Thursday, April 26, 2012

Freedom of conditioning

 Although conditioning is a highly controversial topic, the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has shown us that freedom can in fact, as contrary to the belief of many, be incorporated into the process. As the director delighted the students with conditioning procedures, he stated that "children were made to scream at the sight of a rose" (p.22). The importance of this quote lies not in the effect of the action but in the action itself. The fact that the director can choose anything to achieve his desired results shows a high degree of freedom. That is, if the director got tired of roses and wanted the children to hate lily instead, he could very successfully condition the children to achieve that specific result. Another example is seen when Mond tells the students that the children used to be conditioned to like nature. However, because nature is free and plentiful, the economy doesn't benefit from this hobby. Therefore, the committee changed its tactics and conditioned the children to like high-tech sports which includes expensive equipments that the citizens have to purchase. This example screams freedom on the part of Mond and other directors in choosing what they want the children to like. However, on the other hand, the children do not have any freedom at all in regards to being able to choose whether or not to be conditioned. Since the day they are born, their fate is already laid out for them. Therefore, even if a child would otherwise have loved roses had he lived a normal life, he is conditioned to hate flowers in the world state. From two different prospectives, the degree of freedom varies greatly. 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tomorrow

We see our dreams high up in the sky,
So close yet so far out of reach.
Deprived of wings, I can not fly;
Watching my hopes shatter one by one.

Laying claims to things that were never mine,
I wish I can go back to being nine.
When all I did was dream of the future,
Others told me to grow up and be mature.

Now I understand what they say;
Things come but would not stay.
Obstacles present themselves in my way,
Not yielding to the heat of May.

Day after day we dream of tomorrow,
Taking no heed of the pain and sorrow.

By: Selina Liu and Sean Bai

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Empty

Wandering, mindless, troublesome.
Seeing nothing but endless abyss.
Thoughts, come and go;
leaving the mind with a deathly blow.

Birds chirp and sing,
Winds scream and howl;
Yet all is lost within the empty hollow,
Leaving only pain and despair to follow.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The speaker of this poem is a third person - the author (me) . Not the man in the picture.

The message of this poem is one of a depressive nature. The man the author is describing is in a state of depression as he sees nothing and thinks nothing. He hears the birds sing and winds howl but his mind is empty. He has recently gone through terrible tradgedy and is left with a troublesome mind.

The audience of this poem can be anyone, but because of the depresseive nature, it is more suitable for tennagers and adults. Younger children probably won't appreciate the message conveyed in the poem.

The two senses are hearing and sight.

Sean Bai edited this poem

Sunday, February 26, 2012

The Bull Calf

Theme: The theme of this poem is that Humans are condescending towards other living creatures. Since we are at the top of the food chain and has the power to kill animals, we do so sometimes for money but sometimes for no reason at all.

Quotes: "of his frightened look, growing smaller and smaller"
This quote shows that animals are helpless in the face of humans. They can not defend themselves and are subject to our slaughters.

"We dug a deep pit and threw the dead calf into it"
This quote shows how heartless humans can be. The indifference tone shows that they cared little for the calf that they just killed - for the living sould that they just destroyed.

"Without movement, perfectly still in the cool pit"
This quote shows that just like that, a living creature was killed by humans, having no power to defend itself. Now it's nothing more than a dead body.