Culture

Define a person's culture.
  A person's culture is the behaviors they have learned.

What makes up a person's culture?
  Likes and dislikes, emotional reactions, family ties, language (word choice), religion

Is it intrinsic or extrinsic? Explain.
  It is extrinsic because we are not born with culture.  If I am born to an American family and then grow up with an Australian one, I'll grow up acting and talking like an Australian.

Norman Rockwell's Runaway

Three facts:
  1. The child is wearing a yellow shirt
  2. They are in a diner
  3. The child and officer are sitting
Three claims:
  1. The police officer is scolding the child
  2. The diner doesn't get much business
  3. The child is the runaway
Analytical Statement:
  1. The painter was making a statement about how running from our problems won't get rid of them.

The Pearl Post 2

  Halfway through the book, Kino's rapid change to a greedy, paranoid character is really showing through his goodnatured side we saw in the beginning.  John Steinbeck really showed just how drastic the change was when he killed the man who was assumedly trying to take his pearl.  His paranoia seems almost too rapid since our original impression of him was an easygoing, family-loving, simple diver.  When he begins his journey to go to the capital, he almost appears to not even care about his family anymore and it is about him getting what he wants (money). Although money seems to be his main motivation, I also think that he is trying to prove himself to everyone and that HE was given the pearl and HE was blessed by the gods. I felt sorry for his wife especially since he starts treating her like nothing because he is so consumed with selling the pearl for a  price reasonable to him.
 
  The end really seals it for Kino.  His house is burned, his canoe broken, his reputation in shambles, what more could happen to make him worse off? One of the last things he has is taken away from him, his son. I think this is really the crowning moment that gets across Steinbeck's point. Greed like Kino's will only destroy you.  If only he had taken what the pearl buyers offered him, he would still have all those things mentioned earlier. I almost felt sorry for Kino.  At least in the end he finally comes to his senses and throws the pearl back from whence it came. Kino is humbled when he returns to town and realizes how greed will only lead to problems. He has found that he is not a god and should have given in to the ways he has always known.

Pygmalion Post 1

  I am not much of one for the play format and would rather read a different format.  My first impression of the book was that it was going to be about Fred and that bunch.  The way in which he introduces the character I felt was the main character (in my mind Higgins) was very well done though.  I thought at first that this was some kind of story where the main character is writing or something like that. It didn't take me long to figure out that isn't how the book is however. I found it strange that the plot is simply a bet between the two men.  When they just took Eliza away, I couldn't tell if they were kidnapping her or if they were deaf or what. Seeing as today to do something like that would get you arrested I was shocked. Another thing I didn't understand was Eliza's father selling her.  I did not understand how he was "selling" her.

  The description of Higgins's house to me sounded very boring and relatively empty.  His way of manipulating her made me not like him very much since he seemed to only want to have a fun time with this girl's whole life. I suppose it was her fault going to him, but I bet she never expected to be completely transformed as Higgins plans. I suppose Higgins makes up for his verbal abuse since he does provide her with shelter, food, and clothing. I can't really tell if the relationship between these two characters is positive or negative.  It seems to me that Eliza is starting to take a liking to Higgins despite the terrible way he treats. His view of her that she is just a peasant doesn't seem like it will change, but only time can tell.

The Pearl Post 1

   
     My first thought when I looked at the cover was dismay since I saw that John Steinbeck wrote it.  I was coming home from a trip recently and caught an audiobook on the radio, that book being "Of mice and Men." I listened for as long as I could take, constantly hearing about George and his rabbits. I didn't catch it till the middle either so that spoiled it just a wee bit more. Anyways, after reading a few pages into the book I gained a better image of Steinbeck and that he does have more to talk about than simply rabbits.  When I first started reading, I thought the setting was somewhere in Japan because I remember reading a James Bond book where there were divers that weren't terribly advanced and lived in a village. Later when I mentioned that some king of Spain had become rich off this coast I realized it was central America or somewhere near there. I found the way he used songs to be very interesting.  The way he made all of Kino's thoughts able to be summarized through songs was a choice that would have never come to my mind.
   
     About a quarter of the way through the book when Kino found the pearl, I thought he was probably going to be very gracious and accept whatever was offered to him.  The way he used the doctor to picture greed and show that Kino was fairly different really reinforced the idea that his change later was drastic. When he went to go sell the pearl, it surprised me that he didn't take the offers given to him. He had seemed desperate enough to do anything to have his child healed. The way the doctor suddenly had this air of helpfulness about him should of course make him question why, but I wonder if he was just being paranoid when he convinced himself what the doctor was doing was bad. I also questioned why the author had chosen to turn Kino into exactly what he hated.  It also seemed strange to me that Kino still hated the doctor and everything like him, even though he was "healing" his child.