A Smaill Place by Jamaica Kincaid

Part 1:
1. Does Kincaid describe what the natives feel about tourist fairly?
2. Do the natives of Antigua dislike all tourist or just Europeans?
3. Does it help to bring a another countries influence and  to another without affecting the other?
Part 2:
  1. Does Kincaid describe what the natives feel about tourist fairly?

In the piece called “A small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, she talks about how native perceive tourist. She explains that if you were a tourist you are seen as “ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that” and that the natives cannot stand you and they judge the things that you do. It is harsh but to me this is true because I have experienced these things on my travels, similar to Kincaid's. She talks about arriving to Antigua and her journey to the hotel. When she encounters the taxi driver and the driver tells her the amount of what the ride would cost her, he added that the amount would be with U.S currency trying to rip her off. When I read this it reminded me of when I entered a grocery store with my cousin in Mexico and when I left the store my cousin, who is from Mexico, told me that I had just been ripped off and I got mad at my cousin for not telling me before I paid but I went back to get my exact change back. When I went to Mexico in January I was in a small town walking to my family’s bakery with my aunt and as Kincaid puts it I began to feel like I was being judged because as I passed people they would give me an  unpleasant look. While I was in the bakery there was a group of girls staring at me while they giggled which made me uncomfortable because I had done nothing wrong or had anything on my face. Kincaid says that the reasons why the natives do things like that is because they are envious because you have the ability and means to get away from “your own banality and boredom," but those particular experiences did not damper my mood as much nor did I let it ruin my trip.

Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag Response

1  Part 1:

    1. Does the new technology that is coming out in photography change the quality of the photograph?

    2. Should they censor photography and television during war times?

    3. Why don't they show deaths in Europe like they do in Africa?

     Part 2:

2  2. Should they censor photography and television during war times?

In Susan Sontag’s piece “Regarding the Pain of Others,” she talks about the photos being taken by photographers of people about to die and after.  She talks about a certain photograph of a Vietnamese prisoner being shot in the street near photographers. I remember seeing that photograph in my history of photography class last semester, it is a very powerful photograph, you could see the fear in the prisoners face and you could see the chief’s face looks stone cold with no remorse and the soldier in the back showing his anger towards the prisoner. Part of Sontag’s piece reminded me of the time I went to the Tolerance Museum and seeing photographs of dead bodies as well as people on the verge of death. Through the middle of the museum, I remember crying until I left because the experience was so powerful. It would be pretty hard for one not to be affected by the photographs and video clips of what the Jewish people went through for those years. I don’t think they should censor photographs that are shown in museums, newspapers, or galleries because I feel that people should see what others got through and see during the war. They should also make it equal by showing the death of the “enemy” as well as our own soldiers to show all sides of the war. Television is another issue because children have an easier access to televisions. It’s hard for adults to avoid the news during war times and it would be harder for them to explain the pictures being shown.  Those types of pictures would also be frightening to children.  Yes these types of pictures would be hard for the people who know the victims in a personal level but they can use those picuresas a form of grieving as wells as showing others that war may not be the answer.  

 

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9/11 and A Few Weeks Later by Susan Sontag

Part 1:
1. Was the U.S. attacked because of their modern life stye or was it other reasons?
2. Why did the U.S. have 9/11 coming?
3. Why did the government try to convince America that everything was alright?
Part 2:
3. Why did the government try to convince America that everything was alright?

In Susan Sontag’s piece called “9/11” she states that “Our leaders are bent on convincing us that everything is O.K” but she feels that everything was not O.K. because America had then declared they were at war. It seems that she was not agreeing with the war and that government wasn’t doing a great job telling the nation the truth behind the attacks. It seems that Sontag wanted the government to give people a chance to understand what had happened on that day and what was to follow, rather than just declaring war right away. I was nine years old when the twin towers were hit, I remember going to school and we watched the news broadcasting the events that were happening that day. Even when I got home my family was watching the news, I remember watching the towers fall and watching the people’s personal videos that they shot from ground zero on the television and I remember hearing people screaming and crying. I remember the news broadcasting the final calls that people made from the twin towers and the high jacked airplanes to their loved ones. As well as the pilots calling their dispatchers saying that their being high jacked. This was heartbreaking too watch, even to this day when they show programs explaining why 9/11 happened and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, it is sad to see the videos and hear the phone calls. When U.S. declared war, they announced that it was because they thought that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but a people thought that the U.S. had hidden agendas like they declared war because they wanted their oil. In the article “A Few Weeks Later” Sontag expresses that the attack was “an attack on modernity”, whatever the reason maybe, I feel that the government wanted to convince America that everything was going to be alright, so that the country could feel safe again and not to stir up panic and fear.

Commentary #1: Tiana Kentera

Starting from your first paragraph in your rough draft, I think you did a good job explaining Carr’s view point. Also, that you state clearly your opposing view point to Carr’s, but I think you can make your example stronger rather than writing that the internet doesn’t agree with Carr. I liked that you added that you just like everyone else has skimmed through books and articles and not just the internet. But overall your evidence is sufficient. (The S, from STAR)

            Second paragraph, I liked the first quote you gave because it flows with the point you are trying to come across. The second quote is a good one but seems too long for a quote; maybe you could try and paraphrase it. This helps with the typical in your argument (The T, from STAR).

            In the third paragraph, you have good points that opposes with Carr’s viewpoints but if you rearrange the two quotes so they wouldn’t be one right after the other it can make your point come across more clearly because your point is being lost. It seems that there is too much information you can make this paragraph longer or divide it into two.

            In the fourth paragraph you show Carr’s weaknesses in his article. It shows the potential of accuracy (The A, from STAR) in your essay.  You can add a quote or statement from a person from the articles or journals you have found to support your clam further and get the accuracy you need in your argument. It also clearly shows the Relevance (the R, from STAR) in your essay.

            Lastly your conclusion, I liked the how you summed up your argument. Your essay was well written, just needs a little proof reading. I also scanned you your essay back with a few marks to help you in your final draft. There were good examples as well, to support your argument, maybe add another to strengthen your argument even further. Your essay was clear and it shows the angle you are coming across from. The reason you presented were logical and I have seen them and their effectiveness. With the arguments you have presented, I think it would win over some skeptics as well as neutral audiences. Hopefully this would help you with your final draft; if you need to reach me I sent you, my contact information via email. Good Luck!