O. Henry

O. Henry, whose real name is William Sydney Porter, is a great American author. He married Athol Estes Roach and obtained a job at the bank. However, he was involved in the embezzlement, in which he stole money entrusted to one. Although he was sent to the prison for three years, he worked as a night druggist and published stories with his pen names. O. Henry then published prolific stories started in 1902. His stories often have surprised endings which amazed the readers. He depicts poverty and wealth carefully. The characters in his story are often ordinary men or heroes. He portraits love sensitively and has strong emotional feeling. He creates his style through dialects and figures of speech. The origin of his pen name is unclear, which may be related to a family cat or a book he read. Unfortunately, his bad habits of drinking alcohol deteriorates his health and a great author died in 1910.

Why do we have universal education, when did it start and why?

Universal education started in 1561 in Scotland because it could raise the youth of Realm. In January 1561, Scottish set out a national programmer for spiritual reform, including education. Since individual achievement and supremacy of Scripture are considered extremely important, widespread literacy is soon a significant goal. People need universal education because we need to gain knowledge, become civilized, communicate, and identify right and wrong. People don't want to become barbarians, and thus we need to become civilized. If people act like barbarians, World War III will happen and the society will never maintain peace. People gain basic knowledge of living so they can know what they need in order to survive in such dangerous world. People need to learn read and write so they can communicate with each other and deliver the right information. The most important part is that people need to identify right and wrong. They have to identify right and wrong based on moral standards and education. They need to make choices by themselves, instead of following others blindly. If people don't have this ability, they will always become the slaves of another. Furthermore, education promotes people to think, in which the enlightenment ideas are expressed by famous philosophers. These ideas then lead to revolution, such as American and French revolution. Therefore, we can discover the importance of education because it promotes people the ability to think, think, and think.

Cherished Item

If I could save just one item from a disaster-a fire, a flood, an earthquake, it would definitely be my stuffed elephant. As for many other people, I do believe that they would save money, electronic devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac), and valuable jewels, gold, stock.....,etc. However, my most cherished possession is my memory. Memory means everything to me. It means hope to the future, unfinished dream, connection to the unique past, and warning to the current situation. Memory is the true cherished possession which belongs to ONLY ME. From everything I own, why do I choose a not eye-catching stuffed elephant? Because my precious stuffed elephant represents my memory, my life, and my world. It connects my past, present, and future. It is my BEST partner since I was a 2-year-old baby; it is my sincere, trustworthy friend; it is my baby which I once gave birth to; it is my loyal personal listener; it is everything. My stuffed elephant represents EVERYTHING. No one/ stuffed animal in the world can ever represents its meaning to me because it represents worthy, valuable memory which brings me hopes and dreams.

Compare and Contrast "A Christmas Carol" Movies

The most obvious difference is that the Scrooge in Disney version is exaggeratedly greedy and stingy than that in Patrick Stewart's. Disney's Scrooge seems to be satisfied to engulf all the money in the world, because he hesitates and twitches before giving a penny. Stewart's Scrooge seems to be more serious and realistic while Disney's Scrooge seems to be more jocular and has black humor (according to his appearance). Disney's characters always have their own characteristics. On the other hand, Bob Cratchit is obviously different in both visions. He is depicted as tiny and weak in Disney's while he is tall and bold but he feared Scrooge pretty much. In addition, Disney's version is much more gorgeous and bright than Stewart's, whereas the Disney's spirits sprinkle magical dust while the Stewart's spirits transform and change the scene. Disney's background seems so magnificent while Stewart's background seems gloomy and portraits the polluted London under the Industrialized Revolution. Surprisingly, Stewart's Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back home, unlike the Ghost disappears when Scrooge seizes its hat in Disney's. When Scrooge visits Fred, Disney's Scrooge actually encounters an awkward situation in which Fred is asking guests to guess a riddle: Who's the savage animal, ass? When the guest is about to shout the answer (Scrooge) out loud, Scrooge knocks the door and enters. However, they still have a merry dinner. As in Stewart's vision, the guests are singing the carol with the intentionally repeated word "shy" while Scrooge is shy and embarrassed but he eventually en-heartens the courage and enters. At the end of the story, Disney's Scrooge sings the carol with the choir and carries Tiny Tim down the street while Stewart's Scrooge sings in the church and Bob's family visits Scrooge. Lastly, Bob narrates the ending in Disney's while Fred narrates the ending in Stewart's. 
The similarities between the Disney's and Stewart's are that they both start with the funeral of Jacob Marley. Both Scrooge loves to say "HUMBUG!" and is covetous and miserly. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come doesn't talk in both versions and seems cold-hearted. Both Scrooge wakes up from falling into the coffin but changes the behavior right away. The most important part is that both versions of A Christmas Carol do bring me a sense of thankfulness and touches my heart deeply. They remind me I should appreciate what I possess, and be grateful to people who I met, because they give me lessons. They make the audience feel benevolent and warm-hearted for watching wonderful movies which enlighten and stretch our minds far far away. Both movies are worth to watch whenever we are perplexed  because they widen our visions and bring us new hopes toward future and life.

The Victorian Workhouse

Look up information about the workhouses of Victorian times and write a blog entry about what you learned. Answer this question in your blog: Do you think Scrooge really understood what it would be like for people to be in a workhouse?

Workhouse was for people who were aged, unemployed, vagrant, orphaned, disabled, and unmarried and old women during the Victorian era. The workhouse was a place where the poor could live, work, and support themselves. It provided basic supplies, such as free medical care, food, clothes, and free education (besides reading and writing) for children and training for a job. There were dining-hall, dormitories, chapel, clinic and many other stores inside the workhouse. The poor and old were afraid of the workhouse because the government made sure they feared the workhouse so lazy people won't depend on the workhouse for everything and did nothing. Unfortunately, families were split up inside the workhouse according to gender and age. The poor had to wear uniforms so everyone outside knew they worked in the workhouse. The food was tasteless and people often did unpleasant jobs. Stone crushing (break the rocks into small pieces for building roads) and oakum picking (undo ropes covered with tar, which rub the fingers raw) were typical terrible jobs in the workhouse. I don't think Scrooge really understood what it would be like for people to be in a workhouse because he wasn't extremely poor and vagrant. Though Scrooge had a miserable childhood, he was merely isolated in school but he still received education. He was rich after he became a successful accountant. He didn't undergo and understand the poor situation in the workhouse and thought that the poor could live, work, and depend on the workhouse for everything. The truth was that the workhouse was even more horrible than the prison and people feared and wanted to get rid of the workhouse immediately.

Which Ghost Affected Scrooge the Most?

I believe that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come affected Scrooge the most because Scrooge immediately changed his behavior after witnessing his death. Death symbolized that Scrooge won't leave footprints in the world besides bad reputation for his poor character. However, Scrooge did change "the shadows of what may be" after he realized that he was still alive. Scrooge was overwhelmed with happiness and he did honor Christmas day. He sent Bob Cratchit the largest turkey, attended his nephew's Christmas dinner, donated great amounts of money to the charity, gave blessings to people, and even raised Bob's salary. Scrooge wasn't stingy, self-centered, and greedy; he was generous, kind-hearted, and joyful. Scrooge took good care of Tiny Tim and treated him as his own child. Scrooge transformed so much that he represented the spirits of Christmas. He treated Christmas with sincerity and merriness, which influenced all the other people.

Theme for Liberty and Exile

Julia Alvarez's Liberty:

-Subject: liberty

-Character: main character escapes to America in order to reach freedom. However, she must leave her dog, Liberty, behind.

-Conflict: main character struggles to leave Liberty behind because Liberty is her friend
-Theme: One must give up something in order to gain another thing
-Explanation: the main character leaves her dog, Liberty, behind (give up something) in order to migrate to America and reach freedom (gain another thing)


Julia Alvarez's Exile:
-Subject: freedom
-Character: main character is confused because she escapes her country hurriedly. She feels helpless for the future in New York City.
-Theme: One must give up something for change but one has to face the unknown future
-Explanation: the main character's family loves their country but they have to escape to America in order to reach the idealistic freedom. However, the main character and father are worried because they have to face the unknown future in an unfamiliar place, New York City, and try to adapt the new environment.