What Is The Role of Death in Life?

Death is the destination for everyone. However, this destination, can either be fearful or peaceful for different people depending on their attitude. Some people, who have not yet accomplished their goal, fear that their life would be ended with  regrets. Some other, who have already had everything in their life, might think their life is complete. Death, is the path that everyone is going. The difference is that different people end their life differently based on their attitudes.

What Should We Expect from Our Leaders?

As we enter the 21^st century, we people are getting more and more civilized. We expect our leaders not to fool us by making any decisions just because of their personal penchant. In my opinion, I think that courage is the most important quality of a leader because it is the primary motivation to lead people to leap forward. Consequently, the leader should be a tough guy. In modern day’s society, I will nominate China’s new leader Xi JingPing to be a great leader who has the guts to fight for what his country needs from him in terms of being the leader. 

Sonnet Reflection

At first, I thought shorter would be better. However, things didn't turn out the way I expected. Unlike the content of Beowulf, which has a story-based plot, the sonnet makes me a more abstract remembrance that eventually troubled me a lot when memorizing. On the other hand, the quatrains do not always rhyme. Some of them are slant rhymes. Hence, abstract image and incomplete rhymes make me feel difficult to recite the entire poem well.

Can People Be Too Ambitious?

Although ambition often gives people motivation to strive for something, in my opinion, I do not think that being overly ambitious will give a positive result. When people tend to be too ambitious, they see nothing but only their goal. In this case, they might unintentionally ignore some critical drawbacks that could become a harm to themselves and eventually make them fail. Furthermore, when being ambitious, people often have a great chance to break relationships that they established. Macbeth, for instance, killed Banquo because he thought that Banquo might be an obstacle of this future of ascending to the throne, however, he eventually got troubled by the spirits and completely changed his destiny. In general, people are not supposed to be too ambitious in order to have a better future.

Can Lovers See Clearly?

In my opinion, lovers can see clearly, regardless of the vagueness of love. Love is just like a forest that is foggy where once lovers get into it, challenges will be faced everywhere. However, those lovers should be like the adventurers who have everything prepared such as a contact device that can contact the SOS from the sky. In this case, the SOS are the outsiders, usually the friends, sisters, buddies or mentors, in general, of those lovers. It is always easier for the look at a thing from the outside of "the box." Hence, lovers can be able to see clearly as long as they stay in contact with their SOS - their advisers - and ask for help from time to time.

Why Tell Stories in Songs?

Moon River will be a good example of a ballad. After watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, I am aware of the mood of the setting created in the movie. The melody and the lyrics give a sense of a harmony to the feeling of Tiffany who sings at the balcony. In my opinion, telling stories in songs helps create the mood for the background and the personal bubble for the listeners. 

LYRICS: 

Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/andy_williams/moon_river.html ]
(Moon river, wider than a mile)
(I'm crossin' you in style some day)
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after that same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

(Moon river, moon river)

Examples of Chaucer demonstrating starting his own qualities when describing a character

From line 103~121 (Yeoman): describing only physical characteristics for Yeoman and ends up with  
                                                  "He was a proper forester, I guess."



(In general, Chaucer doesn't spend much time to describe the poorer Yeoman. In some ways, it's not really respectful. Chaucer seems to be like a person who looks up more to the highly noble people such as the Knight and the Squire. He is a little bit flattering.)

Is Honor Worth Dying For?

In my opinion, I think whether honor is worth dying for depends on different circumstances. It really depends on what the honor belongs to. To me, the honor based on ego is much more worthy for people for die for. To them, honor is not only a subjective and an abstract concept, but it is also a great self-representation that lasts forever in their lives. Let's assume that here is a zealous singer who has a lung cancer and he knows that his condition will absolutely get exacerbated if he sings more. He would rather die for his honor that helps shine his talent, which represents himself, than live longer and not sing. Although the spirit of dying for honor could be abstruse, or perhaps illogical, it is definitely a part of the reason that makes people believe in themselves, just as mentioned by the Greek philosophy - man is the measure of all thing.

Do Men Understand Women?

Men obviously do not understand women. This is why quarrels always occur between them. In fact, men and women are genetically different and think in different ways. For instance, men don't get why would women give up so much money for buying so many clothes, accessories or other bling-bling stuff and trouble themselves by not being able to decide on wearing and pairing different combinations of outfits. Furthermore, whenever an accident occurs, women are usually the ones who are not being calm. Men don't get why would women stay there and scream or whine instead of just do something reliable like calling 911. All in all, men just don't understand women. Perhaps, it's because of the genetic difference of the ways they think. Moreover, it will definitely be easier for men to chase after women if women just make themselves more intelligible.

What Makes a Great Character ?

In my opinion,  a great character must have a unique characteristic of him. A legendary music composer like J.S. Bach had a unique characteristic of being determined and devout. He believed that the reason why he composed music was that it was for God. He, as a great character viewed by a historical point-of-view, has developed himself as a musician who dedicated to God, not like those people earlier who dedicated to the nobility. However, a character could also be a group of guys. A varsity team consists of well-developed chemistry between players could also be a character. Every team is supposed to have its own "personality." Hence, a competitive team such as the L.A. Lakers is reinforced by its collaboration from its players.

When are people most alone?

People are most alone when they are enjoying music from their headphones. Music can somehow create an invisibly personal bubble where a person can really be isolated from the setting surrounding him. However, being alone is not always a bad thing because personal space sometimes gives a person a chance to relax and feel released. For instance, after working in an urban area such as downtown NYC, a person like I would like to go back home and listen to music that gives a beautiful melody while big bright lights and traffic jams don't take place. The personal bubble gives me a space to "reconstruct" or "repair" myself after having a day in a cacophony working environment in the urban area. All in all, although I am alone in the "bubble," music gives me a mental spa or massage while I'm lying in the it.

How Do Dreams Inspire You?

In general, dreams inspire me in a way that changes my attitude in real life. There was once when I dreamed about that I accidentally jumped off a cliff and fell into the sea while the weather was a disaster. I kept swimming and swimming and tried to survive. I started to miss all those peaceful days before badly. I almost got drown until I somehow touchdown on an island and woke up. I realized that humans are so small and weak compared to the nature. Therefore, I started to think that haughtiness should always be prohibited because I, as a human being, am just an atom-sized creature that can do nothing mightier than what nature has given us today. Since then, I have always tried my best to be humble all day long.

How does evil manifest itself in Beowulf? / How does heroism manifest itself in Beowulf

          In the story of Beowulf, it's obvious that both evil and heroism coexist. As long as the protagonist, whose name is Beowulf, and antagonist, either Grendel or his mother or the Dragon, confront to each other, evil and heroism both take place.
          Each of the eight scenes in the story annotates the concept of heroism and evil. From scene 1 to scene 3, evil is defined by Grendel's sudden attack on Hêrot while heroism is defined by Beowulf's appearance to save the Danes; from scene 4 to scene 5, Grendel's mother's attempt to avenge for her dearest son is the principle of evil in these 2 scenes while Beowulf's appearance still remains as major impact of the heroism; from scene 6 to scene 8, the perspective of evil shifts to the appearance of the Dragon who later kills the glorious kind of the Geats, Beowulf, while a new hero, Wexstan's son Wiglaf, fearlessly shows up and reinforces Beowulf to defeat the Dragon at the end of the story.
          All in all, evil in the story of Beowulf has occurred whenever an antagonist shows up and heroism has manifested itself in Beowulf by giving the credits to the heros such as Beowulf and Wiglaf. Regardless of the appearances of other innocent people such as Hrothgar and his "prime minister" Unferth, those characters are basically just parts of the background setting.

Part II: QUICKWRITE - What does evil mean to you? Write your own definition of the word, and provide some examples of real-life monsters.

     In general, evil is an instinct from people that has been developed once they have consciousness. Evil make people want to hurt others in order to benefit themselves.
     To me, evil is just like a glass of poison. It can either make me get frightened or just simply kill me. However, it is really up to myself that if I want to drink it or not at the first point. Therefore, evil is actually avoidable. That is to say if I just ignore it, evil can just simply vanish. Simply, evil is just an evitable threat.
     In real life, monsters could be either abstract or concrete. For example, one of the most formidably abstract monster can be the economic crisis; on the other hand, a sneaky businessman such as George Soros can also be a big monster to us, both as normal citizens and mid-size company owners. All in all, evil is a threat that could be avoided.

QUICKWRITE - What does evil mean to you? Write your own definition of the word, and provide some examples of real-life monsters.

     To me, evil is just like a glass of poison. It can either make me get frightened or just simply kill me. However, it is really up to myself that if I want to drink it or not at the first point. Therefore, evil is actually avoidable. That is to say if I just ignore it, evil can just simply vanish. Simply, evil is just an evitable threat.
     In real life, monsters could be either abstract or concrete. For example, one of the most formidably abstract monster can be the economic crisis; on the other hand, a sneaky businessman such as George Soros can also be a big monster to us, both as normal citizens and mid-size company owners. All in all, evil is a threat that could be avoided.

What would be the effective late policy in this school? why?

In my opinion, I think that the most effective late policy in this school will probably be marking off some points, based on a school-wide system. The ones who have gotten marked off the most often or more than 3 times semester, will be suspended for 2 weeks. (which means those people will definitely get zeros for all their tests and assignment and eventually might make their fail the courses) Punishing this way, the school can threaten those students by holding on their diploma.

What is the #1 rule to you makes a classroom work? Why?

          My number one rule to make a classroom work is to not to be late for class. It's because dilatory habit will cause problem to my future life. Obviously my boss in the future will not be happy about that as if now my teacher is irritated. It is the most prior engagement that I, as being a responsible person, should follow. Getting rid of dilatory habit will give the instructor a better first impression about me, in general.

Why, oh why?

          Why am I here? Why are human beings mortal? Why does God create us? In general, these are the basic questions that people are usually questioning themselves. However, none of us can answer these questions correctly and reliably. Therefore, science, which is supposedly derived from philosophy, has played a critical role of solving lots problems in the nature. 

          According to the study of physics and biology, we as human beings have appeared since the world existed. We can also tell that human beings, and other organisms, are just parts of the existing Earth. And we are supposedly mortal because Earth is also going to die out someday. Nonetheless, here's another question: Why does God create our living world and not make it live forever? Seemingly, questions have led to more questions that are provoking our curiosity. Unfortunately, human beings will never find the absolute answer.