How do you define culture?
Culture is what you are exposed to and what you absorb from your surroundings (like it or dislike it).
What makes up a person's culture?
What they are exposed to. This can include literature, spoken stories, music, points of view, political perspectives, etc. You develop opinions about what you're exposed to, regardless of whether or not you like it.
Is culture intrinsic or extrinsic?
Extrinsic; you can only react to what you've been exposed to.
Monday, August 20, 2012
English Journal: 8/17/12
Facts:
- There are three people in the painting
- The seats are gren
- There is a special today
- The policeman is talking and lecturing the boy
- The boy seated right has run away
- This painting is of the '40's or '50's
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The Pearl Response 2
The last 50 some pages of the book start off with the one moment we've all been waiting for: Kino finally gets to sell his pearl and begin his life of wealth. However, the dealers would only give him a fraction of what it is worth, and so, instead of staying and bargaining, or taking the small fortune they offer him, Kino plots to leave this town and go sell his pearl at the capitol, a scary place many miles away. What I find interesting is that Kino could've easily stormed off and come back another day after seeing that the dealers were lying. But instead, he ends up preparing to leave for the capitol and murdering someone. I just wonder why Kino didn't keep a more level head through all of this, and I think it is Steinbeck telling us a moral of the story: wealth, especially potential wealth, can drive us to let our emotions control our actions. I like how Steinbeck subtly shares this moral without coming right out and stating it.
Additionally, a question I have that has been left unanswered. How was Coyotito killed?? I thought that Kino moved and struck the man with the rifle before he could fire and silence the "coyote." But then when Kino and Juana walk back into town, Coyotito is dead, which left me wondering. And finally, who are the men that Kino kills or injures throughout the book? It's never revealed who Kino slashes in the doorway of his house, or who he kills on the path leading to his house, or who the two trackers are, or who the man on the horse with a rifle, who we seem to pay particular attention to, is. All this uncertainty could've been cleared up in a sentence or two at some point when the book wrapped up, but instead Steinbeck chooses to leave them nameless, which is interesting and as a reader quite frustrating.
Additionally, a question I have that has been left unanswered. How was Coyotito killed?? I thought that Kino moved and struck the man with the rifle before he could fire and silence the "coyote." But then when Kino and Juana walk back into town, Coyotito is dead, which left me wondering. And finally, who are the men that Kino kills or injures throughout the book? It's never revealed who Kino slashes in the doorway of his house, or who he kills on the path leading to his house, or who the two trackers are, or who the man on the horse with a rifle, who we seem to pay particular attention to, is. All this uncertainty could've been cleared up in a sentence or two at some point when the book wrapped up, but instead Steinbeck chooses to leave them nameless, which is interesting and as a reader quite frustrating.
The Pearl Response 1
Steinbeck starts his story with the songs that Kino experiences. The songs are simple, and have been heard by people such as him for many centuries. I like how Steinbeck starts the story by introducing a concept that pervades throughout the whole book. I think that without this introduction, a reader would have to waste time later on trying to figure out what he is talking about.
Additionally, what becomes of the seven small pearls that Kino hands the doctor's servant? Maybe I read this wrong, but does the doctor just keep them? I don't recall the servant handing them back to Kino. And then Kino just let's the doctor take the seven pearls which he has worked so hard to get? Granted, they're small pearls, but still, those are his livelihood, pretty much everything he has to live on. I don't think this is an intentional choice by Steinbeck, but it makes me wonder why it happened this way nonetheless.
And finally, I find it interesting that this pearl can change the fate of this entire town; everyone could benefit from Kino's new found wealth, as Steinbeck shows in the beginning of chapter III. Everybody from the lowly beggars all the way to the wealthy doctor can gain from this "Pearl of the World." Because of this good feeling I as a reader get from the good this pearl can do, I, as a reader, have a more intense feeling of hatred toward the stranger who tries to steal it.
Additionally, what becomes of the seven small pearls that Kino hands the doctor's servant? Maybe I read this wrong, but does the doctor just keep them? I don't recall the servant handing them back to Kino. And then Kino just let's the doctor take the seven pearls which he has worked so hard to get? Granted, they're small pearls, but still, those are his livelihood, pretty much everything he has to live on. I don't think this is an intentional choice by Steinbeck, but it makes me wonder why it happened this way nonetheless.
And finally, I find it interesting that this pearl can change the fate of this entire town; everyone could benefit from Kino's new found wealth, as Steinbeck shows in the beginning of chapter III. Everybody from the lowly beggars all the way to the wealthy doctor can gain from this "Pearl of the World." Because of this good feeling I as a reader get from the good this pearl can do, I, as a reader, have a more intense feeling of hatred toward the stranger who tries to steal it.
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