Romero's Heroism

In “The Sun Also Rises,” the young bullfighter Romero is portrayed as a dramatic foil to the expatriates in that his sense of morals and ethics are still intact, being untouched by the war. This allows Romero to be portrayed also as a heroic figure, one who exhibits grace under pressure and is not afraid of confronting danger in the face of adversity.

Romero displays the heroic trait of exhibiting grace under pressure in his bullfighting. The very practice of bullfighting is dangerous, yet Romero remains calm and makes the practice look like an art. Hemingway describes him as working slowly, which requires courage as he is giving the bull more chances to kill him by delaying the killing of the bull. He provides “real emotion” in his bullfighting by putting himself closer to death. In this way, he puts the art of bullfighting ahead of himself. He fights the bull not for personal fame, but for art itself. Unlike other fighters, who only give the appearance of working close to the bull, Romero actually does work close to the bull, which shows his fearlessness. This also portrays Romero as truth where others are false. Romero's bravery is also shown out of the bullring, specifically when he is attacked by Cohn. Cohn, upon finding Romero and Brett together, fought Romero, and being a boxer, gave Romero a brutal beating. However, despite Cohn's boxing skill, Romero continued to fight Cohn. In the situation, Cohn is the proverbial bull. Romero fights Cohn as a way of defending his honor, despite the fact that it could lead to him being injured even more. Even when Cohn offers a truce and apologizes for attacking him, Romero continues to attempt to fight. Romero's unwillingness to take the easy way out in a bullfight by faking closeness and his willingness to fight Cohn despite being an inferior pugilist show his heroic qualities.

Romero's qualities mesh with modern heroes in that both Romero and today's hero are portrayed as fighting for a cause. Heroes typically make a selfless sacrifice for a cause they believe is just or for a person. An example of this hero type include Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan. Miller sacrifices his life for a cause and for Ryan. In a similar way, Romero takes the beating from Cohn because of his desire to be with Brett. This is also related to his willingness to bullfight; he puts his life at risk for the sake of art, which is his cause. Romero also displays elements of less selfless heroes, such as Rocky from the eponymous film. Rocky is primarily self motivated, however, he overcomes adversity and confronts the threatening situation of boxing Apollo Creed head on. This is similar to Romero's boxing match with Cohn, which Romero could not win, but would not give up.

Hemingway's ideals of exhibiting grace under pressure apply to Cohn's bullfighting and his willingness to put his life on the line for his art and for Brett. This is comparable to our perception of heroes today, who face adversity head on and confront danger. However, today's heroes are typically more self centered in their causes compared to Romero.

In "The Execution of Tropmann," Ivan Turgenev examines the morality and effectiveness of capital punishment after attending the execution of spree killer Jean-Baptiste Tropmann and being horrified by the "medieval procedure" of the event.
The purpose of the essay is to question the purpose of capital punishment and the ethics of the procedure. Turgenev asserts that the purpose of public executions, crime deterrence, is lost on the public. Turgenev observes that soldiers were present at the execution, despite the rule against this, because lawlessness among the crowd was feared, paradoxical to the idea that the execution is meant to provide civilians with an example of law and order. This ideal was indeed lost on the public, as members of the crowd would shout random, wordless phrases and chant folk tunes, showing that for the common folk, the execution, designed to bring order, was little more than a show. The procedure of the execution is also brought under moral scrutiny, as it requires "undressings, dressings, hair-cutting, [and] journeys up along corridors and up and down staircases" by the condemned, and the entire procedure goes on for half an hour before the execution. Turgenev also establishes his belief killing a human being for any reason, as he states Tropmann's face "could have been described as handsome," in an attempt to gather reader sympathy for Tropmann.
The strengths of Turgenev's argument include the reactions of the crowd to the execution and demonstrating the drawn-out procedure of the toilette du condamne. These points show the purpose of the public execution is not apparent to the public and creates sympathy for the condemned. His description of Tropmann as polite and handsome while maintaining innocence also causes doubt in the reader as to if Tropmann actually committed the crime he was accused of. The argument is weak in that the execution it describes is not typical of all forms of capital punishment. If an execution was made private and quick, Turgenev's argument would not stand up. The argument also primarily appeals to emotion as opposed to logic or authorities on the subject.
Turgenev's tone could be described as uneasy, disgusted, and indignant. At the beginning of the text, he stands that he only attended because he was invited and did not want to be considered a coward, and later regretted his decision. He is disgusted and shocked by members of the crowd, who seem not to understand why they are there and treat the event like a party. He also shows disgust at the drawn out toilette procedure.

Blog #15

Ehrlich describes cowboys as tender individuals, contrary to the stereotypical cowboy in American culture. She describes them as caring for their animals and being awkward in relationships because they don't know how to express their emotions. She uses a tone of admiration in describing the cowboys. This fits her purpose because cowboys are typically admired for traditional masculine characteristics. Ehrlich, on the other hand, admires them for more traditionally feminine reasons. Her admiration shows that this androgyny is a positive characteristic. This helps convey her purpose because it lets her show all the feminine characteristics the cowboys possess that she admires.

Blog #14

I agree with Sante that all three of these reasons contribute to the loss of secrecy. The breakdown of the KGB and the releasing of documents was by definition a major loss of secrecy, as the KGB was a secret police force. However, in this case I don't think the loss of these secrets is a bad thing. Sure, people need to know that there are things left to discover, but I'm sure many Russian families want to know the real fate of Dmitri after he insulted the Communist Party. Not all secrets should be kept. The internet, on the other hand, causes an extreme loss of secrecy. Nowadays, people will pour their entire life stories onto the internet for others to read for entertainment purposes. Some content posted on the internet shouldn't have been, and unlike other forms of media, once something is on the internet, it's probably going to be there forever, in one for or another. The culture has contributed to the breakdown of secrecy by encouraging people to reveal their secrets to everyone, and is somewhat tied in with the internet.

Blog #13

If public schools were to teach ethical principles, they would have to be based on the Golden Rule. This would include values such as honesty, integrity, and an opposition to stealing. Religious values and gender roles should not be taught. These have a tendency to change, and are not accepted by everyone. It would be disrespectful to teach children opinions that their parents may not agree with. However, moral standards such as those based on the Golden Rule are agreed upon, integral to the function of society, and as such, should be taught. Values that differ based on religion or culture should not be taught. Values based on the Golden Rule are integrity, empathy, and honesty. Values that differ based on culture include gender roles, sexual ethics, and religious values.

Blog #12

Truly great films have to explore a theme, and must do so in a convincing fashion. The argument for this theme is the plot of the film, while acting serves as a device. If a movie is lacking in one of these three areas; theme, plot, or acting, it cannot be great. Examples of great films include Full Metal Jacket and The Wrestler. Full Metal Jacket dealt with the idea of the Duality of Man, which is the idea that everyone has two conflicting sides to themselves. It featured very tense scenes, which added to the grittiness and made the film feel real. The acting portrayed the emotions the soldiers went through well. The Wrestler explored themes of isolation, and the acting by Mickey Rourke was highly emotive, and the viewer was able to understand his isolated, depressed point of view.

Blog #10

Nobodiness is a person's feeling of worthlessness. Someone who believes they are a nobody is likely depressed. They are inherently self-defeating; as they believe they are nobody, they believe there is nothing they can do to make themselves worthy or to help society.

A sense of nobodiness may result from being treated poorly by peers. If one is ridiculed or belittled, they may lose their sense of self worth and feel they have no reason to exist. It may also result from being in an important position above other people and failing at an important task, to the severe disappointment of these people. If their raison d'etre was to do something for them, they may lose their sense of self.

Blog #9

I already believed most of the subjects discussed in Tuesday's with Morrie, especially the idea that one most form a unique culture of their own and the idea that the current culture is too materialistic. As such, it didn't change my beliefs so much as it reinforced them and actually made me think of applying them. Many people know deep down that material possessions are unimportant compared to relationships, but don't apply them to their life. So many of society's values are corrupt, such as judging a person's worth on how much money they make and not how much they are enjoying life. As such, one must form their own culture or they will lose sight of what is important for happiness.

Blog #8

Proud is a word with a positive connotation. A notable example of this is the television commercial for the Marine Corps. that ends with the phrase "The Few. The Proud. The Marines." Pride is seen as a positive characteristic from this angle. The Marines know what they're doing is important and feel worthy because of it. Other uses include the phrase "Be proud of yourself," often said to people after they accomplish something they do not feel is very important. This phrase argues that the person should feel a sense of self worth for what they've done. This is contrasted with the word vain, which indicates that a person has too much pride. A person would never say to another "be vain," because this would be telling them to feel more accomplished than they actually are.

Blog #7

In Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser makes multiple arguments throughout Fast Food Nation in support of his main argument. One of these is the argument that fast food companies and the meatpacking industry mistreat their workers. The workers in the fast food industry are not allowed to unionize, and there are many horror stories from meat plant workers, including the one of Kenny Dobbins, a loyal plant worker for 16 who was fired after being abused in hopes of making him quit. Another of these supplementary arguments is that the fast food industry destroys family farms. Because there is more demand for meat, factory farms have sprung up. The family-owned farms cannot compete with the the factory farms, and are run out of business. The suicide rate among ranchers is three times the national average. He also argues that the companies have little concern for health standards, instead, they try to squeeze out every last dollar they can. This is supported by the fact that fecal matter has been found in the meat. The large amount of e. coli outbreaks are also a testament to this.
All of these show the author's main argument: that fast food companies are bad for America and have a reckless desire to make as much money as possible, throwing human health and dignity out the window.

Blog #6

It's 3 AM when a red bell begins ringing furiously. Instantaneously, the courageous men and women climb out of bed and begin rapidly suiting up. Within minutes the sirens are on and the firefighters are off to rescue the residents of a burning apartment complex. In minutes they arrive, and the fire is extinguished. Through the valiant actions of these workers, everyone is recovered alive. But these people's lives could not have been saved if there was no money to support the firefighters' actions. How is the money gained? Through taxes.

They are often vilified and complained about. For the grand majority of people, April 15th is not a day of joyous celebration. Letting go of one's hard-earned money is not easily done. But those calling for taxes to be lowered need to realize that they are very important and are necessary for society to function.

Cutting taxes does not solve problems. The California education system is currently very indigent. Classroom sizes have increased, teachers are being laid off, and there are oftentimes not enough books for all students. This is the result of tax cuts. Because of these tax cuts, education has been put on the back-burner in favor of other services. The future of California is being overlooked in favor of instant gratification of the population, and that hasn't happened either. The salaries of state government workers are being cut, and the needy are seeing their services reduced. All of this in the name of not raising taxes.

They aren't popular, nor does anyone like submitting them, but it must be remembered that taxes are the backbone of society. Without them, there would be no military, no public education system, and no one to help if an apartment complex burns down.

Blog #5

I don't know if the Box Man would have chosen to be such a nonconformist if he had the chance. I don't think that if anyone had the choice between being homeless and having some sort of shelter that they would choose homelessness. However, the Box Man has come to terms with the fact that this is the way that he has to live his life. In doing this, he has conquered loneliness by realizing that he is his one true friend; that he is on his own. I don't thinking conformity is necessarily a bad thing, as long as one believes what they are conforming to is the right thing to do. One shouldn't follow a society's rules or expectations blindly, but there is rational conformity. People who don't go about murdering others are conforming to the social norm of not killing people. It is conformity, but it obviously is a good thing. Decisions should not be made based on whether they are conformist or nonconformist, but on what the individual values.

Blog #4

The United States and the People's Republic of China are ironically similar. China is a Communist single-party state, while the United States is a capitalist democracy. In United States, the the rights of the people, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and right to trial by jury are upheld, whereas in China most of these rights are not granted. However, the two countries are also similar. China has the most active duty troops in the world, while the United States has the second most. They both have market economies, despite the fact that China is led by what used to be a communist government. Also worth mentioning are that they are both nuclear powers.

Blog #3

In Fast Food Nation, Eric Scholosser shows the beginnings of fast food chains and their transformation from small, family run businesses into huge, multinational corporations. The companies, he says, have become a "revolutionary force in American life." Throughout the book, Scholosser details the darker affairs the fast food industry have been involved in. The fast food companies have marketed to children to manufacture them into consumers for life. The workers for fast food restaurants are maltreated, and the workers in the meatpacking industry (which developed to support fast food companies) are even more so. Small-time farms have been put out of business by factory farming, with the suicide rate among farmers and ranchers being three times the national average.
This is definitely an important book for everyone, especially Americans, to read. The facts about the fast food and meatpacking industries cannot be ignored. While some readers may not like the conclusions Scholosser comes to, they must know the facts.

Blog #2

The nonfiction books I remember reading include The Diary of Anne Frank, Fast Food Nation, and All But My Life. I remember the line "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart," from The Diary of Anne Frank, and the idea that corporations end up doing whatever they can to make as much money as possible, such as allowing terrible working conditions in meat plants and not allowing workers to unionize, from Fast Food Nation. Fast Food Nation had the imparted on me the philosophy that one shouldn't exploit others for their own personal gain. If I ever ran or formed a company, I would hope that I would treat my workers decently, or at least give them decent working conditions and allow them to unionize. I don't consider myself exploitive at the moment, and I hope don't start, but to use the cliché, power corrupts.

Blog #1

I'm Matthew and I'm somewhat cynical. As such, I plan on graduating from high school with decent grades and going to some college or university that accepts me. After that, I plan on eating, sleeping, working, and consuming until I die. Did I mention I was sarcastic?