The main theme of The Lottery is the gamble of life and death, how everyone hopes to not be chosen. The villagers in the town of The Lottery draw pieces of paper from a black box, taking chances in hope of avoiding the slip with the black dot. It's a very nervous affair and people are always hesitant about the slip they take. It is tradition for the villagers to enter the Lottery, then stone whoever draws the marked slip to death, in their own little version of Russian Roulette. This tradition is seemingly part of their religion, and to defy the Lottery is an act of blasphemy. Their lives are based on Chance whenever the time comes about.
The meme is connected to the story because it shows the reactions of drawing both a blank slip and the marked slip, or telling that even the villagers view the Lottery as a game of chance.. Those who weren't chosen in the final draw had reactions such as "...both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads." Nancy and Bill Jr. were relieved they hadn't drawn the chosen paper, they had taken a chance and cone out on top. However when one of the villagers was selected for the stoning, she began claiming that the Lottery is a messed up idea, "'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her." The villagers all plainly know it is all based upon chance, first shown in "Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. 'Make them take their chance!'" Each villager felt it right as long as everyone took a fair draw. Together this shows that the main theme of the story is that life, and The Lottery is based upon a twisted Russian Roulette, draw the marked item and you're done for.
I want to talk about one of the best movie in my opinion. Although other
movies are up on its level, nothing can truly relate to Howls Moving Castle. It
was made by Studio Ghibli and has amazing animations. Howls Moving Castle was
released in 2004 and has a large fan base, even though it is not the most
popular of the movies produced by the studio. The movie was based off of an
book by Dianna Jones. I have the book and I have to say it is one of my
favourite reads.
"You are a terror, aren't you? Leave this yard
alone. I know just where everything is in it, and I won't be able to find the
things I need for my transport spells if you tidy them up.' So there was probably a bundle of souls or a box of chewed
hearts somewhere out here, Sophie thought. She felt really thwarted. ‘Tidying
up is what I’m here
for!’ she shouted at Howl. ‘Then you must think of a new meaning for your
life,’ Howl said.” Dianna Wynne Jones- Howls Moving Castle
The main characters name is Sophie and she is the eldest of three. Sophie is
working in the hat shop her father owned until he died while her sisters go to
a bakery and the other becomes a witch’s apprentice. Howls Moving Castle has an
entertaining story line and the audience gets really attached to Howl and
Sophie. Sophie gets cursed into the form of an old women who can't tell anyone
she's cursed. So she ventures out of town into the fields beyond it until she
finds Wizard Howls moving castle. After entering and seeing the state of
disrepair Howl lives in, Sophie takes it upon herself to be the house maid. As
the movie goes along you see the difficulties of Howls multiple
"images" that change for each town. Howls Moving Castle has
characters that range from a fire demon named Calcifer, to a scarecrow with a
turnip head, even a wizard who will create slime when he's upset (but that’s only
because his hair is messed up, the horror!)!
Part of it is magical and awe-inspiring while other parts pile on suspense.
In the end, you'll want to read the book, watch the movie three more times and
curse people with the hope that all their bacon will burn. At least that's what
happened to me and my parents have simply gotten used to it. Sophie and Howl
are characters with unique personalities and the quarrels they have can be
amusing to no end. Quotes to use in life are plentiful, with a variety of uses.
Howls Moving Castle will capture your imagination and add a sense of magic to
life.
The first time I watched Howls Moving Castle; I was about five and was
spending the night at my grandparent’s house. It was playing on Cartoon Network
and I convinced my grandma not only to record it, but to stay up and watch the
whole movie. I vividly remember the sight of the castle moving across the
screen and Howl walking with Sophie through the air. The next day or so was
spent braiding my hair to imitate Sophie, trying to see if the fireplace also had a demon, and watching the movie with the fascination only a child
can muster. Then one day sister came home with the movie on disc and that meant
I just had to force my sister to watch it with me of course. As time passed the
disc was lost and I moved onto greener pastures in the entertainment genre. But
then on a cloudy day when I was about 11, I found the movie on Netflix! My interest
sparked once more, causing me to delve deeper into the wonderful animations of
Studio Ghibli. Ponyo, The Grave of the Fireflies, and more were all introduced
to me just by Howls Moving Castle. The wonder it inspired has stuck with me
even now! From 5 to 13 almost 14, that just goes to show how much of an effect
things will have on children.
So I am a gamer, its true. Although I don't play all the
fancy console or PC games that my friends Ethan or Carl are always raving
about. I mostly play hand held games, like Pokemon, or Zelda, games such as
that. Personally I haven't been exposed to really offensive comments about my
gender. However I do know that many women out there experience rude comments,
threats and put-downs just because they are of a different gender. That just
seems wrong, video games are open for all people to play, not just guys.
There's a feminist culture critic out the stereotyping of
female gamer's. She has received many threats, such as bomb threats and public
shooting, to her public talks. This women's name is Anita Sarkeesian and until
Tuesday, she had never felt the need to cancel a talk. The day before the talk
at Utah State University was scheduled; members of the schools administrative
received an email. It said that "This will be the deadliest school
shooting in American history, and I'm giving you a chance to stop it,". I
find this wrong; people don't seem to understand that females deserve the same
treatment as male gamer's. A video game is a form of entertainment that many
people out there enjoy and many people are good at it, even girls.
On chat boards and game forums, the talks have become so
offensive towards game designers and female gamer's that protesters of such
stereotyping are calling out on the big bucks game companies to break their
silence on the matter. Many representatives of said big companies such as
Activision Blizzard decided not to comment on the requests. Many people think
such harassment is wrong and that anyone should be able to enjoy what they love
and not be restricted by the biased opinions of others. I have been told that
there's no way that I could be a serious gamer just because I am female. I've
gotten comments from people around me when I'm playing on my DS in public.
Things like "Who plays hand-helds? Well she IS a girl so it makes
sense" and such comments like that. Usually it simply makes me want to
chuck a controller at their face. But I don't seeing as how I'd A) Get in
trouble and B) Give female gamer's a bad name.
You may have heard about the #GamerGate controversy, which
is what this is all about. I believe anyone should have the right to do what
they want, regardless of their gender. Female gamers have the right to play
video games. This is a huge deal and I believe that if we cause enough uproar
about this topic, the companies will break their silence.
The wind blew
furiously as the moon shone upon the oak tree. Its large branches creaked and
the few remaining leaves were thrown around to the unknown places of the wind.
A figure was there, even if you were staring at that exact spot you would have immediately
registered the fact as him having been there forever. He had shoulder length
hair that, even though the wind should have tossed it into his face, was still.
A movement appeared at the other side of the oak, and the stranger was gone. He
had fled the tree, with the appearance of it
the stranger would not dare to keep on the premises. Some may think of a
vampire, such as the sparkly pale thing that could run at fast speeds. But,
those aren’t the types of “monsters” that exist here.
The
monsters here were the actual horrifying ones, those that would keep you up
with terror and a fear of closing your eyes as doing such may be the last time
you ever do so. There were ones that posed as humans and when exposed to certain
conditions they would expose themselves. Some drank off of fear and the sound
of screams as a source of energy. Some may keep bad disguises that would give
any human the creeps and crawls. Most people these days express no fear to
monsters, as the media and the internet have ruined the true definition of monster.
There
were those who kept with classic appearances and places to live. Such as the ghouls
in the crypts of the downtown cemetery that would steal people from their homes.
Or the vampire who supposedly reside above the ancient movie theater on Brooker
Street that bite any daring teen that enters upon a dare. But of course those
are the ones that will keep to the basics and have refused to advance with the
generations.
Back on subject now. The stranger may still reside in the
part of your mind where things nag you to investigate or find out more. How did
he escape from it? Well he flew of
course. Leathery bat wings that stretched across the sky and blocked out parts
of the sky. He mostly soared as the wind usually carried him across town to the
lake house. As he passed over Axle Street a child stared at him, eyes stretched
wide as he saw a shape with huge bat wings and glowing blue eyes quickly streak
through the open sky of stars. His name you might ask was Njord. He came from
the country of Norway searching fresher hunting grounds.
Njord
arrived at his home and frowned, the door was wide open although he was
positive he had closed it. With suspicion the monster slowly walked into the
house. A loud creak echoed and Njord turned towards it paling swiftly.
I will spare you the gruesome details, seeing as how bloody
murder was screamed and horrid ripping noises. Njord was a monster of great
power and was responsible for many murders and disappearances. The next morning
the sun shone upon a set of great wings that filled the entrance hall. There was
nothing attached and a odd dark stain spread upon the wood work.
My passion you ask? Well in a way that’s simple but also it’s
rather complicated. Some will say food, video games, music and such but I? Nine
letters, countries. Yes you read that right, countries. Yes I love music, food,
books and anime but countries are special for me. Languages, flags, cultures,
myths, history and food, I love learning interesting facts about these
languages. How languages of different countries are so alike yet different, adapted
for each place where the country is. There are 7 continents and 196 countries
(which may or may not include Sealand but that’s a whole different subject).
Russia, Cananda, America, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, those are just a
few off the top of my head. My reasons
may be weird but they still led me up to the way I am now.
I am a mix of different cultures, from different places and
whole different languages. I’m Japanese, Swedish, German, Welsh, Scottish and
depending on who you ask I may be Austrian! I love learning about these places,
I end up doodling flags all over my school work and often spout random words in
other languages beside English. What I find funny is even though in English,
which I believe the most known language in this world, some words like jeg
elskar deg would look like it has weird letters in silly places; this phrase
means I love you in Norwegian. Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are very similar
languages I mean I love you is jeg elskar deg for Norwegian, jag älskar dig for
Swedish, and jeg elskar dig for Danish. I know little things in Japanese,
German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Russian and I say these things often on
a normal day basis. Also countries have an official language but other languages are spoken there often as well. Sweden for example, its main official language is Swedish but Finnish, Yiddish, Sami and Romani are also spoken there!
Over the summer I discovered this show called Hetalia, which
is this amazing anime in my opinion. All the countries are personified as
people who often act with those countries stereotypes. Ex: America loves
hamburgers, Italy loves pasta and runs away from fighting, Switzerland is neutral
and will barely talk to anyone except for Lichtenstein. The characters are
immortal except for when the country breaks up such as The Holy Roman Empire. Although
the country refuses to fade away and that is Prussia, he is Germany’s brother
and even though Prussia broke up in 1947 February 25. The episodes for this
show are only about 5 minutes on average and often have simple plots and
whenever a historical reference is made the show will pause and the narrator will
explain what it’s about. My favorite quote from it is “
Those who call
themselves ’Ugly’ don’t realize that someone out there thinks they’re the most
beautiful person in the world” – Francis Bonnefoy
Mostly my country obsession is based in Europe when so many
things happened in the past and have such interesting cultures. One event that
goes on every year is called Eurovison. Eurovision is a big contest where all
the European countries select and artist or band who will represent their
country in a competition. This year Austria won with a song called Rise Like a Phoenix.
One of my favorite songs that won was 2009 Norway. Alexander Rybak performed a
song called Fairytale which he accompanied with the violin. I am always
breaking out into some Eurovision such as No Prejudice which has a beautiful
message about how everyone is equal to one another. I support this idea totally
and the song is on my top 10 list. I love the history of such places which
includes wars, alliances and such things. There are so many differences between the U.S and Europe I cant even... but whatever I love them.
So yeah my passion may be weird and others may think I need to get a life outside of my odd orbital habits around music, books and countries but I am proud of the fact that I am interested in countries, not many people are and if I'm going to have a hobby why not have one that's unique?
“A selfie?! Why in Glub’s name…? Seriously why did…. I give
up” All this and more was my lovely reaction top, Ahem, “Auschwitz Selfie Girl
Breana Mitchell Defends Her Controversial Picture”. Oh and one trigger warning
#Rant. Ok here goes.
“Breanna Mitchell posted the selfie on June 20th. About a month
later, it went viral.” Good rant material indeed sir.
Ok so if you don’t understand what Auschwitz is or you
believe in the conspiracy that the Holocaust didn’t happen, just click-ety on
here (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005189). Basically this girl Breanna went to Auschwitz
a year after her dad died and took a picture of herself, a selfie, smiling. I
personally think that’s a little messed up even if she is justifying the
picture as a dedication to her dead father.
Ok so I don’t have a fancy dancy touch smart phone thing
that a lot of people in my generation have. And I know that not everyone loves
selfies most people I go to school with take selfies almost everywhere, in the
hallway, in the science room wearing aprons and goggles. Everywhere.
To me taking a selfie in front of a place where such a
serious thing took place while you’re smiling is incredibly disrespectful. I
mean people died there, families who never got see each other again because
some of them went to do labor work and others went to die in the gas chambers.
Such depressing topics right? There are families who could be offended by this,
those who had relatives who died in the Holocaust. I know that some people
these days didn’t even know that the Holocaust even took place (which is a
really shocking idea in my opinion).
Also Breanna says Auschwitz was her Dads favorite topic and
that they were really interested in the Holocaust. If that’s so then she should
understand that this place was a concentration camp where horrible things would
happen. To me such places should be places treated with respect in honor of
those who perished within its walls, and all those who died in the Holocaust.
It’s rather like the place where the Twin Towers once stood. You don’t see
people going to that place and taking selfies of themselves with duck faces of
smiling do you?
Truthfully I’m curious as to why she herself took the
picture smiling. I mean yea she said it was in memory of her father but why was
she smiling? It just bugs me.
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