Comparison of A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Part I

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Part II

The café in the short film was perfect; too perfect. In the short story itself, the author gave the image of a tranquil, low lit classic style café. In my mind, I pictured reds and creams with metal backed chairs and a small bar with a fenced in terrace giving the vibe of a Parisian café. This, however was not the case in the sort film. In the short film, the café was a bright, whit lighted (As opposed to the relaxing yellow light l portrayed by the author.) and very crisp and modern. The café in the short film gave off a sterile and creepy vibe, almost like someone was about to be murdered.

The music did not help with the unsettling vibe of the café in the short film. It was a piano piece done in sharps and flats, in a minor key. This would not normally be so unnerving, except for the fact that the piece went unnaturally high, even for a piano, giving off a high strung, sharp pitch that made your body quiver beneath your skin. None of these unsettling characteristics were portrayed in the short story, and it gave me the impression to back away, and to stop watching.

Objectivism and Randian Philosophy

 “I started my life with a single absolute: that the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values and never to be given up to a lesser standard, no matter how long or hard the struggle.” This inspiring quote is one of many by the great Ayn Rand (Author of Atlas Shugged). Though this quote may sound arrogant in the sense that she is stating the “world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values,” what she means by this is her life is hers to shape, hence her personal world is hers to shape. This is considered to be an “objectivist” idea, a life philosophy that Ayn Rand herself created. Objectivism states that reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears. This means that we cannot change the way things are, but only shape them and fit them to our own ideas of a perfect society. Though the word “Objectivism” is not mentioned once in Atlas Shrugged, the novel itself is basically one massive Objectivist manifesto. The novel follows the story of Dagny Taggart (The protagonist) the Operating Vice President of Taggart Transcontinental, a massive rail road corporation founded by her grandfather. Throughout the novel, the storyline follows her and her attempts to keep the family company afloat during difficult economic times. As Dagny struggles in her life to balance her love life and the company, the objectivist themes in the story are prominent throughout the novel.

One of the key components of Objectivism seen throughout is a concept known as “rational selfishness” (a.k.a. “ethical egoism”). The idea behind this “rational selfishness” is that no matter what we do in life, everything we do is done in our own self interest, and this means that all that we do, even charity work, is done to give ourselves a feeling of joy and accomplishment. Dagney herself as mentioned above is struggling to keep her grandfather’s rail road corporation from going under. She tries to keep the business afloat not only for others, but for herself as well, so that she may either have that sense of accomplishment, or to keep her fortune inherited from her grandfather. The thought of losing her fortune is the perfect incentive for her actually trying to keep the family business from failing.

Though she is struggling to keep the family business afloat, Dagney still finds the ability to have a person, what is more love life. However, romance is a funny thing; it comes to us when we least expect it. Dagney has three romantic relationships within the novel, each of which is with a man of great ability: Francisco d’Anconia, Hank Rearden, and John Galt. Francisco, being her first love in life and a childhood friend, is a wealthy CEO of a Copper Mining corporation. However, he has become a worthless playboy who is destroying his family’s international coppery company which made him into the wealthy tycoon he is fast fading from. A pity to Dagny, because she still remembers him as the childhood and young adult genius that she knew when she was young. On the other hand, Hank Rearden is the opposite of Francisco. Not only is he much more respectable, but he has much more integrity than Francisco. Rearden is self made as well, whereas Reancisco was born into wealth, and inherited the copper corperation. He is the CEO of a steel corporation known as Rearden Steel. Not only is he CEO of the company, but he is also the inventor of a metal alloy called “Rearden Metal.”

The many differences between these two men are also covered in Rand’s Objectivism and “Ethical Egoism.” She states that if you don’t earn your fortune yourself, meaning you did not inherit your wealth or win it, then you don’t deserve it. Francisco is the man who did not earn his fortune, and merely inherited it does not deserve it, and because he is lost his fortune and company because of the way he acts as a playboy, he deserves to lose everything. Hank on the other hand, is a self made man. Having earned everything himself, and being the respectable man he is deserves having his fortune. Through Rand’s logic, it is almost a warped karma system. It tells us that if you didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it, and it will be taken from you if you didn’t earn it yourself.

As Rand had said, “the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values.” As stated in this quote, she strives to express her values through her characters in her immortal novel Atlas Shrugged. Through her expression of Objectivism and ethical egoism, you can see how her values are portrayed throughout the novel without once mentioning Objectivism or Rational Selfishness. The Rational Selfishness is portrayed through Dagney when she tries to save her family’s company, so that she may not only save her own fortune, but so that she may give herself a sense of accomplishment. Objectivism is portrayed by Rand showing us that we cannot change the world, but merely alter it to fit ourselves better. It is also shown through the differences between Rearden and Francisco, and how one deserves their fortune because they earned it, and how the other does not deserve their fortune, because they did not earn it. As Dagny struggles in her life to balance her love life and the company, the objectivist themes in the story are prominent throughout the novel.

The Job

Author's note: In my English class, we were shown the poem "This is Just to Say" and asked to write a parody of the poem. The piece I wrote was an apology to someone else for getting the job that the receiver wanted. The overall theme in the poem is sarcastic, because the person who got the job is not truly sorry. 

I have snatched

The job

That you so wanted.

And for which

You probably

Would have gotten

A raise.

Forgive me

It was an open position

Free for the taking.

Silent Noon

I was asked to write a piece on analyzing a text for symbolism, and I immediately knew what piece I would write my essay on. Recently, I have begun participation in the WSMA Solo and Ensemble program. In this, we ares asked to choose a vocal solo to perform in front of a judge, and you can choose your solo out of one of three categories. I chose a class "A" solo, and "A" is the most difficult class type solo, and is considered "College" leveled. I fell in love with the song, and the meaningful lyrics, and did a little digging, and found that the lyrics were based off of a 19th century poem. I chose this poem for it's flowing, descriptive language, and for the fact of the timeless love two people share within it.  

Silent Noon By Ralph Vaughan Williams  

                        Silent Noon 

Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, -- 
The finger-points look through like rosy blooms: 
Your eyes smile peace. The pasture gleams and glooms 
'Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass. 
All round our nest, far as the eye can pass, 
Are golden kingcup-fields with silver edge 
Where the cow-parsley skirts the hawthorn-hedge. 
'Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass.

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragon-fly 
Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky: -- 
So this wing'd hour is dropt to us from above. 
Oh! clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower, 
This close-companioned inarticulate hour 
When twofold silence was the song of love. 

“Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, --/The finger points look through like rosy blooms:/Your eyes smile peace” are the opening lines from Rossetti’s unforgettable poem “Silent Noon.” Written from his perspective, the poem follows him on a sunny afternoon he spends with his lover lying in a field in embrace. Though the time is fleeting, and he knows that it cannot last, the love the two have is great, as expressed through the symbolism and figurative speech throughout the poem as analyzed in this essay. Though the piece itself has the feeling of omniscience, for the author knows the day and love shall eventually pass, the poem begins and ends on the same serene, peaceful, and what is more loving mood, showing that the two lovers spent a timeless day together he hopes they shall never forget.

From the first two lines alone, figurative speech is prominent in describing his lover. The author begins the piece with focusing on his companion’s open arms as if to give him an embrace, and in the second line alone uses a simile to compare his/her fingertips to roses, as if to show they are soft and gentile. With putting both of these two lines together, and analyzing the symbolism within the piece, we can assume the lines “Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, --The finger-points look through like rosy blooms:” means that his lover’s soft fingertips look pinkish and almost rose like as she lays in fields of grass with her arms open. However, the symbolism in the opening lines is a little harder to find. He describes her/his arms being open in grass while she/he lays there, but that cannot really symbolize much; in the second line, he describes her fingertips as “rosy blooms” or “rosy flowers” and the rose is often used as a symbol for love and romance. So, through context analysis, we can assume he is using symbolism through the form of describing her/his fingers as “rosy blooms” to symbolize that she/he has loving fingers and hands.

After the second line of symbolism describing his companion’s loving hands soft and pink like roses, the third lines begins “Your eyes smile peace” and then proceeds to say “the pasture gleams and glooms.” There is a massive difference between “peace” and “glooms.” When one says something “glooms” it is to give an atmosphere of despair and darkness, which changes the tone of the poem from the serene and dream-like opening, to one of despair in just that one line. This is Rossetti’s way of saying that though his lover’s “eyes smile peace,” meaning that she/he has kind eyes, or that their eyes are beautiful, the knowledge of passing time haunts him; with the passing time, the love will pass as well. The fear of time passing is the overall theme of the poem, but he still knows he should live in, and enjoy the moment. This issue of passing love is also described in line four as he states “’Neath billowing skies, that skater and amass” ,not only meaning the grasses in the field were green and full of life until the clouds filled the skies, but also meaning the clouds coming together, only to pass by on their way, symbolize love and time pass and never stay as well. 

Continuing from line four, stating that the love cannot stay, the poem flows into line five where he states “All round our nest, far as the eye can pass.” This means that he is very comfortable laying there in the field with his companion and is in a perfect setting; one does not simply describe anyplace as a “nest” in such a way, because nest is another term for home. This means he feels at home there with his lover. In lines six and seven, he describes their environment as a pasture with “golden king-cup fields with silver edge./Where the cow parsley skirts the hawthorn hedge.” This paints a beautiful picture of the countryside. A peaceful meadow with flowers, that spread out as far as you can see, stretching to the hedges. Connecting in to the eighth line, the author states “’Tis visible silence” which is the perfect example of an oxymoron, because silence is not able to be seen, however the silence is so prominent, that it is “visible” or felt. Rossetti then uses the simile to state that the prominent silence stated in “’Tis visible silence” is “still as the hourglass.” This is a paradox, because an hourglass will only “stand still” when the time within it runs out, and the last grains of sand fall to the bottom chamber. However, the time will never run out and the “Noon” will simply continue into another hour. The author is saying here that he is so relaxed with his lover, that he feels as though time itself has stopped in forward progression, and has brought with it a visible “silence.” This ends the first of the two stanza’s that compose the poem, and he finishes with the description of the “visible silence” ending the stanza with the peaceful dream-like tone it began with.

As the first stanza closes, the second one opens with the continuation of the same serene and peaceful tone. Rossetti states “Deep in the sun searched growths the dragon-fly/hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.” Again, he is describing his environment with the line “Deep in the sun searched growths” meaning “deep in the sunny fields.” Rossetti then uses the simile “the dragon-fly/hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.” This tells us the dragon-fly is floating in midair around them, not moving. It is also extremely important that he describes the dragonfly as blue, for the reason that blue and purple are the two colors in physiology most often used to represent peace and relaxation; hence he used this color do describe the dragon-fly to symbolize the feeling of calm and serenity as evident throughout the majority of the piece. Continuing from “like a blue thread loosened from the sky” the second stanza flows into line eleven. Rossetti states “So this wing’d hour is dropt to us from above” as if to say the silent noon he is spending with his lover in embrace laying there in the field is a gift from heaven itself. He then says “Oh! clasp we to our hearts.” This is a particularly important form of symbolism because the heart is one of the most often used symbols for love, and he is saying we must clasp to each other’s hearts. This means that their hearts are each other’s, or that their love is true and they love only each other, and no one else.

As was stated in line twelve “Oh! clasp we to our hearts” showing their love is real and passionate, the line continues to state “for deathless dower.” A dower is a type of inheritance, similar to a stipend, that is given to a person in the event of the death of another. The fact that Rossetti is describing the feeling as a “deathless dower” hints that he feels he has done nothing to earn this timeless peace and feeling of joy, with the woman/man he loves, and feels he does not deserve it. He describes their time together in line thirteen as “This close companioned in-articulate hour.” The “close companions” in the line are obviously meant to be him and his lover, and the “in-articulate hour” means they spent the hour together, but did not say a word together to each other.

Line thirteen then smoothly flows into the last line of the piece “When twofold silence was the song of love” which sets the tone for the serene and romantic ending. The first and the last lines in a poem are always the most important in the piece. The first line sets the overall mood of the piece, while the closing line is the last thing the reader will remember, and will be most likely the line that leaves the greatest impression on the reader. The opening line of this piece “Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, --” is the setting for the piece, which gives it the loving, caring mood upheld throughout. Through the closing line, “When twofold silence was the song of love” ,Rossetti is showing that, though the two said not one word to another, they were able to understand one another perfectly through their love and emotional connection. This ends Rossetti’s “Silent Noon” on the same peaceful, what is more loving mood, showing that the two lovers spent a timeless day together he hopes they shall never forget.

Ron's Point of View

What if we didn't just look at how the main character of the books we read, but the other characters within the story? What if we looked at their perspective? In the piece I have written, I have done exactly that with the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and have given the character Ron a new outlook or things. 

In the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, the stories are told in the 3^rd person point of view. The novels are clearly geared towards the perspective and emotion of Harry Potter, and his two best friends, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger.  Though there are many things that go on throughout the series, you see how the trio’s friendship evolves, develops, and changes, from being 11, to 17 in what seems like a short period of time with many barriers in the way.

We all know that with growing up there becomes more responsibility and relationships as well. Harry’s companions, Ron and Hermione, have had some obvious chemistry since the 3^rd book (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) when they were starting adolescence. However, we are only given Harry’s point of view on this romance, we only get to understand his emotion’s on them being together. He feels as though his friends are slipping farther and farther away. Almost as though a wedge is driven between the three of them, until Ron and Harry have a falling out. Ron, in a fit of rage, leaves the two of them partway through the novel. Harry and Hermione are both driven into a depressive state that lasts for months, and Hermione blames Harry for the whole hot mess.

           

With Ron gone, we are never given his perspective on the matter of his romance with Hermione and him leaving. He did return, eventually, to his two beloved friends, and both of the boys apologized and embraced in a scene of brotherly love. Only snippets of what Ron went through when he had left, and what his life was like after he left are given in dialogue. We are made to think that it was Ron’s fault for his leaving and the fight that had happened. Really, this is not the case at all.

In the book, Ron was given a necklace that had apparently been hexed or in other words, cursed, which means he was acting out in erratic behavior. He had fits of rage and depression, and we are only given Harry and Hermione’s perspective on him leaving him behind, making the reader think it was all his fault, and making him out to be the one to blame. In all actuality, we are never told what he feels, when he really could have felt depressed, or angry. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him, and not the others. With the curse in place on him, his judgment was impaired, and he was not himself, thus it was not his fault. You cannot control yourself when you are cursed.

While all this was happening, Harry was in a bit of a dazed dream like state himself, always wondering what was going on with his friends. Just like in real teenage life, they had some problems with each other. Hermione, always worrying about things, was beside herself. Ron was unable to control himself because of the curse, thus it cannot be his fault for his unpredictable behavior, and the way the reader feels about him. We are never given his perspective on the matter.

In what seems like a short period of time, ages 11 to 17, Harry, Hermione, and Ron overcome many obstacles with how their friendship evolves, develops, and changes completely throughout the series of Harry Potter. The way that characters see something in all of these books affect how even the reader sees it too, and if the writer switches it up enough to confuse you, it can change the whole way you approach the story.

The Darkness of Night

We were asked to write poetry that expressed figurative language, and I wrote mine about the night, giving it personification (giving something human like qualities) simile's, and metaphors.  

The Darkness of Night

What sights and sounds mingle,

 in the crisp evening air?

What mosaic of stars that is the heavens,

that sharpens the senses?

It is the darkness of the night.

A shooting star hangs,

In the evening blue,

Like a silver thread,

Loosened from the sky.

They symphony of day,

Has played its last notes,

The last chord hangs,

As the memory of a day gone by.

What music has ended,

What life has begun,

In all of its subtle glory and power?

It is the darkness of the night.

Analysis of Piece

In the piece I have written above, the types of figurative language I used were personification, simile, and metaphor. I used these specific types of figurative language not only to help the reader form an image in their mind’s eye, but also to bring a calm feeling to then, no necessarily depressing, but a calm, dream like feeling. I feel as though the type of figurative language that I used was very slow and flowing, giving the piece the dreamlike tone I wished to convey. The overall mood of the piece was darker, but not depressing like Edgar Allen Poe. I felt the figurative language really helped set the scene in the beginning by asking those simple questions, making this an overall proficient piece. I do not, however feel that this is an advanced leveled piece, because I feel like there was so much more I could’ve done with this piece, and I will most likely re-do this assignment.  

To Resolve Conflict

This is a reflection piece on conflict resolution, and the ways it may be resolved or managed. I feel as though this is an extremely strong piece of mine, only for the reason being I have experienced much conflict in m life, )much of which being in the last four months) and have found numerous and various ways to deal and/or cope with it. It analyses the roots of and difference between conflicts and disputes. I am a very analytical and philosophical person, and feel as though that this is one of my strongest standpoints in L.A. 

Conflict and dispute are two very different things. Disputes tend to arise over nonnegotiable issues such as fundamental human needs, intolerable moral bitchy differences, or high stakes distributional issues regarding essential resources, such as money, water, land, and/or some desirable object/prize. To truly resolve a conflict, the solution must go beyond just satisfying the parties interests as in dispute settlement. To end or resolve a long term conflict, a relatively stable solution that identifies the problem, and deals with the underlying sources of the conflict must be found. This is a more difficult task than simple dispute settlement, because resolution means going beyond negotiating interests to meet all sides basic needs, while at the same time finding a way to respect their underlying values and identities. However, some of the same intervention processes used in dispute settlement (a.k.a. mediation) are also used to achieve resolution.

True conflict resolution requires a more analytical, problem/solving approach than settling differences and disputes. The main difference is that resolution requires identifying the causal factors behind the conflict, and finding ways to deal with them. On the other hand, settlement is simply aimed at ending a dispute as quickly and amicably as possible. This means that it is possible to settle a dispute that exists within the context of a larger conflict, without resolving the overall conflict. This occurs when a dispute is settled, but the underlying causes of the conflict are not addressed.

There are many reasons why underlying causes of conflict may not be addressed. Often, the underlying causes of conflict are embedded in sperm the institutional structure of society. Achieving complete resolution of a conflict can require making significant socioeconomic or political changes that restructure society in a more just or inclusive way. Changing societal structures, such as the distribution of wealth in society is a difficult thing to do and can take decades to accomplish. Hence, fully resolving conflict can be a long, tedious process. As a result there are other conceptions of ways to deal with, but not necessarily "resolves" conflicts.

Conflict management involves the control, but not resolution, of a long term or deep rooted conflict. This is the approach taken when complete resolution seems to be impossible, yet something needs to be done. In cases of resolution resistant or even intractable conflict, it is possible to manage the situation in ways that make it more constructive and less destructive. The goal of conflict management is to intervene in ways that make the ongoing conflict more beneficial and less damaging to all sides. For example, sending peace keeping forces into a region of conflict may help calm the situation and limit carnage. However, peacekeeping missions will not resolve the conflict. In some cases, where non negotiable human needs are at stake, management is the best step.