Thankful for classmates

To be fair, I am thankful for all my classmates. There are some who I talk to more than others, but everyone in the class contributes to making the class entertaining and fun. The questions and the comments that my classmates make usually make me think and question my own beliefs. This helps me to come up with new ideas to support my own beliefs and to get another perspective on things. Everyone is very intelligent, which inspires me to do better in school and to try harder.
The classmates that I am more thankful for would be Dohyun and Anil because they are usually the ones who work with me in group work or discussions. They are both very smart and clever and they have many good ideas to contribute. I do not know if they feel the same way, but I think that we work pretty well as a group. We get work done rather efficiently. They are not the ones who get all worked up about getting things done either. We know when to joke around and when to get down to work. I do not feel pressured or left out when I am working with them. They make work enjoyable and easy. I am thankful for my group.

Open Letter to Cormac McCarthy

Dear Mr. McCarthy,

I really enjoyed your book The Road. It started off a little slow but when I got towards the middle of the book, I could not seem to put it down. The way you developed the bond between the man and the son was fascinating. As the man is dying towards the end, it felt like I could feel what the boy was feeling. That is how well you were able to developed the characters.

When I was approaching the end of the book, I did not want it to end. The journey was so interesting and the obstacles they encountered kept me at the edge of my seat. How did you do it? I ask myself that quite often. You created a world we do not know yet and situations that most of us have not experienced before yet you make it seem so real and plausible.

I know some people will not agree with me, but the dark and pessimistic aspect of the book is what makes it good. It would not have been as good if more good stuff happened to the travelers than bad stuff. The unfortunate events is what makes the reader want to read on. You did a very good job with this book and I will definitely try to read your other pieces of literature.

Your New Fan,


Rich

Defend the Poet

I believe that Charles Bukowski's writing “Dinosauria, We” depicts the present and the future of our world in a very precise way. Some of us might be living in suitable situations today, but there are others out there who are struggling to just survive. It might not impact us now, but all the problems we are ignoring today will eventually catch up to us and destroy our feelings of tranquility. The peace that we know now will be gone and the values that we hold on to today will be challenged.
Some examples that Charles Bukowski uses is that it is cheaper to die than to go the hospital, cheaper to plead guilty than to hire a lawyer, and a place where fools will be elevated into rich heroes. All these examples that he gives is a result that people are getting more greedy and selfish everyday. We take money for ourselves but we give nothing back. The fact that we charge so much money for a simple service is that we are doing it for ourselves rather than trying to help others out.
All the wars and the overuse of the earth’s resources will lead to destruction of our world. Everything we know now will die eventually and Charles Bukowski vividly describes this in his writing.

A Direction the Class Needs

A direction the class needs is that we need more class discussions. We use some of our time during class doing group work or individual work, but we are only writing down things that we already know and think. In class discussions, we have a chance to listen to what our peers and teacher has to say about the topic. I believe that it is a better way for people to learn.
Everyone has their own view points on different subjects. Group discussions can help us bring all our ideas together so that we can get a better understanding of the topic. Every student should have something to contribute. I know, I am a hypocrite for saying that because I usually keep my thoughts and ideas to myself, but in an ideal class, every student contributes.
Another direction that our class can take is to watch movies of the novels that we read. Movies will help us get a visual representation of the story, which helps us to get a better understanding and interest in the piece of literature.
More class discussions and movies would be a good addition to our lesson plan. The class is going well the way it is right now, but I dislike having to do writing work in class when we could be using it for discussions.