The non-fiction book I chose to read for class is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. This book is about The Clutter family living in Holcomb, Kansas, who is murdered by a shotgun on November 15, 1959. In the family there is the father Herbert , the mother Bonnie, three daughters named Eveanna, Beverly, and Nancy, and one son Kenyon. Mr. Clutter does most of the work around the house, and so does Nancy, the youngest daughter. Mrs. Clutter suffers from postnatal depression and had had fits and seizures; she would regularly visit hospitals for periods of time and lives a private life. The older children, Eveanna and Beverly, no longer live at the house, so at the time of the shooting it was just the four of them. The Clutter family is pretty wealthy and live on a large piece of land. Before the murder, everyone kind of trusted each other in Holcomb. After the murder took place people began to mistrust each other, and the town did not know what to do because such a good family like the Clutters was murdered, and now no one feels safe anymore. The family was so well loved and known that 1,000 people had attended the service for them.
In the beginning, the book was very slow and it felt like it told more than what was necessary to find out what happened to the family. The author wrote the book in a way that goes back and forth between the victims and murderers up until the moment of the shooting. I actually enjoyed that style of writing because it's kind of like a play-by-play for the characters and shows what they were doing the last day before they were shot/killed the family. It also makes you want to keep reading because it feels like with every page you're just getting closer and closer to finding out what happened. The only bad thing about this style of writing is you know what is going to happen to the people, but they don't know. It's like when you watch a scary movie and you know something bad is going to happen so you yell at the TV for the person to run away, but they get killed anyway. That's exactly how it felt for me when I was reading this book.
The book jumps from right before the murders to the next day when family friends of the Clutters find the bodies. I thought this was very smart of Truman Capote because if I had known exactly how the murders took place in the beginning, I wouldn't have wanted to keep reading; however, he leaves that up until later in the book when the killers confess about the murders. The middle of the book to the end jumps back and forth between trying to find the killers and the killers themselves dealing with the actions that they have made. When they finally confess, they also share their motive for the killings, which turns out to not be a motive for killing at all. I don't want to give too much away though so I will not say anymore about that. The last part is all about the execution and the two killers awaiting to find out their fate. It turns out a little over five years after the murders took place, the killers were hung for their crime.
Overall, I thought the book was very interesting and I really liked how you got to see the killers perspectives up until the end of their lives as well.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
To be completely honest, I do not like the way that Mary Wollstonecraft writes. I think it is very confusing and hard to follow. I really didn't understand much of what she was saying. It was like I was just reading a bunch of random words put together; however, she does seem like a very opinionated woman on this subject. For example, when she says "husbands,..., are often only overgrown children", she is stereotyping all men, saying that they are all just like overgrown children. I do think that comment is funny though. What I can understand from this essay is that Mary Wollstonecraft is upset at the way men and women are differnent, and she is very upset at the fact that men seem "superior" to women.
The part where Mary Wollstonecraft writes, "and should they be beautiful, everything else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives" is exactly how people used to think in the past. If a girl was beautiful that's all she used to need because then she would find a man and have a family, etc. I am very glad that times have changed, because if I had grown up in a time period where things were like that I would not have taken that from anyone, and it'd be very hard to deal with men thinking that way.
Since Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this essay, things for women have changed dramatically. Women are beginning to seem more equal to men and have just as much, if not more, power than men in some situations. Sure, women aren't seen perfectly as equal as men, but it's a big step from what Mary Wollstonecraft has written about. I think she would be very impressed with the women in the past who have stepped up and shown that they will not be seen as inferior to men.
The part where Mary Wollstonecraft writes, "and should they be beautiful, everything else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives" is exactly how people used to think in the past. If a girl was beautiful that's all she used to need because then she would find a man and have a family, etc. I am very glad that times have changed, because if I had grown up in a time period where things were like that I would not have taken that from anyone, and it'd be very hard to deal with men thinking that way.
Since Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this essay, things for women have changed dramatically. Women are beginning to seem more equal to men and have just as much, if not more, power than men in some situations. Sure, women aren't seen perfectly as equal as men, but it's a big step from what Mary Wollstonecraft has written about. I think she would be very impressed with the women in the past who have stepped up and shown that they will not be seen as inferior to men.
About Me
My name is Kesley Peterson. I used to live in Madison until 2nd grade, when I came to McFarland. I have one sister who is going to be a sophomore this year, and even though she bugs me like no other, I wouldn't ask for anyone else. I also have a best friend who has been my friend since kindergarten. Yes I know, it's very precious. Some of my hobbies include hanging with friends, listening to music, and especially drawing. I like to draw when I get bored. I also love the packers!!! Donald Driver <3
After high school, I plan on going to college and getting my undergrad, majoring in Pre-Med (or something similar) and minoring is some kind of art. After that I plan on going to Med School to become a Pediatric Oncologist. I knew that this is what I wanted to be ever since my cousin passed away in 5th grade from a brain tumor. You could say that I'm doing this for her because I want to be able to help kids and be there for them when they are going through something like that.
Other than that there really isn't much else you need to know about me. So...yeah.
the end.
After high school, I plan on going to college and getting my undergrad, majoring in Pre-Med (or something similar) and minoring is some kind of art. After that I plan on going to Med School to become a Pediatric Oncologist. I knew that this is what I wanted to be ever since my cousin passed away in 5th grade from a brain tumor. You could say that I'm doing this for her because I want to be able to help kids and be there for them when they are going through something like that.
Other than that there really isn't much else you need to know about me. So...yeah.
the end.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
This article was very straight forward and easy to understand. I found it interesting how brain researchers discovered that the "adult mind is very plastic". It's cool to think how the brain can alter how it works even after we are fully done growing.
I do not believe that Google is making us stupid. In fact, I think being able to find the answer to a question with a quick typing of words and an enter button makes kids able to obtain more information they want to know about faster. People have just learned how to find the information they are looking for without reading all the useless things they don't need to know. It seems like people are so busy all the time and having something like Google allows us to find the needed information and save valuable time. I also do not agree with the assumption that "we'd be better off if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence". I think we are better off the way we are now, not knowing everything and being able to think in abstract ways.
I do agree with Nicholas Carr that "deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle". It seems like when I was younger I used to enjoy reading and used to be able to sit there and read a book. Now it's a lot harder for me to concentrate on reading longer books and for longer periods of time.
So is Google making us stupid? Not necessarily. It's just changed how we receive the information we are actually interested in knowing.
I do not believe that Google is making us stupid. In fact, I think being able to find the answer to a question with a quick typing of words and an enter button makes kids able to obtain more information they want to know about faster. People have just learned how to find the information they are looking for without reading all the useless things they don't need to know. It seems like people are so busy all the time and having something like Google allows us to find the needed information and save valuable time. I also do not agree with the assumption that "we'd be better off if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence". I think we are better off the way we are now, not knowing everything and being able to think in abstract ways.
I do agree with Nicholas Carr that "deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle". It seems like when I was younger I used to enjoy reading and used to be able to sit there and read a book. Now it's a lot harder for me to concentrate on reading longer books and for longer periods of time.
So is Google making us stupid? Not necessarily. It's just changed how we receive the information we are actually interested in knowing.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Skunk Dreams
While reading this essay I just became confused because by the end I wasn't sure what her thoughts were on dreams. The one thing she was talking about that I did understand is how you experience deja vu and you think you've been somewhere before. A lot of times it turns out you've dreamt about something happening and when it does it seems like it has already happened to you. I found it weird how she dreamt about the fence with such detail and everything before she actually saw it in person. I do think, however, that many people have dreams like this every night, they just don't always remember them when they wake up. So we all get these deja vu moments a lot, but don't always understand why.
I liked the quote she put in there from Adam Phillips, "It is impossible to imagine desire without obstacles...". I think that is so true because having obstacles in the way of something makes you want it more and more, and the less that's in the way to get something, the less you desire it. Also at the very end of the essay the author had said that if she were an animal, she would want to be a skunk. It's true that they can spray people, eat anything like out of the garbage, and not worry about too many animals bothering them, but out of all animals that's the one she would pick? I just think that's so weird because there are so many other animals to choose from.
I liked the quote she put in there from Adam Phillips, "It is impossible to imagine desire without obstacles...". I think that is so true because having obstacles in the way of something makes you want it more and more, and the less that's in the way to get something, the less you desire it. Also at the very end of the essay the author had said that if she were an animal, she would want to be a skunk. It's true that they can spray people, eat anything like out of the garbage, and not worry about too many animals bothering them, but out of all animals that's the one she would pick? I just think that's so weird because there are so many other animals to choose from.
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