Overall I thought that Sound and Fury was a very controversial documentary. Throughout the film, the families were constantly debating back and forth and arguing about whether or not Heather and Peter should get the cochlear implants. Although this would be a difficult decision to make as a deaf parent, I thought that Peter and Nita should have been more open to hear what the grandparents and rest of the family had to say.
The more I think about Peter and Nita's decision of not getting Heather the implants, the more I begin to understand. These parents grew up not being able to hear and want their children to be like them. This does bother me too. I felt throughout the film that these parents did not want their children to have an advantage over them. I understand that this is probably not what they were thinking, but in my mind, this is how it seemed. Peter and Nita thought that if Heather got the implant that she would move away from the deaf culture. I disagree with this. This could never happen because the rest of her family is deaf. Even if she could hear, she would still need to be able to sign to stay in contact with her parents and siblings. Mari grew up hearing, but with deaf parents. She is still a part of the deaf culture, but also the hearing culture. She still knows sign. She still communicates with her parents. She still signs to her deaf family. I believe that this is how Heather would be if she got the cochlear implants.
Having the ability to hear, I would not think twice about giving my deaf child the opportunity to hear. Why would you want you child to go through life not having the ability to hear? I thought that Chris and Mari made the best decision for their son by giving him the cochlear implant. This opportunity will give Peter the chance to grow up in a "normal" life with his brother. I think that it would especially be hard on Peter not being able to hear because of the fact that he has a twin brother who is able to hear. Altogether, I believe that if the opportunity to hear when one can not is presented, one should take that chance and use it to his or her advantage.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
The irrational fear of deer
(Fear of) Deer
It
was a late Saturday night. I was on my way home from a friend's
house. Since it was a weekend, I was not required to be home until twelve. I have
always been a very cautious driver at night because I live in the country and you never know what might jump out in front of your car. To be
sure of my safety, I was always aware of what was on the road and my surroundings. Sometimes I let my guard down as
soon as I turned onto my street. I was cruising up my hill, when being only three houses away a deer runs out in front of my car. I stepped on the breaks as
hard as I could, but it didn’t do me any good. The deer hit the left front side
of my car. I could feel my car run over a leg or two of the deer. I
was so afraid that when I pulled into my driveway, I was terrified to see the
front end of my car and the damages that would appear. What if my car wasn’t fixable? What if my parents were mad?
My heart racing, I finally got out of my car. Slowly I took a few steps towards
front end. I peak around the corner. My car was fine.
Ever
since this day, I have been terribly afraid of hitting a deer with my car
because you never know when one might jump out at you. I have learned to never let my guard down to make sure of my safety.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Blurred Lines
When I first heard the song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, I did not listen to the lyrics like I did while watching the music video. Some people took the song in the wrong way, and I can say that I was one of those people. In Tricia Romano's article 'Blurred Lines,' Robin Thicke's Summer Anthem, Is Kind of Rapey" she states that the song makes some female music fans uncomfortable. I for one felt very uncomfortable while watching this music video.
The argument out there is that Robin Thicke did not mean for music fans to take his song in the wrong way. What I do not understand is why did he write the song this way if he knew people could possibly take it into a different direction; especially creating a music video that portrayed the "not right" direction of the song. I can see how Jennifer Lai sees this video as nonsexual, but not everyone sees it like that. Even though Robin Thicke does not specifically say "I know you want it, and I am going to force you to have it," it is definitely assumed when he repeatedly says "I know you want it."
Although this song can be portrayed in two or even more ways, I believe that Robin Thicke could have prevented all of this by simply creating a music video that suited the way he wanted people to take it as. This could have prevented a lot of drama for him and music fans.
The argument out there is that Robin Thicke did not mean for music fans to take his song in the wrong way. What I do not understand is why did he write the song this way if he knew people could possibly take it into a different direction; especially creating a music video that portrayed the "not right" direction of the song. I can see how Jennifer Lai sees this video as nonsexual, but not everyone sees it like that. Even though Robin Thicke does not specifically say "I know you want it, and I am going to force you to have it," it is definitely assumed when he repeatedly says "I know you want it."
Although this song can be portrayed in two or even more ways, I believe that Robin Thicke could have prevented all of this by simply creating a music video that suited the way he wanted people to take it as. This could have prevented a lot of drama for him and music fans.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Truth and Beauty
"Truth and Beauty" is a book about two friends and their life journey. They were no ordinary best friends. The author, Ann Patchet, and her best friend, Lucy Grealy, were soul mates. One thing that they had in common was the passion to write. Lucy had a bit of a struggle keeping up with her book deadlines because of the constant surgeries for her cancer in her jaw. These two friends shared and did everything together. They suffered through each other's downs, and embraced the other's ups. Throughout Lucy's 39 surgeries, Ann was always there for her. Nothing was more important to them than each other.
They struggled to become the famous writers that they had always wanted to become, but soon enough their wish had come true. Lucy's most famous book is "The Autobiography of a Face". Ann talks only good things about it in "Truth and Beauty". In Ann's book, I got to experience the stress and suffering that Lucy and Ann went through together in order for their dreams to come true. These dreams seemed too far away because of Lucy's cancer. Throughout their lives, they kept each other strong; even in their weakest moments. Towards the end of the book, Lucy experiences some troubles with drugs, which eventually lead to her death in the last chapter. This book taught me a lot about not only true friendship, but also to strive for something that is truly important to you. Whether it is becoming a published writer, or to find a friend like Ann found Lucy to share their lives with.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Great Lawsuit/ If Men Could Menstruate
Being a woman myself, I felt like I could really connect with Gloria Steinem's "If Men Could Menstruate" and Margaret Fuller's "The Great Lawsuit." A word that came up in both of these essays was "weak" relating to women. What men do not realize is how important women are to our society and how much they do for men. Women are said to be equal to men, compared to how they were treated centuries ago, but has the equality actually changed? I believe it has changed, but yet women are still not being appreciated like they should be.
Although "The Great Lawsuit" was very difficult to comprehend, Fuller's point came across clear. "All men are privately influenced by women," I believe this is true. I know I influence the men in my life, at least I hope I do. And I know I am not the only woman out there who has an impact on a man, whether men realize it or not. They could not function correctly without us. Fuller says in her article that the reason why men and women are not "equal" is, "to avoid collision and to bring forth ravishing harmony." If men and women were treated the same, I believe that we would still get along, but maybe then would women be greatly appreciated like we should.
"If Men Could Menstruate" really gave me a great laugh. That would be the weirdest thing! On a serious note, I agree with Steinem when she claims that menstruation would become enviable, worthy, and masculine. My attention was caught a few sentences later. Men getting their period for the first time would be like the beginning of manhood. This date would be remembered, whereas for girls it does not even matter. Everything would be completely flipped around from being negative to positive. When Gloria Steinem connected this to God, I was particularly interested. "He gave his blood for our sins" None of this is compared to women's period, but if it was a man menstruating it would all change and turn into something that makes men superior to women. It blows my mind how women are not appreciated or treated how they should.
Although "The Great Lawsuit" was very difficult to comprehend, Fuller's point came across clear. "All men are privately influenced by women," I believe this is true. I know I influence the men in my life, at least I hope I do. And I know I am not the only woman out there who has an impact on a man, whether men realize it or not. They could not function correctly without us. Fuller says in her article that the reason why men and women are not "equal" is, "to avoid collision and to bring forth ravishing harmony." If men and women were treated the same, I believe that we would still get along, but maybe then would women be greatly appreciated like we should.
"If Men Could Menstruate" really gave me a great laugh. That would be the weirdest thing! On a serious note, I agree with Steinem when she claims that menstruation would become enviable, worthy, and masculine. My attention was caught a few sentences later. Men getting their period for the first time would be like the beginning of manhood. This date would be remembered, whereas for girls it does not even matter. Everything would be completely flipped around from being negative to positive. When Gloria Steinem connected this to God, I was particularly interested. "He gave his blood for our sins" None of this is compared to women's period, but if it was a man menstruating it would all change and turn into something that makes men superior to women. It blows my mind how women are not appreciated or treated how they should.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Nicolas Carr's article about Google making us stupid really snagged my attention at first. In the first couple paragraphs Carr discusses how he feels when he dives into a book. It is almost like he couldn't stop. I have also experienced this feeling with books that I may have caught my interest. It used to be easy, like Carr said. But now it seems to be more difficult for not only me, but other readers to get caught up in a book. One comment that Carr made in his article was, " Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. When I read this, I immediately connected to it. Reading the book I have now, sometimes I may have to go back and reread a page because I either do not remember what I read or my concentration was just lost halfway through a page. At least now I know I am not the only one struggling with this. This article explained to me why I am having trouble too.
A question popped up in the middle of the article. "What if I do all my reading on the web not so much because of the way I read has changed, but because the way I think has changed?" I never thought of it this way. Technology has a huge role on almost every person's life, whether we know it or not. And even if we don't realize it, it has changed the way we think. One example is if we need to look something up, rather than looking in a book, we decide to pull out our phones and google it. Bruce Friedman is a man who says he has now almost totally lost the ability to read. When I read this my jaw dropped. I couldn't even imagine losing the ability to read a book. This is probably a good reason why we should be reading in school and not having iPads like the younger students do.
A question popped up in the middle of the article. "What if I do all my reading on the web not so much because of the way I read has changed, but because the way I think has changed?" I never thought of it this way. Technology has a huge role on almost every person's life, whether we know it or not. And even if we don't realize it, it has changed the way we think. One example is if we need to look something up, rather than looking in a book, we decide to pull out our phones and google it. Bruce Friedman is a man who says he has now almost totally lost the ability to read. When I read this my jaw dropped. I couldn't even imagine losing the ability to read a book. This is probably a good reason why we should be reading in school and not having iPads like the younger students do.
Friday, July 18, 2014
The Ethics Of Living Jim Crow
This autobiography described in detail the struggles that African Americans had to go through from their point of view. Throughout our school years, we have learned about slavery and the civil rights movement and how unfairly blacks were treated compared to whites. Considering this story was in first person, it really gave me a new point of view on how poorly these men and women were treated during this time. I noticed a difference between this story and what I have learned just through textbooks and teachers, which is why I particularly liked this autobiography.
A theme that I noticed throughout this autobiography was how dominant the white men were compared to the black men and women. The fact that Richard had to suffer through getting beaten by his white coworkers just because of a lie that Morrie had brought upon Pease just breaks my heart. I have always known that white men felt superior over black men and women, but I never got to see what it was like from a black man's perspective. In Richard's eyes it was as if he did one thing that the higher power did not like, he was to be beaten or in other's case, killed. One part of the autobiography really caught my attention. When the woman was beaten for not paying her bills, Richard seemed appalled, but the part that had me locked in was when one of Richard's fellow porter said "Huh. Is tha' all they did t' her?" This is the moment that I felt fear through Richard's eyes.
Another theme I visualized throughout this story was boundaries. I first saw it in the beginning when Richard describes how the tracks separated the blacks from the whites. "Nothing green ever grew in that yard. The only touch of green we could see was far away, beyond the tracks, over where the white folks lived," I pictured one city but two halves of it. One where it was all dirt, pillars and black families, and another that had green grass, large houses, and white families. The tracks were only crossed one way, for the blacks to enter the white land only to be slaved over a stove or working in 100 degree heat in a white mans yard or factory. Whether Richard was on his half of the land or on the other side, he still felt small compared to the whites. From Richard telling his story, this is how I pictured their terrible experience as.
A theme that I noticed throughout this autobiography was how dominant the white men were compared to the black men and women. The fact that Richard had to suffer through getting beaten by his white coworkers just because of a lie that Morrie had brought upon Pease just breaks my heart. I have always known that white men felt superior over black men and women, but I never got to see what it was like from a black man's perspective. In Richard's eyes it was as if he did one thing that the higher power did not like, he was to be beaten or in other's case, killed. One part of the autobiography really caught my attention. When the woman was beaten for not paying her bills, Richard seemed appalled, but the part that had me locked in was when one of Richard's fellow porter said "Huh. Is tha' all they did t' her?" This is the moment that I felt fear through Richard's eyes.
Another theme I visualized throughout this story was boundaries. I first saw it in the beginning when Richard describes how the tracks separated the blacks from the whites. "Nothing green ever grew in that yard. The only touch of green we could see was far away, beyond the tracks, over where the white folks lived," I pictured one city but two halves of it. One where it was all dirt, pillars and black families, and another that had green grass, large houses, and white families. The tracks were only crossed one way, for the blacks to enter the white land only to be slaved over a stove or working in 100 degree heat in a white mans yard or factory. Whether Richard was on his half of the land or on the other side, he still felt small compared to the whites. From Richard telling his story, this is how I pictured their terrible experience as.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Talk of the Town
These articles showed me two different sides to the 911 terrorist attack. Of course there were many different opinions on this tragic event, but only two of them were recognized throughout these articles. In my opinion, I agreed more with the first article, rather than the second. The first one viewed the side of America being a strong country, which, I believe, is. Updike was one who trusted that everything was going to be okay. Susan described the terrorists in the second story and how they were "courageous" and certainly not cowards.
John Updike was a witness of this disaster. He sat as he watched thousands of lives being taken by the destruction of two historical buildings. One sentence that stuck with me was, "Risk is a price of freedom." This was interesting to me because it's entirely true. America is a country built off of the freedom of people. People like these terrorists take the risks as a consequence of our freedom. We couldn't stop them. We couldn't ask them politely. It was a secret attack that nobody could have done anything about. The sight had to have been horrendous, but like Updike said, we have a duty to go on living.
Susan Sontag and John Updike were very contrasting people. While John believed that America was a strong country, Susan thought the opposite. When I was reading this article, Susan made herself seem like she was against America and everything that this country is about. She disagreed with the Americans who thought that these terrorists were cowardly. These men were willing to risk their lives in order to kill innocent American lives. She took this action as being brave. Bravery shouldn't depend on who is being killed or who is doing the killing, bravery should be taken as an act of being heroic. Bombing two foreign historical buildings is not courageous. It's selfishness. They didn't create this to help their country, I think they did it to hurt ours.
John Updike was a witness of this disaster. He sat as he watched thousands of lives being taken by the destruction of two historical buildings. One sentence that stuck with me was, "Risk is a price of freedom." This was interesting to me because it's entirely true. America is a country built off of the freedom of people. People like these terrorists take the risks as a consequence of our freedom. We couldn't stop them. We couldn't ask them politely. It was a secret attack that nobody could have done anything about. The sight had to have been horrendous, but like Updike said, we have a duty to go on living.
Susan Sontag and John Updike were very contrasting people. While John believed that America was a strong country, Susan thought the opposite. When I was reading this article, Susan made herself seem like she was against America and everything that this country is about. She disagreed with the Americans who thought that these terrorists were cowardly. These men were willing to risk their lives in order to kill innocent American lives. She took this action as being brave. Bravery shouldn't depend on who is being killed or who is doing the killing, bravery should be taken as an act of being heroic. Bombing two foreign historical buildings is not courageous. It's selfishness. They didn't create this to help their country, I think they did it to hurt ours.
Friday, June 27, 2014
All About Danielle
My name is Danielle Halverson. I was born and raised in the town of McFarland. Throughout this blog I will talk about everything that is important to me: sports and family
Family has always been important to me, whether it's my parents, my siblings, or even my pets. I grew up being the youngest of four. Something strange is that I am 15, 13, and 11 years younger than all of my brothers and sister. My oldest brother's name is Tim. He is married to Katie and they have two beautiful children, Bryson and Anna. My nephew and niece and just as important to me. They are the type of kids who can make you laugh no matter what kind of mood you are in that day. My other brother, Ryan, is married to Amanda. They just built a house in McFarland and I am so grateful that I am able to be close to them. One person I could never live without is my sister, Alisha. I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is my best friend, even if we are 11 years apart in age. We grew up always having each other's backs through everything. Whether it was a mean coach or a fight with a parent. Along with my sister is my other sister. Kiara is my dog, but she is just as apart of this family as I am. She just turned 15 years old yesterday. It is crazy for me to think how long of a life she has lived. She is a black lab so when people realize how old she is they are shocked. I'm eternally thankful for being able to have so many years to spend with the dog I adore. I couldn't trade any part of my family for anything, because then it wouldn't be MY family.
Sports take up another huge role in my life. Softball is definitely my number one, with volleyball falling behind it. Growing up softball was always a priority. My dad has been my coach all the way from t-ball up through high school softball. He has been there with me every step of the way and I wouldn't want anyone else as a coach. He has helped me through some huge successes throughout my career. He was there for everything. My first hit off a T, the first time I pitched, the first time I hit a homerun, and most importantly, he helped me achieve the goal of making it to the high school state tournament. My dad has worked me hard so I could be able to reach these goals, and if it wasn't for him, I might not have had these successes. Volleyball is also a sport that I love to play. I started when I was young and worked hard to make it to where I am. Playing high school volleyball is an amazing experience. Being on that court, everyone watching you, is such a rush. I have been lucky to have Mrs.Fortune as a high school coach. She is hands down the best volleyball coach I have ever had. Even though volleyball doesn't have as big of an impact in my life, it teaches me about real life: communication and team work are the two big life lessons of volleyball. Without these two athletics, I would not be the person I am today.
Throughout my life, everything was based on having an active relationship with my family, and working hard to achieve my goals. There have been people along the way to help that I couldn't have done without. My life wouldn't be mine without them.
Family has always been important to me, whether it's my parents, my siblings, or even my pets. I grew up being the youngest of four. Something strange is that I am 15, 13, and 11 years younger than all of my brothers and sister. My oldest brother's name is Tim. He is married to Katie and they have two beautiful children, Bryson and Anna. My nephew and niece and just as important to me. They are the type of kids who can make you laugh no matter what kind of mood you are in that day. My other brother, Ryan, is married to Amanda. They just built a house in McFarland and I am so grateful that I am able to be close to them. One person I could never live without is my sister, Alisha. I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is my best friend, even if we are 11 years apart in age. We grew up always having each other's backs through everything. Whether it was a mean coach or a fight with a parent. Along with my sister is my other sister. Kiara is my dog, but she is just as apart of this family as I am. She just turned 15 years old yesterday. It is crazy for me to think how long of a life she has lived. She is a black lab so when people realize how old she is they are shocked. I'm eternally thankful for being able to have so many years to spend with the dog I adore. I couldn't trade any part of my family for anything, because then it wouldn't be MY family.
Sports take up another huge role in my life. Softball is definitely my number one, with volleyball falling behind it. Growing up softball was always a priority. My dad has been my coach all the way from t-ball up through high school softball. He has been there with me every step of the way and I wouldn't want anyone else as a coach. He has helped me through some huge successes throughout my career. He was there for everything. My first hit off a T, the first time I pitched, the first time I hit a homerun, and most importantly, he helped me achieve the goal of making it to the high school state tournament. My dad has worked me hard so I could be able to reach these goals, and if it wasn't for him, I might not have had these successes. Volleyball is also a sport that I love to play. I started when I was young and worked hard to make it to where I am. Playing high school volleyball is an amazing experience. Being on that court, everyone watching you, is such a rush. I have been lucky to have Mrs.Fortune as a high school coach. She is hands down the best volleyball coach I have ever had. Even though volleyball doesn't have as big of an impact in my life, it teaches me about real life: communication and team work are the two big life lessons of volleyball. Without these two athletics, I would not be the person I am today.
Throughout my life, everything was based on having an active relationship with my family, and working hard to achieve my goals. There have been people along the way to help that I couldn't have done without. My life wouldn't be mine without them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)