Jett Durbin |
Quality Work
On the veldt
The Veldt is a science fiction short story written by Ray Bradbury, in 1950. the story predicted the smart home and many of today's commodities before they ever existed.
Taking place in the not so far future in the seemingly happy home, as we are introduced to the Hadley family, who's children spend most of their time in a room which recreates there inhibitions and dreams in a landscape created by the walls of the room, which seem all to real. But all is not as it seems, the children have become obsessed the room, and spend all their time in it, when the parents go to investigate the room, they find the children have conjured of an African veldt, full of lions. As the children begin to act stranger, and the parents hear strangely familiar screams coming from the room, they decide to shut off the room, and the entire house full of machines that handle every aspect of there life, because they are worried about the mental health of there children. The room which was supposed to help them come to terms with there subconscious urges, and prepare them, have instead nourished them and left them ill equipped to deal with the real world. As the children grow to hate there parents for turning off the house, they end up locking the parents in the room to be eaten by imaginary lions.
I think the message in this piece was before its time, and the work is more accurate than Ray Bradbury could have imagined. The descriptive words are amazing as usual with his short stories. This story made me wonder when I will be able to get one of those rooms.
Taking place in the not so far future in the seemingly happy home, as we are introduced to the Hadley family, who's children spend most of their time in a room which recreates there inhibitions and dreams in a landscape created by the walls of the room, which seem all to real. But all is not as it seems, the children have become obsessed the room, and spend all their time in it, when the parents go to investigate the room, they find the children have conjured of an African veldt, full of lions. As the children begin to act stranger, and the parents hear strangely familiar screams coming from the room, they decide to shut off the room, and the entire house full of machines that handle every aspect of there life, because they are worried about the mental health of there children. The room which was supposed to help them come to terms with there subconscious urges, and prepare them, have instead nourished them and left them ill equipped to deal with the real world. As the children grow to hate there parents for turning off the house, they end up locking the parents in the room to be eaten by imaginary lions.
I think the message in this piece was before its time, and the work is more accurate than Ray Bradbury could have imagined. The descriptive words are amazing as usual with his short stories. This story made me wonder when I will be able to get one of those rooms.
This is a short piece I did for an assignment in English class. I felt successful in constructing and explaining my opinions on the story in a clear way, given a a limited number of words. I think this is a good example of the writing style I strive to improve, increasing the proficiency and precision of my writing. I also chose this piece because I am fond of Ray Bradbury and science fiction in general, I believe good science fiction often predates itself, as time brings about a new social climate, the message gains more meaning, and sometimes, the future seems to mimic the art. While science and science fiction appear to be in a constant battle with one another, each aggrandized by its direct contradiction of the other, still they take inspiration directly from what it strives not to be.
on death of a salesman
Death Of A Salesman, is a play written by 20th century American playwright and essayist, Arthur Miller. It tell the story of Willy Loman, a hard working father of two and husband, who works and lives as a salesman driving around the country, and back home to New York. Throughout the play you meet the people in Willy’s life, but learn that Willy is not happy with what he has. He thinks he should have earned more, and through flashbacks you see that Willy was happier before, he was chasing the “American dream” despite working as hard as he can, hes not as fortunate as others around him, the things he hoped would satisfy and give him a sense of purpose, are failing to do so. His belief that being a salesman is noble, and his want to achieve great things like his diamond tycoon brother, whom Willy speaks to despite him having passed away, are leaving him broke, unfulfilled and even driving him mad. Willy’s wife is unappreciated and his sons, Biff, and Harold or as hes called Happy or Hap don’t know why hes so disappointed in them for not wanting to follow in his foot steps, and his behavior becomes increasingly sporadic.
Willy is 63 years old but he is very childlike and relies on others for support, he often thinks himself to be living in the past, and hallucinates regularly. His wife Linda Loman, is passively supportive and helps Willy despite him treating her poorly, she has a good amount of knowledge about whats going on with Willy, and wishes her sons would help him more. The oldest, Biff, had lots of potential in high school, but flunked math, and dropped out. Hes happiest working outside with his hands, but his father wants him to be a business man, he wants to impress his father but hates business. The younger son Happy, has lived in the shadow of his brother, he is a womanizer and willing to take bribes to become the owner of a local store, he makes things up for attention often. He loves his father and wants to impress him, but he gets distracted by old dreams and women.
The play is very well written, and the message is translated smoothly and and is very strong. The play has the weakness of any play, the reader is forced to use there imagination, which is also the strength of the play, the movie leaves less up to the viewer, and there is little room for interpretation. While the movie script is almost exactly the same as the play, I pictured the characters acting different. I recommend that anybody who can read, reads this play. It is very well written and has a message I personally agree with it, and think everyone would could learn something, maybe about themselves, by thinking on the underlying psychological undertones. The casting of the movie was good, save a few things, like how in the play Biff was a slow speaker, in the movie he is not at all.
The play explores the ideas of the American dream and of man kinds need to fulfill itself and ones desire to find a reason to live. It touches on the subjects of a false sense of fulfillment by way of societal and logical fallacies taken as truth, the belief that we should even have a reason to live, why truth is held in higher value than untruth and why dedicating your life to anything other than what you alone want and choose to do, can cause a very unstable mental climate. This play and the central themes in it are very applicable to the real world, the scenarios played out are common in many American households, and throughout the entire world, and probably will be, for all of time.
Willy is 63 years old but he is very childlike and relies on others for support, he often thinks himself to be living in the past, and hallucinates regularly. His wife Linda Loman, is passively supportive and helps Willy despite him treating her poorly, she has a good amount of knowledge about whats going on with Willy, and wishes her sons would help him more. The oldest, Biff, had lots of potential in high school, but flunked math, and dropped out. Hes happiest working outside with his hands, but his father wants him to be a business man, he wants to impress his father but hates business. The younger son Happy, has lived in the shadow of his brother, he is a womanizer and willing to take bribes to become the owner of a local store, he makes things up for attention often. He loves his father and wants to impress him, but he gets distracted by old dreams and women.
The play is very well written, and the message is translated smoothly and and is very strong. The play has the weakness of any play, the reader is forced to use there imagination, which is also the strength of the play, the movie leaves less up to the viewer, and there is little room for interpretation. While the movie script is almost exactly the same as the play, I pictured the characters acting different. I recommend that anybody who can read, reads this play. It is very well written and has a message I personally agree with it, and think everyone would could learn something, maybe about themselves, by thinking on the underlying psychological undertones. The casting of the movie was good, save a few things, like how in the play Biff was a slow speaker, in the movie he is not at all.
The play explores the ideas of the American dream and of man kinds need to fulfill itself and ones desire to find a reason to live. It touches on the subjects of a false sense of fulfillment by way of societal and logical fallacies taken as truth, the belief that we should even have a reason to live, why truth is held in higher value than untruth and why dedicating your life to anything other than what you alone want and choose to do, can cause a very unstable mental climate. This play and the central themes in it are very applicable to the real world, the scenarios played out are common in many American households, and throughout the entire world, and probably will be, for all of time.
I chose this example because I actually really enjoyed reading this play and watching this movie, I learned a lot from this project, even though I wasn't sure if I like it at the beginning.
on poetry
Read the following quote from i never metaphor i didn’t like:
Prose and poetry are two methods
People can use to express ideas.
Prose is to poetry as walking is to dancing.
Paul Valery
The first quote states the use of prose and poetry; the second quote compares the two. Poetry, unlike prose, which is purely Dionysian, and brings us closer with our conscious brothers, comes from the Apollonian dream world, while the lyrical form makes it by definition a Dionysian medium. While the poet or lyricist is also under the influence of the Apollonian dream state, it is the mere illusion of illusion. In this way, poetry is not egocentric, the I in the poem is really the collective conscious. A reflection of the primordial suffering he finds in his Dionysian experience. but in his Apollonian medium he conjures images who's origin are of the primal unity. The poem no longer subjective, for that is without merit. The poem is a reflection of all the universal suffering which the poet experiences, its not the life experiences of the poet that are the reality of the poem but the example which he creates by both lyric and the attempts at Apollonian symbols. How ever this lyrical poetry is free of will, it has the mere image of will through attempts Apollonian symbols which convey passion and desire that are only perceived by us in the lyric of the artist, and these symbols are a mere attempt at will.
Prose and poetry are two methods
People can use to express ideas.
Prose is to poetry as walking is to dancing.
Paul Valery
The first quote states the use of prose and poetry; the second quote compares the two. Poetry, unlike prose, which is purely Dionysian, and brings us closer with our conscious brothers, comes from the Apollonian dream world, while the lyrical form makes it by definition a Dionysian medium. While the poet or lyricist is also under the influence of the Apollonian dream state, it is the mere illusion of illusion. In this way, poetry is not egocentric, the I in the poem is really the collective conscious. A reflection of the primordial suffering he finds in his Dionysian experience. but in his Apollonian medium he conjures images who's origin are of the primal unity. The poem no longer subjective, for that is without merit. The poem is a reflection of all the universal suffering which the poet experiences, its not the life experiences of the poet that are the reality of the poem but the example which he creates by both lyric and the attempts at Apollonian symbols. How ever this lyrical poetry is free of will, it has the mere image of will through attempts Apollonian symbols which convey passion and desire that are only perceived by us in the lyric of the artist, and these symbols are a mere attempt at will.