I chose Foreign Policy because it's an issue that irritates me. It upsets me that we send over so many soldiers, money, and resources to other countries when we need to get our own country's priorities straight. There are some serious things wrong with our countries, for example, education, economy, and unemployment. I'm not saying we shouldn't help other countries, we are a superpower in the world and it is somewhat our responsibility to make sure things around the world go smoothly but it is not our responsibility to hold every country's hand when they need help. Some countries need to learn how to govern, protect, and work well on their own without our assistance. America needs to learn how to say no, besides how can we expect to help someone else when we don't have our country together? While researching my topic I came across some very offensive, vulgar, and just plain ignorant articles and blogs regarding foreign policy. That’s what I chose to be the basis of my satire, I wanted to make fun of the ignorant notion that Obama loves foreigners and doesn’t care about America while in reality he loves America and just wants to be a good president and world leader. I geared my satire to the audience of teenagers. I wanted to write something funny so it would keep them interested but also show that such ignorance like that is disgusting and that we try and change the future so stuff like that won’t exist. I think someone who wouldn’t understand my satire is someone who genuinely didn’t know what satire was and believed in all of the things in my article. I chose an article because I thought I could make my point better though that media and like I said it was a satire of the other awful articles/blogs that I read.
Foreign Policy“The land of the free and the home of the brave” That’s America’s motto, so it’s no surprise that America has a history of jumping into foreign affairs. A recent poll has found that Americans think the U.S. is no longer superpower player and wants leaders to ease off interfering with other countries problems. About 53% of Americans say that America is less respected in the world view. Paul Lewis, “Most Americans think US should 'mind its own business' abroad, survey finds,” December 3, 2013.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/american-public-mind-its-own-business-survey America has always valued freedom and democracy, that is the basis on which we were founded, but a blogger says that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks America has been inclined to get involved or impose upon things that don’t concern them. American leaders thought it a good idea to rid Afghanistan of of the Taliban, which probably was a good idea but ultimately caused more harm than good. America has lost thousands of soldiers in a twelve-year war that has brought about nothing but wasted resources and death. Meishayuri, “Why can’t America mind it’s own business?”, September 14, 2013. http://meishayuri.com/2013/09/14/why-cant-the-usa-mind-its-own-business/ We also have a tendency jump into situations that we know little of says Kaylar from Bubblews.com. Kaylar thinks that America has has this sense of justice that it must get rid of every bad guy in another country, even if they don’t know how it will affect that country. She throws out examples in order to reiterate her point, America took down Saddam Hussein and Iraq has not gotten better, America aided in taking down Gaddafi and some would argue that Libya is worse, America helped get Duvalier into power in Haiti and that resulted in thousands of deaths. Kaylar, “Can’t America mind it’s own business?”, June 19, 2013. http://www.bubblews.com/news/685092-can039t-america-mind-its-own-business As you can see some people believe that America should really sit down and mind their own business. On the contrary some feel that America is doing the right thing. An anonymous commentator claimed that it’s America’s duty as a superpower to get involved with the world’s problems. The commentator says that America cannot “mind their own business” because it’s our business as well and who are we to not handle our business? Another commenter stated that it was our job as humans. They claimed that it’s the right thing to lend our resources and aid the world in any way we can. Obviously opinions are varied on this topic people don’t seem to be agreeing anytime soon. “Should America help other countries?” http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-america-help-other-countries The Dump Wednesday February 19, 2014 Issue 78, Volume 3 Obama: Foreigner Loving American Traitor |
This was not funny at all. In fact this article made me downright uncomfortable. The article was basically one big euphemism. The author was just trying to use silly logic to try and justify dating your mom. For example, when the author says "There are hundreds of times you and your mom are thrown together naturally - without the tension that usually accompanies courtship." That's just ridiculous, of course you're going to feel natural around her that's your mother but that doesn't mean you should date her. I don't think this is a satire. There is no underlying message or point to this article, There's no use of sarcasm in the article and it's not based on anything. This is slightly offending but other than that there are no other elements that make it a satire. |
"Becoming Madame Mao" by Anchee Min
In the beginning of the passage there is a lack of punctuation. "You need to have the lotus feet my mother cries." To me it seems like the mother is in a panic about about the child's feet bindings but there isn't an exclamation point there so I don't feel the emotion behind it. The passage also switches from past to present and from first to third person. It's somewhat confusing because there is no indication of when the setting will change. This passage also describes her abusive father. The author uses descriptive language so I can clearly picture him but when describing the beatings he gives the child and her mother there is a lack of details.
In the beginning of the passage there is a lack of punctuation. "You need to have the lotus feet my mother cries." To me it seems like the mother is in a panic about about the child's feet bindings but there isn't an exclamation point there so I don't feel the emotion behind it. The passage also switches from past to present and from first to third person. It's somewhat confusing because there is no indication of when the setting will change. This passage also describes her abusive father. The author uses descriptive language so I can clearly picture him but when describing the beatings he gives the child and her mother there is a lack of details.
The equivalent of falling crystals. More fragile than glass. Beautiful in every aspect and glowing in radiance. That is rain. Lazy, Peaceful, Playful, and Tumultuous. A light pit pat pit pat on your window. A force that cannot be matched by any other on Earth. That is rain. We dance in it, we sing in it, we cry in it, and we love it. It is an inseparable part of us that we will never let go, nor would we want to. The muse of artists, the ruler of civilizations, and the blood of earth itself. That is rain. It can destroy and bring chaos. It can dry up and leave us with nothing. It can bring sorrow and happiness and love and hate. It can mend together and wrench apart. That is rain. A beautiful, delightful thing. Iridescent, murderous, and life-giving. A melody of bedlam that can sooth the soul. That is rain. |
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and "Like Water for Chocolates" by Laura Esquivel both use magical realism. The way they use it is very different though. Marquez's magical realism is more on the realistic side, for example he says that Pelayo and Elisenda had killed so many crabs because of the rain that he had to throw them into the sea. You can see how a big storm could have made a lot marine life wash ashore. It also makes sense how an old man who was drenched and weakened could wind up in their courtyard. Even though the old man is an angel how he got there is somewhat realistic. Esquivel however leans more to the magical elements in her writing. She uses more in her story to lighten it up. Her story would be a little sad if she if she did not include her magical elements, like when Gertrudis accidentally sets the shower on fire with her "passion" and then runs away to a brothel, that would come off as really sad and disappointing but with that bit of magical realism it comes off as more comical. Esquivel also uses it a lot more in her story. It's used in every chapter and almost in every situation. The characters reactions to it are different as well. Marquez's story it seems strange to them but in Esquivel's it almost seems normal. In conclusion both Marquez and Esquivel use magical realism in their stories. They both use it in in different ways though; Esquivel uses it in greater amounts and stays more on the magical side while Marquez uses it less frequently and is a bit more realistic than her. |