Reading Responce

During the late 19th and early 20th century Chinese immigrants suffered at the hands of

the American government much like the African Americans did. They were not given the same
rights that white citizens were getting, they were threatened out of their homes, and yet they still
fought back. What surprised me though was the statements that were made by papers that the
Chinese were a dirty people even though it was the states fault for not installing proper health
facilities. “Chinatown my not have been the only area of Los Angeles afflicted by ‘filth and stench’
but it was the only section whose inhabitants had almost no political recourse and even less
social leverage with which to effect change” (pg 28.)Though the U.S. government integrated laws
that were to be followed by all, state officials seemed to only be cracking down on Chinese
citizens. Take the case of Quong Long for example. According to the state Quong’s laundry mat
was in violation of zoning regulations, as was his white counterpart. Both of them tried to appeal
to the court to get an extension Quong asked for a two year extension while his white counterpart
asked for three. Both had petitions written up and handed them into the court to show how many
people wanted them to stay. Though Quong had a large group of white neighbors that appealed
on his behalf, the court ruled in favor of the white citizen.
We could also relate this situation back to the ugly trailer park article. If the city put a little
effort in helping the area look appealing, making it a tourist sight or a nice place to look at, that
area could be used not only as a segregated residential area but a place where people could
come together as well.

Seminar Response

Recently I participated in a Socratic seminar in my senior humanities class. We were discussing a few stories and speeches that clashed together laws, morals, and ethics. During this discussion I kept thinking about the relationship between laws and one's moral code. Questions instantly popped in and out of my head. Are our laws based on morality, if so who's? who actually makes a law? People with the money to do it? The people of this country? The government? Are laws just the morals of the majority? A good example where some of these questions have been turning up is the debate on the gay marriage vote.

Debates on the outcome of the vote have come and gone. We can come to some answers by just looking at the actual vote in California. Voters seemed to take a more moral standing, be that personal or religious morals, when making their decision. Since the majority rules in our country, the right for the gay population to marry in the state of California was declined. This thought then made me think about the Jim Crow Laws in the 1930's. If we take the issue of years of racism out of the equation these two situations are very similar. People, voters, are taking a moral standpoint which is separation a particular group of people from a right that, according to the Declaration of Independence, all people should have. The right to peruse happiness. Even if voters took a religious moral standpoint they are now disregarding the Separation between church and State, which was a main moral decision that this country was founded on.

In conclusion by bringing the subject of gay marriage, or segregation, to a state/governmental level, the government is being quite unethical. Firstly because it takes away a large group of people's inaliable rights which, according to the Declaration of Independence, can not be taken away. It is also unethical because the subjects themselves, though maybe not intentionally, allows people to take a more religious morals standpoint which contractions Separation of church and State.

Wrap up interview with Aubry Saverino

What did you think of Mr. Collins in the Pride and Prejudice?Personally he seems like he's just interested in Miss Elizabeth because of her father's property. Since the property is entailed, Collins seemed to be just an opportunist out to make money until he married Elizabeth's best friend. To me, he married the later girl because his pride was damaged after the denied proposal by Elizabeth.

I think Mr. Collins is interested in pleasing people (especially Lady Catherine) and appearing successful in front of other people. One of his measures of success is getting a wife - it doesn't seem to matter terribly who it is, just as long as he gets one that Lady Catherine will approve of. When Elizabeth rejects him, it is easy enough for him to transfer his advances to another woman since none of his true feelings were wrapped up with her to begin with.

How do you feel about Mr. Bennet treatment of Wickham and Lydia after they married? Do you think Mr. Bennet had just cause to treat them that coldly, being that he has distanced himself from the entire family?

My. Bennet does act a little coldly towards Wickham and Lydia. True, what she did nearly ruined their entire family's reputation- but considering he was the one apathetic enough to let her go in the first place, he takes very little (if any) responsibility for what she's done. Perhaps if he would have paid her more attention in the first place, she wouldn't have felt the need to act out quite as much.

Sword of Truth

Richard is given the titular Sword of Truth, which uses the power of its user's personal anger to strike down enemies. This sword is quite special for it draws upon the wielder's own perspective of an enemy. It will cut through anything thought of as an enemy; with any doubt the sword will stop mid-air, inches from the target. The Sword also instills and amplifies great anger and rage thereby giving the one wielding it added strength, agility and conviction. This has led me to believe that the sword of truth is a symbol for the chaos and emotions within one's own heart and mind.

Wizard's first Rule

The first chapter of this novel is quite compelling. The primary protagonist in Wizard's First Rule is Richard Cypher, a young woods guide. Richard lives in an area of the world known as Westland, which is the only part of the world that at the time contains no magic. The Westland is separated from the other lands by a dangerous magical boundary that prevents anyone without the aid of powerful magic from passing through it. On the other side of the boundary are many sovereign nations, jointly known as the Midlands, and farther still past another magical boundary lies the empire of D'Hara. Richard works as a woods guide leading important political figures through dangerous forests, while his brother's interests lie entirely in politics.

Richard is naturally compelled to investigate the mysterious brutal murder of his father who worked as a trader of ancient artifacts. Investigating the only clue he has, a small piece of vine, he happens upon a woman named Kahlan Amnell, whom he helps keep alive as she is being hunted by a group of four men sent to assassinate her.

Jacob Bordieri Interview

Interview questions

List of books that have impacted you and what age you were when you read them. What was going on in your life when you read them, and why they are important to you.

Jacob's Response

I admit that I haven't read any books recently but there is one I remember that I was quite fond about. Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. During the time that I was reading this book I was doing a lot of soul searching, trying to find out who I really was. This book helped a bit on that journey. It taught me that it is me who defines myself not others. It's helped a lot and its a good read.

Woman's Reputation

This theme of Reputation is constant thought the Pride and Prejudice. The novel depicts a society in which a woman's reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to exclusion.

This theme first appears in the first chapter. Mrs. Bennet is frantic about marring off her daughters. She surrounds herself in topics of gossip and sees only to marry off her daughters to men of wealth, paying no head to matters of the heart. It appears again when Elizabeth arrives in Netherfield with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley and her friends. To these snobby conscious women, a lady should never look less then her best when arriving anywhere.

Austen pokes gentle fun at the snobs in these examples, but later in the novel, when Lydia and Wickham live with eachother out of wedlock, the author treats reputation as a very serious matter. By becoming Wickham’s lover without benefit of marriage, Lydia clearly places herself outside the social pale, and her disgrace threatens the entire Bennet family.