knew: honorable, respectable, and strong. The next was the side Desdemona knew, his gentle, caring side. Othello used both of these angles in his speech to the senate to convince them to approve of Othello and Desdemona's love.

The organization of this into a monologue created a bolder sense of meaning. As opposed to just conversation, a monologue is almost a speech that emphasizes all talking points. This monologue characterized Othello by emphasizing the two sides of him I previously mentioned.

1984 1st Socratic Seminar Final Reflection

            The seminar greatly deepened my understanding of 1984 as a whole, as I was able to see other people’s view of the dystopian society. I realized more in depth how the propaganda of the totalitarian government dictates the thoughts of the people and directly controls their actions. When someone mentioned the woman Winston works with who claims that Big Brother is her savior, I thought she was saying so to avoid suspicion from the thought police. The discussion got me thinking and I realized that she actually believed this man was a god due to propaganda.

            I most agreed with the statement that this dystopia was a possibility if World War II had ended differently. However, I disagreed with the statement that our current desensitization toward violence could eventually lead us to this. If I could have properly responded to this, I would have said that basic human instinct and emotion will prevent us from the level of desensitization outlined in 1984. A fully dystopian society would be necessary to create such an apathy towards violence, and as the world moves towards democracy, this scenario seems more and more unlikely.

            The seminar flowed very smoothly, and I think it was evident that almost everyone read the assigned reading. Multiple arguments developed, and both sides could support their claims with textual evidence.

            However, the biggest problem to me was my personal contribution. While I was operating on a half hour of sleep, my responses were weak, unsupported, and I only utilized logical appeals throughout the seminar. I plan on focusing on textual evidence to support claims for all three rhetorical appeals for next seminar.

Chapter 8

The theme of chapter eight understanding the future. Here are five quotes that support that theme:

"...[H]e'd known his fate would be the same. He would spend the rest of his life in prison." (Moore 156)

"'You committed an act like something out of the Wild West, and you didn't even realize how outrageous it was,' the judge said. 'That makes you a very dangerous person.'" (Moore 157)

"Now Wes's mind wandered to the long term for the first time. Finally, he could see his future." (Moore 157)

"I... realized that... this was an exclusive group that held a significant amount of influence and power. (Moore 162)

"His tribe's influence in making him a man was obvious and indelible. At that moment, I realized the journey I took was never mine alone either." (Moore 171)

Analysis: As the two boys grow up throughout the book, the reader is well aware of their respective futures. However, the Wes Moore's have no idea where they are going until this chapter. Chapter eight most emphasizes the differences between the two Wes Moore's. In this chapter, the other Wes Moore comes to the realization that he will spend the rest of his life in prison (first three quotes). He will never be a free man, and while this must be a crushing feeling, he understands what's ahead for the first time. The author Wes Moore, however, fully appreciates having gotten to where he is in his life in this chapter, and looks ahead for the first time (last two quotes): he sees a bright future ahead. He isn't wrong.

"Choices and Second Chances" Title Justification Essay

Chapter Six