(According to the film “The Hours”)
Richard is a poet who receives a prestigious award and has written a novel that is considered “difficult” by many.
Richard represents Virginia Woolf’s personality, her life and perspective of the society.
Her personality because he is a depressive, weak and even unhappy person, the same situation happens with Virginia. Richard feels that he stays alive only to satisfy others, not himself. Both, Virginia and Richard, live in a society where their sexual condition is took like an illness but in the Richard society could be accepted, also is examined the freedom in which successive generations have been able to express their sexuality freely, to the public, even to themselves; this represents what Virginia would have liked being (recognized despite her condition)
Probably she can be released through this character, since his work is accepted by society, despite his sexual condition, which may be without detracting for his illness. However, equally criticizes macho society by the mere fact of being homosexual as it is not necessary to be a heterosexual man to be recognized.
With this character, also Virginia wants to know her own life, because in the film, this character has a life very similar to Virginia Woolf’s. Richard suffers from several missed such as his mother, father, sister. He feels alone in this life.
Well, finally I conclude that Richard is Virginia in a modern era and society.
viernes, 9 de mayo de 2008
sábado, 1 de diciembre de 2007
Chilean education and “my role” as a future teacher
The chilean education is in crisis, on the one hand, values changes in the student have been perceived in this society. Students don`t want to learn further over what the teacher teach them and the difference of opportunities that the students have when they come from different social-economical levels are remarkable when they leave the school. On the other hand, teachers just teach what they have in the lesson plans, forgetting the teaching of values, and the most of them complain about to have not many resources and little support to teach.
As a result of widespread dissatisfation with the quality and secure equity, the government has proposed a new educational reform which could change the last problems. But first, the way how the teachers have educated from the university must be changed.
At the universities, the initial teacher education is ranging from 4 to 5 years duration and within those years, the student has at least three pedagogical practices. The necessary knowledge and resources have given, but they are not enough, because the experience within a class with 40 to 45 children is a few different. The most important problem is in the teaching of english, because the most of teachers don’t have enough preparation to teach this language to students within these 4 or 5 years of studies.
In my case, when I wanted to study for beeing a teacher, specifically English teacher, I thought in the idea that the university could give me necessary tools to teach students in the english language, pedagogical and values subjects. Well, in this university, during the firt and second year, we had innecesary subjects that made us to lost time, time that could have been used to teach us more english subjects.
However, I feel that I have learnt so much about pedagogical contents and the teaching practices have been very important for me, because I’ve understood the meaning of being a teacher and the importance of to know much more than I know nowadays.
Even, my experience this year as an English Teacher in Primary School has been so comfortable for me, because I have noticed that I want to be an English teacher for good and I have learnt that a teacher not only deliver contents to the student, but is much more than that, a teacher sometimes is a counsellor for the students, like a mother within the class, where teaches them about values, virtues and responsabilities. Another point, I noticed that I love to teach children.
I know that in my english learning I need to learn much more and I am putting a lot of possible effort to achieve my goal. And in the future I hope to continue to study pedagogical contents, to take english training, to travel for getting better tools to teach english and to study about primary school. That is to say, I want to be a great english teacher.
miércoles, 31 de octubre de 2007
Halloween, Pagan or Catholic Custom?
Every year around this time in Chile, advertisements in TV, Radio, markets and special offers in Discoteques and Pubs talks about a singular conmemoration. Excited children and even adults are dressed up as witches, pirates, devils, ghosts, Dracula and other creatures, and they go from door to door shouting, "Trick or Treat”. But… Do we know what is the Halloween? How did this peculiar custom originate? Is a pagan or catholic custom?
The word itself “Halloween” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a play on words of “All Hallows Eve” (“All Saint Day”), celebrated on November 1st in honour of saints and martyrs, introduced by Pope Gregory IV. But the celebration has its origins in pagan practices.
In the 5th Century B.C., celtic people celebrated the end of the summer and beginning of the winter, a time of the year associated with death. The holiday was called “Samhain” (sow-en), the Celtic New Year.
The Celts believed that on that night, the boundary between the worlds of the life and death were thin, and the bodiless ghosts came back in search of living bodies to posses them. Obviously, the still-living did not want to be possessed and they dressed up as someone or something so that the devil or ghost could not identify them. The Druids priests, commemorated the event; It was a night for striking up communications with the death, there were several forms of divination, like animal sacrifices; prophecies, and sexual rituals. For that reason was pagan.
Also, they went from house to house asking for dead animals, black sheep, and human beings. Those who gave were promised prosperity and those who refused to give were cursed and threatened. In addition, it was likely that all of the "bodiless ghosts" would get hungry. If they set out a treat for them, they would not trick or curse you. That is the origin of TRICK OR TREAT. Another pagan ritual.
When the Romans occupied Celtic territory, several Roman traditions were also incorporated into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated in late October by the Romans for the passing of the dead as well as a festival which celebrated the Roman Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit were incorporated into the celebrations. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which is a proposed origin for the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes and it has continued to grow.
Two years ago, in some Chilean catholic churches, people are celebrating the All Souls feast day, in Halloween night, where children dress up as saint, angels and they give saint cards and peace messages.
Finally in my own point of view, I think the catholic is only the word but the custom is pagan because in halloween it is conmemorated the death, the underworld, where we can see and observe violent fancy dresses, blood, monsters and even inmoral figures. Let’s stimulate the catholic practice!
The word itself “Halloween” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a play on words of “All Hallows Eve” (“All Saint Day”), celebrated on November 1st in honour of saints and martyrs, introduced by Pope Gregory IV. But the celebration has its origins in pagan practices.
In the 5th Century B.C., celtic people celebrated the end of the summer and beginning of the winter, a time of the year associated with death. The holiday was called “Samhain” (sow-en), the Celtic New Year.
The Celts believed that on that night, the boundary between the worlds of the life and death were thin, and the bodiless ghosts came back in search of living bodies to posses them. Obviously, the still-living did not want to be possessed and they dressed up as someone or something so that the devil or ghost could not identify them. The Druids priests, commemorated the event; It was a night for striking up communications with the death, there were several forms of divination, like animal sacrifices; prophecies, and sexual rituals. For that reason was pagan.
Also, they went from house to house asking for dead animals, black sheep, and human beings. Those who gave were promised prosperity and those who refused to give were cursed and threatened. In addition, it was likely that all of the "bodiless ghosts" would get hungry. If they set out a treat for them, they would not trick or curse you. That is the origin of TRICK OR TREAT. Another pagan ritual.
When the Romans occupied Celtic territory, several Roman traditions were also incorporated into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated in late October by the Romans for the passing of the dead as well as a festival which celebrated the Roman Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit were incorporated into the celebrations. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which is a proposed origin for the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes and it has continued to grow.
Two years ago, in some Chilean catholic churches, people are celebrating the All Souls feast day, in Halloween night, where children dress up as saint, angels and they give saint cards and peace messages.
Finally in my own point of view, I think the catholic is only the word but the custom is pagan because in halloween it is conmemorated the death, the underworld, where we can see and observe violent fancy dresses, blood, monsters and even inmoral figures. Let’s stimulate the catholic practice!
lunes, 1 de octubre de 2007
RELATION BETWEEN FRANKESTEIN AND THE MONSTER
Victor Frankestein was a scientist who grows up in Geneva in a family composed by his parents, his adopted daughter Elizabeth, with whom he had a closed relationship and his servants, Justine and her mother. His father was a doctor and Victor wanted to be as good as him. He read several works of ancient alchemist but after his mother died giving birth to his young brother, he became fascinated with the secret of life and death and after attending university at Ingolstadt, he obsessed with the idea of creating life in inanimate matter through artificial means.
Monster is Victor Frankestein’s creation, assembled from corpse body parts and strange chemicals. It has a grotesque appearance, ugly and awkward or clumsy. After to see himself, he escaped and took refuge in a poor peasant’s house. He wanted to have a family. He doesn´t want to be alone.
First, when victor created the monster he felt like God because he had brought the creature to life and fascinated because he had verified that he could give life. However, after to see him, he immediately regretted and he tried to destroy each test of his creation.
Although Victor and the Creature grew up in distinct environments, both of them value companionship, understanding that friendship is a source of comfort and development. It was a relationship with two different points of view: creator-invention for Victor and father-son for the monster, due to Victor had created him.
on the one hand, from the Victor’s point of view, it was a creator-invention relationship, on the other hand, from the monster point of view, it was a relation father-son
The Creature murdered Henry and Elizabeth to show his dislike of Victor’s refusal to create a companion for him. Sensing Victor’s refusal as an insult, the Creature “resolved that [the murder] should be accomplished” and killed Elizabeth, Victor’s wife, on their wedding night. If only Victor would have created a female for the Creature, the murders of Victor’s family would have been avoided.
Monster is Victor Frankestein’s creation, assembled from corpse body parts and strange chemicals. It has a grotesque appearance, ugly and awkward or clumsy. After to see himself, he escaped and took refuge in a poor peasant’s house. He wanted to have a family. He doesn´t want to be alone.
First, when victor created the monster he felt like God because he had brought the creature to life and fascinated because he had verified that he could give life. However, after to see him, he immediately regretted and he tried to destroy each test of his creation.
Although Victor and the Creature grew up in distinct environments, both of them value companionship, understanding that friendship is a source of comfort and development. It was a relationship with two different points of view: creator-invention for Victor and father-son for the monster, due to Victor had created him.
on the one hand, from the Victor’s point of view, it was a creator-invention relationship, on the other hand, from the monster point of view, it was a relation father-son
The Creature murdered Henry and Elizabeth to show his dislike of Victor’s refusal to create a companion for him. Sensing Victor’s refusal as an insult, the Creature “resolved that [the murder] should be accomplished” and killed Elizabeth, Victor’s wife, on their wedding night. If only Victor would have created a female for the Creature, the murders of Victor’s family would have been avoided.
Victor “succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life, and became capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter”, which destroyed his own life and family.
By realizing this character relationship between Victor and the Monster, I understand how two individuals can become one regardless of their outside differences. Frankenstein opens up my mind to make friends, not by skin color but by inner self, in our diverse society.
By realizing this character relationship between Victor and the Monster, I understand how two individuals can become one regardless of their outside differences. Frankenstein opens up my mind to make friends, not by skin color but by inner self, in our diverse society.
viernes, 21 de septiembre de 2007
A NATURAL DISASTER: "Mount Pinatubo Eruption"
In June 1991, the volcano Mount Pinatubo in Philippines had been dormant for more 500 years and in that year came back to life. The eruption forced evacuation of more than 50,000 people, including the “Clark Air Base”, a U.S. military installation near the volcano. However 800 people dead and 100.000 became homeless after the episode. Indications of a possible eruption had started a year ago but the size and impact of it were completely unexpected.
The events of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption began in July 1990, when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred 100 kilometers northeast of the Pinatubo region, determined to be a result of the reawakening of Mount Pinatubo. After that, small explosions began and earthquakes continued. On June 5, a Level 3 alert was issued for two weeks due to the possibility of a major eruption. On June 15, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo began.
During the eruption, the upper slopes of the mountain suffered immediate destruction. Unfortunately, at the time of the eruption, Tropical Storm Yunya was passing 75 km to the northeast of Mount Pinatubo, causing a large amount of rainfall in the region. The ash that was ejected from the volcano mixed with the water vapor in the air to cause a rainfall of tephra that goes across almost the entire island of Luzon. In addition to the ash, Mount Pinatubo ejected between 15 and 30 million tons of sulfur dioxide gas. Sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere mixes with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to become sulfuric acid, which damages the ozone layer.
A week later after the major eruption, heavy rains from Typhoon Brenden sent thousands of tonnes of ash, silt and volcanic debris surging down the mountain. Enormous mud flows killed many people and forced thousands to flee from their homes.
Its consequences were the following:
Mt Pinatubo’s massive eruption produced the largest cloud of climate-modifying gases. The cloud over the earth reduced global temperatures. In 1992 and 1993, the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere was reduced 0.5 to 0.6°C and the entire planet was cooled 0.4 to 0.5°C.
The human impacts of the disaster were devastating. In addition to the up to 800 people who lost their lives, there was almost one half of a billion dollars in property and economic damage. The volcano eruption destroyed 4,979 homes and damaged another 70,257. The following years, 3.281 homes were destroyed and 3,137 were damaged.
The Pinatubo volcano never became a dormant mount, because another eruption in August 1992 killed 72 people.
The events of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption began in July 1990, when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred 100 kilometers northeast of the Pinatubo region, determined to be a result of the reawakening of Mount Pinatubo. After that, small explosions began and earthquakes continued. On June 5, a Level 3 alert was issued for two weeks due to the possibility of a major eruption. On June 15, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo began.
During the eruption, the upper slopes of the mountain suffered immediate destruction. Unfortunately, at the time of the eruption, Tropical Storm Yunya was passing 75 km to the northeast of Mount Pinatubo, causing a large amount of rainfall in the region. The ash that was ejected from the volcano mixed with the water vapor in the air to cause a rainfall of tephra that goes across almost the entire island of Luzon. In addition to the ash, Mount Pinatubo ejected between 15 and 30 million tons of sulfur dioxide gas. Sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere mixes with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to become sulfuric acid, which damages the ozone layer.
A week later after the major eruption, heavy rains from Typhoon Brenden sent thousands of tonnes of ash, silt and volcanic debris surging down the mountain. Enormous mud flows killed many people and forced thousands to flee from their homes.
Its consequences were the following:
Mt Pinatubo’s massive eruption produced the largest cloud of climate-modifying gases. The cloud over the earth reduced global temperatures. In 1992 and 1993, the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere was reduced 0.5 to 0.6°C and the entire planet was cooled 0.4 to 0.5°C.
The human impacts of the disaster were devastating. In addition to the up to 800 people who lost their lives, there was almost one half of a billion dollars in property and economic damage. The volcano eruption destroyed 4,979 homes and damaged another 70,257. The following years, 3.281 homes were destroyed and 3,137 were damaged.
The Pinatubo volcano never became a dormant mount, because another eruption in August 1992 killed 72 people.
lunes, 11 de junio de 2007
THE PEARL"
"THE PEARL"
George Herbert
The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one, sold all that he had and bought it.—Matthew 13.45
I Know the wayes of Learning; both the head
And pipes that feed the presse, and make it runne;
What reason hath from nature borrowed,
Or of it self, like a good huswife, spunne
In laws and policie; what the starres conspire,
What willing nature speaks, what forc’d by fire;
Both th’ old discoveries, and the new-found seas,
The stock and surplus, cause and historie:
All these stand open, or I have the keyes:
Yet I love thee.
I know the wayes of Honour,
what maintainsThe quick returns of courtesie and wit:
In vies of favours whether partie gains,
When glorie swells the heart, and moldeth it
To all expressions both of hand and eye,
Which on the world a true-love-knot may tie,
And bear the bundle, wheresoe’re it goes:
How many drammes of spirit there must be To sell my life unto my friends or foes:
Yet I love thee.
I know the wayes of Pleasure, the sweet strains,
The lullings and the relishes of it;
The propositions of hot bloud and brains;
Have done these twentie hundred yeares, and more:
I know the projects of unbridled store:
My stuffe is flesh, not brasse; my senses live,
And grumble oft, that they have more in me
Then he that curbs them, being but one to five:
Yet I love thee.
I know all these, and have them in my hand:
Therefore not sealed, but with open eyes
Both the main sale, and the commodities;
And at what rate and price I have thy love;
With all the circumstances that may move:
Yet through these labyrinths, not my groveling wit,
But thy silk twist let down from heav’n to me,
Did both conduct and teach me, how by it
To climbe to thee.
In the first part of the poem “The Pearl” appears an abstract about the scriptural or biblical passage cited in Matthew 13:45 where a merchant, who is a buyer and seller of pearls, finds a very expensive pearl and he sells his other ones in order to purchase the one of great price and great value.
The poem is about faith4, the man’s love for God. In the poem, the speaker is the writer1 George Herbert who addresses God and attempts to demonstrate his love for him. He has renounced all those worldly goods (Learning, Honour and Pleasure) for God’s sake, so God should allow to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Also he thinks he has done much to earn this.
The poems has a formal, elegant and reflective written2, and in the final of each stanza, the writer or speaker concludes “Yet I love thee” that is would be say "I love God so much" or "I love God mainly". ALso we can find the following literary figures3:
Metaphors:
What reason hath from nature borrowed (means what pearl…)
But thy silk twist let down from heav'n to me,
Did both conduct and teach me, how by it
(is a continuum between this life and the next)
(is a continuum between this life and the next)
Personifications:
What willing nature speaks, what forced by fire;
The quick returns of courtesy and wit:
What willing nature speaks, what forced by fire;
But thy silk twist let down from heav'n to me, Did both conduct and teach me, how by it
What willing nature speaks, what forced by fire;
The quick returns of courtesy and wit:
What willing nature speaks, what forced by fire;
But thy silk twist let down from heav'n to me, Did both conduct and teach me, how by it
Simile:
Or of itself, like a good huswife, spun
Alliterations:
“To all expressions both of hand and eye
Or of itself, like a good huswife, spun
Alliterations:
“To all expressions both of hand and eye
Which on the world a true-love-knot may tie”
”And bear the bundle, wheresoe'er it goes:
How many drams of spirit there must be
To sell my life unto my friends or foes:
Yet I love thee.”
In my opinion5, the speaker must be desperated to obtain the God's love. Therefore, he wants to leave everything and demonstrates his faith. It gives me the impression that the speaker needs a concrete test of God, that God sacrifies by him.
ANALYSIS QUESTIONS:
1- Who's the speaker and who's speaking to?
2- Type of vocabulary (loving, violent, angry, etc)
3- Alliterations, metaphors, comparisons, assonances, personifications (that is to say any literary figure you find in it)
4- What's the poem about? (love, hate, faith, life, death)
5- Your opinion about the poem.
2- Type of vocabulary (loving, violent, angry, etc)
3- Alliterations, metaphors, comparisons, assonances, personifications (that is to say any literary figure you find in it)
4- What's the poem about? (love, hate, faith, life, death)
5- Your opinion about the poem.
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