Every individual deals with trauma differently and the impact a trauma leaves doesn’t necessarily depend on the severity of trauma, but rather on the sensitivity of the person experiencing it. For some individuals, they become unresponsive and very isolated from the outside world, close into themselves, however, for others, trauma can help them become a stronger, more capable individual who is better prepared on all life has in store for them.

The war was a conflict between north and south Vietnam. After North Vietnamese torpedo boats alledgedly attacked the South Vietnamese boats, President Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Congress soon passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson broad war-making powers.The Vietnam War and active U.S. involvement in the war began in 1954 however the conflict has been an ongoing one for several decades.

2. How was Vietnam divided after the Indochina War?

From 1954 to 1975 Vietnam was divided into two countries, North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam)

3. Who was Ho Chi Minh and what did he want to do?

He was president of North Vietnam from 1945 to 1969, and he was one of the most influential communist leaders of the 20th a Vietnamese revolutionary, communist, nationalist, and politician who wanted to make Vietnam independent.

4. How and why did the USA get involved?

the U.S. war with Japan in the Pacific, domestic pressure to act against communism after the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong's pledge in 1950 to support the Viet Minh guerrilla forces in the First Indochina.

5. Who were the VietCong?

The Vietnamese communists.

6. What is Guerilla War?

Type of warfare that included small groups, such as children or rebels to fight against military officials.

I also found interesting, and shocking, that even the already segregated black South Africans were divided into two rival groups, Zulu and Xhosa. From the first two chapters, I sense that the Zulu are more violent, dominant and ready to fight not only the opressors (white), but their cold-war-like conflict with the Xhosa, an example of which is demonstrated at the end of chapter 1, when Noah, his mother, and baby brother have to escape the minibus due to the escalation between the mother (Xhosa) and the Zulu drivers.

The apartheid mentality is shown from the very beginning when Noah talks about the different churches they attend, with a strong quote “If you’re native American and pray to the wolves, you’re a savage, If you’re African and you pray to your ancestors, you’re a primitive.” This quote supports the idea of the Black having an even lesser value than the Natives. Noah’s family was strongly religious, especially his mother, and not very up-to-date with modern culture since Noah states that the Bible was his “action movie”. Faith is demonstrated to be the Alpha and omega in their lives.

The second chapter focuses more on the history of the South African conflict which Noah adds inbetween his personal stories. He contrasts his pragmatic relationship with god and her mother’s complete devotion using Juctaposition, which I found very interesting and overall, the way he balanced all the wrong that had happened to them as a family on God since he comes from such a strong spritual upbringing.

Diary, more recent experiences, written more frequently with a set of interesting events happening your life, shorter than a memoir and is chronological, stream of conciousness

Autobiography, covers more time (years- lifetime) of the authors life and usually has a chronological order, first person narrative

-emotions, thoughts, details

-snappy sentences (syntax)

-descriptive setting

-vivid imagery

-catchy beginning and creative structure

-reflection and honesty

1. How is the incident of being thrown out of the car a defining incident for this chapter?

It is a defining incident because it showcases the severity of the interracial differences the two tribes have with each other and to what brutality lengths they are willing to go just to spark and live in conflict.

2. How does Trevor describe the conflicts between the Zulu and Xhosa tribes and how he and his mother were in the middle of it?

The Zulu people were more warrior-like and ready to fight and the Xhosa were more influenced by the European culture. Noah and his family were very religious and had to take minibuses to the churches everyday because they were so far apart. They were forced to go with the Zulu people once and since they were Xhosa, it sparked conflict.

3. Describe Trevor’s experiences in and feelings about the three churches.

They attended one white church, one black, and one mixed church. Jubilant church was mixed church with a christian karaoke. Analytical church was white church where he loved not having to go to the service but only to Sunday school. And passionate, cathartic church, that was black church.

4. How does Trevor define Apartheid for the American and Western reader?

 Noah describes apartheid as “institutionalised or perfect racism.” As well as slavery, segregation, and displacement.

She was as stubborn as she was religious,a rebel, and that she refused to work in a factory (where every black person “should have” worked). She used her faith as a crutch when dealing both, with the apartheid laws, and also dealing with Noah, her son.

2. How does Trevor describe his early childhood?

Trevor spent most of his early childhood living in Soweto with his mother and grandmother, who had to hide him away and wouldn’t let him play outside with his cousins because of his colour in order to keep him hidden from the police who would not only take him away, but his mother would face some serious jail time.

3. How was life in Soweto Township for Trevor?

The only way they could walk the streets of Soweto was by his mother would pretend to be a stranger to protect the both of them. Their neighbours would also pose a threat, anytime willing to call the police if they saw Noah outside.

4. How does Trevor describe his father?

He describes his father as a “tall and handsome man with a strong presence and a charismatic personality”.  A man of many talents, but he had a temper and could end up being strict. He loved his children though and had a good sense of humour.

5. Describe how Trevor uses the analogy of a parachute to show his feelings about growing up as a mixed race child.

"Imagine being thrown out of an airplane. You hit the ground and break all your bones, you go to the hospital and you heal and you move on and finally put the whole thing behind you-and then one day somebody tells you about parachutes. That's how I felt. I couldn't understand why we'd stayed."

He basically says that why suffer when you have a much better and brighter future awaiting you at some other place, but get to know this fact only as you already lived all through the unnecessary pain.

1. How does Trevor describe life in the township?

“For the million people who lived in Soweto, there were no stores, no bars, no restaurants. There were no paved roads, minimal electricity, inadequate sewerage. But when you put one million people together in one place, they find a way to make a life for themselves.” He also lived in a house full of women since his father couldn’t be involved with them because of being white. He enjoyed it never-the-less, because the people stuck together.

2. What role did the prayer circles play?

Noah said that Faith filled the void left by the absence of men. Women got together and cicrulated between their houses to give Thank to Jesus and talk about what was going on in their lives while also singing worship songs.

3. How does Trevor show his attitude towards the English language?

Noah speaks english as a first language and soon enough learns that English is connected to a status, if a black person in south africa speaks english, he is automatically looked at from a better perspective. His grandmother always made him say the prayers in English in the belief that Jesus would hear his prayer out sooner if it was in English, the language Jesus spoke.

4. How was the anecdote of Trevor secretly going to the bathroom in the kitchen humorous and what message does it tell through this humor?

Well, he was really dreading to use the communal toilet because of all the flies and smell, so he decided to do it in the house on a newspaper sheet, thinking nobody was home, but the blind Koko smelled it and when grandmother and mother came home, they thought it was an evil demon who left the píle (because Trevor was too ashamed to own up to it).

5. How does language reinforce racism?

 Noah explains that language was used as a tool to separate people, with different racial groups being forced to speak different languages. This language division made it difficult for different racial groups to communicate and understand each other, reinforcing racist beliefs and behaviors.

1. Transition from “The Things They Carried”: Consider the transition from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 (are theychapters?)

a) What do you notice about the narration, time etc?

 The main difference between the first two chapters and “Love” is the time when the events are happening. The narrator stayed the same, but in this chapter, the narrator focused more on giving the reader information about Jimmys relationship with Martha, which is a 180 degree turn from the bombing and killing in Vietnam during the war times.

b) How do these chapters differ? c. How do they connect?

 They vary in length greatly, Chapter “Love” was very much shorter than the first two, and also the tone in which they are written in differs. “Love” is written in a more caring and romantic way in contrast with the real and raw details we were given in the first two chapters. The narrator does mention Martha in the first 2 chapters as well as Crosses undying love for her, but now he switches to the present and how hurt he was when she rejected him.

2. Metafiction: Fiction about writing fiction. Write some thoughts on these prompts ready for a discussion.

a) What are the effects of this Metafiction technique?

 Metafiction makes the story often more engaging, can make up important details to add to the overall mood, can add powerful words’- diction

b) How does O’Brien clue the reader in to what is going on?

 O’Brien

The starts with the switching to gin, forshadowing that something important is going to be said and that they will reminisce on the old times.

c) Is this fact or fiction? How do we know? Does it matter if we know? What rings true in the chapter“Love”?

We don’t know for sure, but probably true since at the end of the chapter, O’Brien asks Jimmy if he can write this into his book, (Assuming it is personal information).

3. Martha: Jimmy Cross and his preoccupation with Martha is central to this story.

a) What does Jimmy reveal to Tim about Martha? Why does O’Brien include these details?

 He reveals how she doesn’t trust men anymore and how she basically rejected him after he confessed his feelings for her. He includes these details to show that the men have human struggles after all, not just connected to war.

b) What does Martha say about “the things men do” and what is important here?

 This was her response to Jimmy’s request on spending the night with her, and suggests that she doesn’t trust men (Something bad might have happened to her in the past)

c) What is the “truth” of this story?

Idk

1. The Title: What is the significance of the title of this chapter? Consider the definition of ‘spin’ in connection with storytelling, language and truth.

 Point of view, informal language, gentle diction, trying to uplift it by writing short stories

2. Structure: How is this chapter structured and how is this different from the previous chapters?

 Thoughts and personal details are included in between the stories, also mentions how life is after the war, the impact and trauma it had on him and his plato.

3. Memories: There are many different memories in this chapter.

a) Which one is particularly striking to you and why?

b) How do these memories show us the complexity of war?

 He hopes it will help him to move on

c) Many of these ‘memories’ are actually foreshadowing later stories. Why does O’Brien insert thischapter here?

4. The Ending: Re-read the final sentence in this chapter. What point is O’Brien making? How do you thinkthis idea connects to the rest of the novel?

A chameleon is an animal that changes colours based on its surroundings, he uses this feature as a camouflage to hide from predators. At the beginning of the chapter, Trevor’s grandmother hits his cousin but doesn’t punish Trevor after him being the naughty one and causing harm to the other. She then reveals to Trevor’s mother how she is scared to hit a white child because of how many colours he turns into (Blue, purple and green) resembling a chameleon.

2. What are some of Trevor’s experiences with identity and how he feels about himself?  (The chocolate metaphor)

From a very young age, Trevor experiences a different treatment based solely on his skin colour, even from his on family members. He is given much less attention when he does a wrongdoing than his black peers from all adults exept his mother. From his perception, different coloured people were like chocolate (white-white choco, black-dark choco, trevor -milk choco). He saw this from an innocent child point of view, not knowing about race and how different skin colour meant different treatment (never imagined a thing like racism exists).

3. What are his early experiences with language and how does this prove to be an essential tool for him to survive?

In Soweto were many different tribes speaking many different languages and Trevor’s first language was English and he stated that it was the language of money, it is the language that would get you employed or even keep you out of prison, your whole life depends on English when you were a Black living in South Africa. Also his mother knew many languages which helped them, for example, at the shops when the white spoke in Afrikaans, thinking the y wouldn’t understand, and his mother formulating a response and getting an applogy from the white man or his experience with the Zulu gang.

4. What do we learn about the inequities in the educational system during Apartheid?

The main thing is that eventhough the Apartheid was coming to an end, even in private schools the white kids still got privilledged and all the other colours or races were treated unfairly, however, Trevor also mentioned that Maryvalle school was like an Oasis with a fake world quite different from the reality outside of the school grounds. When Trevor went to a public school, things took a turn and the racial separations showed even between the children, white with white, Black with black. Again, Trevor wondered why there aren’t any Black kids in A classes (there were mostly white kids) and all of them were in B classes and the councelor told him that A classes are for the smart and privilledged (meaning the black are classified as dumb and not ready for a higher education solely based on their race and colour of skin).

5. What are the differences between British and Afrikaner racism?

 The main form of racism of the British was more regarding the intelectual level of people judging people by their knowledge or wits) while the Afrikan people saw only the colour of people’s skin, you were black? Didn’t matter how smart you were or if you had potential, the Afrikan people would simply tell you their version and because you’re black, you canť attend the smarter class (automatically degrading a person based on the stupid idea of race/skin colour).

He describes the journey as tough and difficult, she had to go to extreme measures to survive this period in her life, but Noah states in multiple occasions how it made her stronger and how she became the main source of income for the family.

2. What were the Homelands and how did they also prove to be unjust during Apartheid?

Ten homelands were created to rid South Africa of its black citizens but also, the government would sort asians as black people, however, this was unjust because some minorities, like China, were treated poorly and got sent to the homelands, and countries like Japan who provided some sort of benefit to the South Africans were treated with the respect of a white person.

3. What was Trevor’s mother’s experience when she left her house to live with other unwanted children of her father?

It was one of her greatest wishes to be able to live with her father, however, he completely disregarded her and treated her with no love or affection. Instead, she had to care for many young children while still being a child herself.

4. How did Trevor’s mother overcome these obstacles to overcome poverty?

After her aunt died, Trevor’s mother took a typing course and started working as a secretary for white people. She started having a decent salary but had to provide money for the entire family “the curse of being black and poor”, having to pay all the bills and get accessories such as the refrigerator or a TV.

5. What lessons did Trevor’s mother teach him that showed him a path to success and possibility?

 During this chapter, she told Trevor to not “take for granted how we got to where we were.” She thinks it wrong to dwell on past suffering, so she never does, even though she also wants to ensure her son never suffers like she did. She told him her story when he was just 10 years old, and inspired him to try harder and fight for his wellbeing.

He was given a more leneant treatment from the adults in his life and he was more mischevious from a very early age. He mentions that he was very hyperactive and would often run torwards the traffic as a child, he loved to be chased. He also gave a hard time to his teachers in school, for example, he took the magnifying glass out of the projectors, or emptied a fire extunguisher into the school piano. In my opinion, he lacked a male figure that would set him boundaries.

2. How did Trevor and his mom act like lawyers writing letters to each other?

During the early years, Trevor and his mother played games of who can trick who the best and Trevor usually won the contests, but later on when he grew older, these jokes turned into a courtroom and Trevor wih his mother turned into lawyers, writing letters to eachother because the mother was tired of being outsmarted all the time. Sometimes the letters would be of high quality and would improve Trevors volcabulary and writing abilities, other times they would be more accusatory and they’re have a formal arguement.

3. What are Trevor‘s experiences at the Catholic school and what happened with the communion materials?

He would also get punished by his wrongdoings at the school, the nuns would hit his hand with a metal ruler or wash his mouth out with soap as well as get an official hiding from the principal. He couldn’t participate at the catholic mass and he found a clever way to outsmart the system so he ate all of Jesuses body and drank all of Jesuses blood, this earned him another trip to the psychologist.

4. How did Trevor continuously break the rules?

Aside from being the ultimate bad boy in Maryvalle school, he was a very mischievous kid in his neighborhood. There was a lot of ass-whooping from his mother, the only authority figure in his life. He also got expelled from the school as a result of his continuous pranks and mischiefs throughout his school years. His mother took his side most of the time however, and eventhough he did break many of the school’s rules, she believed in God’s authority over the school’s and Trevor never broke any promise to God. Later in the chapter, he burned down a white persons house which caused hus mother’s boyfriend Abel to get kicked out since he was living in their garage.

5. What happened with the black cat at the soccer match and why does Trevor use this example at the end of the chapter?

The black people believe that cast are evil and that they are owned by witches. A black cat once ran onto the field during a soccer match and since Black people believed it was a sign of evil, a black guard beat it to death. The person had a trial because the white found this act unacceptable but Trevor points out that when white people beat black people to death, that’s ok from their point of view, but when a black kills a cat, it is considered animal abuse. This just supports the whole idea of Apartheid and connects another real life example to the mentality of the white South Africans.

6. What is the significance of the title of this chapter called loopholes?

I believe that the chapter name is symbolic to the fact that Noah always found loopholes in the system, wether that was at home with his family, the school, or in public places such as the shop and caramel apple incident. He always somehow got away with lots of mischiefs that he himself said no other child he knew could get away with.

Trevor and his mother ended up with 2 dogs after their cast were killed. Fufi was Trevor’s dog and he loved her very much, she was however jumping over a fence everytime they were out in school or work and was visiting another family. The family didn’t want to give her back to Trevor and he was heartbroken at the sight of his dog belonging to another boy/family. These secret visits leave Trevor heartbroken and challenge his understanding of loyalty and affection, he hates to see Fufi love another boy in the same way she loves him.

2. What is funny about this chapter but what is also serious?

 Trevor has learned a valuable lesson in this chapter, when his mother was buying off Fufi from the other family who claimed it was their dog, the boy also cried when he was loosing “Spotty”. Trevor was upset that Fufi loved another boy, he felt betrayed, until his mother reminded him that just because Fufi loves that family doesn’t mean she doesn’t love Trevor the same way and that we are capable of having multiple relationships filled with love and affection. It was humourous how he felt like Fufi has broken up with him, but it was also a serious life lesson for Trevor that he cannot possess the object of his love.

His dad hates racism and homogeneity, he says he cannot understand how white people can be racist torwards the black in South Africa since it is a “black country”. He also didn’t agree with the rules of Apartheid, he even opened the first restaurant that could serve both white and black people, but unfortunatelly due to the neighbours complaining, the restaurant gets shut down.

3. What do people try to do to Trevor’s dad to stop him?

When the neighbours and people generally complain, the government sends various inspections to evaluate the situation in the restaurant. At first, they state that if the restaurant should remain opened, he will need to establish 4 different kinds of toilets for all the different races. The other option the propose is to make the restaurant a white-only restaurant, otherwise they will shut it down (which Robert doesn’t agree with so they end up winning and the restaurant shuts down).

4. What are Trevor’s experiences with his father on his birthday and on  Sundays?

On Sundays, Trevor made a deal with his mother that he could skip black church if he went to the other two, and instead could spend  the Sunday afternoon at his dads, doing more ‘normal’ Things like watch TV or play formula 1, which Trevor appreciated. His dad also cooked for him (he always asked for potato ‘rosti’ and a bottle of Sprite). His father knew what Trevor liked, and made sure to give him the best birthdays, cards or presents he could, but he didn’t talk much.

5. How did his relationship with his father slowly become more distant?

When Trevor was 13, his father moved to Cape Town and they lost touch completely although there were many factors in their relationship already pointing in that direction. Trevor was in his adolescent years, and like every teenager, he didn’t care much about the relationships with his parents. Abel (mother’s new boyfriend) also responses the idea of them being in contact with Trevor’s father and they didn’t want to make him angry. Trevor grew up, stayed busy with school, work, life in general, and didn’t have a lot of time left to worry about his father although sometimes, he still wondered what he was up to.

Q: What was the pencil test and what was its significance?

A: The pencil test was a very primitive invention by the white government of South Africa when the coloured people were applying to be able to be clsssified as “white”. If the pencil fell out, you were white, if it stayed in, you remained coloured (basically it all depended on the thickness of your hair). This test worked as a measure of how you could live, where you could work and whom you coulf marry, it sorted out the prtson’s entite future.

Quotation:

“People are willing to accept you if they see you as an outsider trying to assimilate into their world. But when they see you as a fellow tribe member attempting to disavow the tribe, that is something they will never forgive. That is what happened to me in Eden Park. “(174)

This quotation stood out to me because it opens the chapter after the short monologue of Trevor at the very beginning of chapter 9, how the coloured people were ‘made’ and follows an aspect from his childhood of growing up as a mixed child in a coloured neighbourhood and the way the white peoplr wanted to ‘whiten’ the coloured people. It summarizes the whole situation of not only white being racist, but the black being even more racist amongst themselves than the white from the outside.

Comment about chapters:

Chapter 9 was mostly about explaining more of the background of how coloured people came to be, that they were of mixed race when the white came and conquered not only their land but also their women, ending up with descendants and either abandoning them completely, or living separately from their family. Trevor felt hated by everyone becaude of being light skinned and speaking english, not quite mixing with the whites, but the blacks giving him an even harder time. It escalatef when he got bullied during the muleberry incident, a gang of black kids started hitting him with the berries and when Trevor came home and told his mother and her boyfriend Abel, Abel got really angry (giving his issues with temper) and beat the main boy up infront of Trevor, forcing him to appologize. Abel then continued to fight off the father of the boy and both, Trevor and Particis saw what a dangerous man with a temper Abel is.

Chater 10 is all about love (well forced affection), and Trevor’s first heartbreak. His mother tought him how to behave like a man towards women but she failed to teach him how to tell if he loved a girl. Before Valentine’s day at his school, Trevor’s friends encouraged him to ask Maylene to be his valentine (the only black girl in the school) and she said yes, she was Trevor’s first kiss and he was really happy. He saved up money for gifts and even write her a poem. When Valentine’s day came, she broke his heart, telling him she could no longwr be his girlfriend or his valentine because Lorenzo asked her out. Trevor understood why she picked Lorenzo, because he was white and good-looking, however, it still broke his heart.

The reality is that he actually doesn’t, he doesn’t know anything for sure, everything he describes are simply deductions, nothing is for certain because he has never seen this soldier in his life, he wants to grow closer to the soldier, giving him a background a life due to the fact of the narrator needing some human form in his victim in order to navigate his feelings.

Tim O’Brien employs symbolism to convey the lost innocence of the dead soldier.

Tom was Trevor’s partner in crime when it came to the pirate CD business, however, he was very unpredictable and overall was just using Trevor for his own benefit. This could be observed during two incidents, the made up american Rapper that was actually Trevor in disguise, while also getting Trevor a girl for prom and wanting a bigger part of the CD business profit in return. He wasn’t a good friend, he probably was just using Trevor because he wanted to stay popular with the newest music and trends, leaving Trevor dealing with the aftermath of never being prepared (like the rapper situation) and just being put on the spot by Tom. “He delivers just enough to keep you believing”.

2. What is Trevor’s experience with girls and how does this set up the rest of the chapter?

Trevor’s experience with girls is not a pink one, given how many heartbreaks he has already experienced prior to this interaction so when Tom says he will find Trevor a pretty girl for the dance, asking a favour in return, Trevor agrees to this deal because he highly doubts that Tom will suceed. He still had a heavy heart from Zaheera and is starting to not believe in love or luck in love, at least for him. His Stand is very pessimistic in this situation and he gets taken by surprise when Tom does actually find him the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

3. Discuss how Trevor describes his initial meeting with Babiki

His innitial meeting with Babiki started out quite awkwardly since he thought that her older sister was Babiki and wasn’t very pleased, but when he saw the actual girl Tom set Trevor up with, he was in awe. He was speechless, she truly was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen and cound’t believe he was going to the dance with her. They wakwardly greeted eachother but when she smiles at him, Trevor was the happiest he had been, considering he didn’t see himself as worthy of getting together with a girl like Babiki.

4. What happens at the dance and why is this such a surprise?

After all the trouble with Trevor’s appearance and his faulty directions to the Dance, they arrived with Babiki 2 hours late and she wouldn’t get out of the car. Then Trevor calls for help from Bongani but instead of helping, he calls in almost everyone to stare at the beauty of Trevor’s date. Later, they discovered that Babiki was unresponsive because of a language barrier. She didn’t speak English, she only spoke Pedi. Trevor realizes that he had never actually directly spoken to her, only through Tom who spoke in Pedi to her, realizing that she only knew 4 words in english. At the end of the night when Trevor drives Babiki home, she leans over and gives him a kiss, which takes Trevor by surprise.

5. What does Trevor learn through this experience about women?

Through this unexpected show of affection when Trevor is convinced Babiki hates him or fears him shows how little he understands romance and women, which is due to his lack of care in the subject, he was always convinced he knew his place, the funny guy that gets to hang out with the cool guys with girls, never the guy to actually get a girl. He realizes as he reflects back that Babiki was probably forced into this by Tom, not wanting to go to the dance in the first place, let alone with Trevor whom she barely knew.

6. What does it say about the superficial way people sometimes judge beauty?

At the end of the chapter, Trevor comes to the realization that he was too quick to judge her and that he didn’t understand Babiki at all because he didn’t even try in the first place. He had been too distracting by her beauty and her outside appearance that he didn’t really care who she was as a person, and therefore didn’t start one conversation with her to find out that she actually didn’t even speak his language. People sometimes only look at the outside cover of others or things in general, and forget to find that deeper meaning, a connection, or simply go beyond the front page. Unfortunately, the experience Trevor described was not at all that uncommon and happened regularly between people in “relationships”.

Trevor got arrested when he borrowed an unregistered car from Abel’s autoshop, putting a random licence plate on. The cop found out the car and the licencr plate don’t match and arrested Trevor for driving a stolen vehicle. Innitially, he is ironically not that scared of the cop or jail, he is thinking how much trouble he will get back home from his mother and Abel.

2.How does Trevor use his impersonation skills to cope with being in jail?

Trevor was thinking about appearing bigger, more scary, becaude he stated that he needed to seem powerful for the other inmates so he wouldn’t get killed or raped. He used the fact that he looked coloured because coloured people in South Africa are presumed to be ruthless criminals, so Trevor decided he was gonna play it up. He spoke to the cops in broken Afrikaans (using his language abilities) and since everyone were afraid of him, thinking he was some ruthless coloured criminal, they left him alone.

3.What are his initial thoughts while he sits in jail?

As mentioned earlier, Trevor is quite scared when he first goes to prisom, he is scared not so much of the cops or the trial awaiting him, but he is afraid of the other inmates, given some of them were there for a similar crime he was, but most of them were true criminals, murderers and exploiters. As he sits in jail, Trevor is thinking up a way of making himself feel mightier and give off fear so that the other criminals are equally scared of him as he is of them. Again, his thoughts are at home and how mad his mother and Abel are going to be when they find out, he needs to figure out a way of getting out of jail without them knowing.

4.What happens when he meets the Hulk and what does he learn about language and culture?

On his third day, Trevor meets a huge, badass-looking man and is thinking how scared he along with the others is, how intimidating the new guy is. As a black cop aproached him and tried to talk to him in Zulu, the Hulk didn’t understand because he was speakkng Tsonga as Trrvor deciphered. He uses the quote from Neslon Mandela: If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that gors to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” He then decided to translate for both sides so the conversation gets somewhere. He learns the Hulk is a nice guy, simply not educated and is not arrested for murder but for shoplifting playstation games. He learns that language plays a funfamental role in building relationships and mutual understanding, realizing that the Hulk’s appearance made Trevor judge him before speaking with him, underscoring how prejudice is deeply engraved in people’s mind.

5.What are Trevor’s experiences when he is sent to prison before he goes to trial and how does this affect him deeply?

In the holding cell before his trial, Trevor is faced with all sorts of people awaiting their trials ranging from “white-collar criminals” , traffic disobediences, to “real, hardcore” criminals. “I saw the difference between criminals, and people who comitted crimes”. Trevor gets scared by this sight as he approaches the holding pen, there are inmates shouting at him or having an emotional breakdown. In the pen, the racial divisions were happening again and Trevor felt really uneasy since he didn’t know which group to join. He felt like he was back in elementary school, the “cultural chameleon” only this time with the possibility of being raped.

6.Discuss Trevor’s realization when he is released?

Trevor gets called up to the hearing only an hour after being in the pen and when he mistakes the question the judge asked him, the whole process goes by smoothly and humorously. After getting out to the sunshine, Trevor says he is never going back there again.   He couldn’t and doesn’t want to imagine how horrible reql prison would be compsred to his little ‘holiday’ in jail with ok food and ok mates around him.

7.What does Trevor realize about who paid his bail and how is this significant?

When Trevor comes home, he wants to play it cool and not tell his mother that he just got out of jail so he pretends that he spent the week at Mlungisi’s house but his mother instantly cuts him off and tells him she was the one who paid his bail and his lawyer. Trevor is very surprised at this fact and the whole chapter ends with a beautiful quote, showcasing just how much Patricia loves him and that the toughness she has on him is to prepare him for the real world out there. “If I don’t punish you, the world will punnish you even worse. The world doesn’t love you. If the police get you, the police don’t love you. When I beat you, I’m trying to save you. Whrn they beat you, they’re trying to kill you” She is doing everything out of love for Trevor.

This advertisement brings up the soldiers returning home, it perceives them as heroes, that everyone is waiting for their arrival and they are throwing them a big party and support the with love and reassurance. Norman Bowker didn’t get this sort of attention, he didn’t believe of himself as a hero like the soldiers in the video, he was haunted by Kiowa’s death, and felt like a coward.

What associations does Jeep make?

Jeep associates the return of the soldiers with heroism, with patriotism, people with open arms and flags excited for their loved ones to return home safely. It talks about courage and pride in their nation as well as the fact that every life is a soldier matters. Home, family, patriotism, glory and pride.

How do they incorporate American symbols in their advertisement to sell their product?

They made the Jeep the car which brings the soldiers home, having flags imprinted in the outside doors or surface of the Jeep. They connected the pride of soldiers returning home and that the nation could count on them with the same level of trust they should put into the car they’re driving.

What is the impact of the voice over narration (by Oprah Winfrey)?

Using Oprah was a strong point to advertise in the video because she is an icon of America and another symbol of American culture and national pride. Her voice was also very emotional and deep, giving off a sense of pride and authority.

In this passage of R.U.R, Čapek uses Characterization by anagorisis and forshadowing on multiple instances in order to make the reader experience empathy and use this feature to signal a transformation in the characters and the plot as a whole. Helena and Primus, the two robots are starting to make a discovery when examining Alquist’s calculations and experiments. This feature showcases both their character and mental development by the end of the book because suddenly, the robots that were nothing more than weapons or devices are starting to exemplify emotions and show complex thought processes. The robots are characterized further using the anagorisis by Primus making a critical discovery of the “secret of life” while examining the book Alquist writes in. This anagorisis, although very promptous and in the long run for the robots, is quickly abandoned due to Helena beconing Primus to avert his gaze from the paper to a sunrise. The robots being able to appreciate something as trivial as a sunrise, exemplifies the ongoing development in their humanity and therefore is another big signal of a transformation. The sunrise also stands for a new day, and a new beginning, as we later discover, and the start of a new and greater race of robots. Together, all the above mentioned features are a part of Čapek’s characterization and forshadowing of a transformation for the Rossums Universal Robots and signify that a new dawn is upon them.

-Present an opinion

-Persuade/convince about that view

-Change public opinion or change the course of the political stakeholders

Features:

-Humour

-Anecdotes

-Formal/colloquial language

-Evidence (studies, expert opinions, facts, figures)

Vogue: Began in 1892 in lower Manhattan,NY in the US.

The Guardian: Began in 1821 in Manchester, UK.

What are its key themes or areas of focus?

Vogue: A journal focusing on fashion and the famoous communities, style news including lifestyle , beauty and society.

The Guardian: coverage of politics, sports, the environment, science, social justice and culture.

Who is the medium's key audience?

Vogue: predominantly female readership and targetted for fashion and beauty enthusiasts

The Guardian: progressive and educated middle class of Brtain

Funmi Fetto utilizes appeal to logic and authority as a mean to criticize the beauty industry in the analyzed opinion article. Fetto mentioned multiple doctor expertises and used their points of view on the matter to provide a broader perspective and communicate the issue through the lense of professionals. In one of the body paragraphs, the author expreses the opinion of Victoria Sanusi, a mental health advocate and founder of the “Black Gal’s Livin’” podcast and juxtaposes how a mental health activist ended up in “therapy” through a personal anecdote from her youth, regarding the skincolor-shaming of a hairdresser. The hairdresser calls her “pretty but too dark”, promoting the unrealistic beauty standards and the unfair racial dehonestation of people of colour had to face in the past, but the issues are still presistent to this day. In the conclusion paragraph, Fetto also included the expert opinion of a global brand consultant and skincare specialist, Dr. Ewoma Ukeleghe, appealing to logic and authority with the explanation and hope for the younger generations to take charge and change the current course of the beauty industry. Funmi Fetto criticized the beauty industry by using authoritative figures with a status in regards to the said issue while incorporating the appeal to logic in order to persuade the reader and strengthen her opinion article.

-In this cartoon, we see 2 men, one being clearly living on the streets and the other being of a higher working class, wearing a nice suit. The suited man is avoiding contact with the homeless due to “social distancing” using the COVID-19 as a means to not help him.

-This cartoon links to the inquiry field of politics power and justice due to the positions of both men, one representing the wealthy top class of society and the other being at the bottom of the status pyramid, linking the hierarchy of power and wealth and its uneven distribution throughout society with the people in power unwilling to share or contribute to aid with their resources.

-Overall, through the cartoon, Chappatte communicates the main claim that oftentimes, people of a better financial and social status overlook the people needing their help and are gladly going to use any excuse they can.

-Chappatte uses juxtaposition to illustrate the difference of status or social class between the sitting homeless man and the tall standing individual of a higher working class.

-This impacts the audience in that clothing does not make a better man and that power or societal status does not automatically equal knowledge or better globalized citizen willing to help out.

1.In the 446 words the response has, how many techniques are analysed?

If I counted correctly, he analysed 7 techniques in his PEEL responses.

2.How many textual references are there and can you summarise what form they take?

There are about 3 textual references and each textual reference is written in bold lettering. There are more textual evidences highlighted in blue however, those do not come directly from the cartoon, the author makes some up by his observation.

3.What do the three cartoons discussed have in common?

They all have in common the global issue stated at the very top of the page “Poverty, inequality, and the apathy of the upper class to assist lower classes” which is altered slightly with each specific cartoon to fit their themes and contents.

4.Find and write down all transitional words or phrases you can.

Is apparent, Not only, as, Like other cartoons, another cartoon, this time, again, finally, all while, by using his signature move, moreover, perhaps, as opposed to

-Magazine deck (the expression of the magazine)

-Date line (when the magazine was published)

-Magazine issue (volume and issue numbers, monthly, weekly etc.)

-Main image (photo or an illustration on the cover, has to be high quality)

-Lead article line (uses a different font)

-Cover lines (smaller font size, concisely tells us what is inside, subtitles) (some block, some sleek font)

-Website link

-Bar code

Updated: Through the use of a contrasting colour palette of warm and dark colours together with the painful facial expression of the subject, Tsakalidis aims to provoke empathy from the audience and help them to sympathise with the people affected by natural disasters.

Colour- 🫑

Symbol- 👓

Image

Excerpt 1:

Wilde starts the scene sweetly and as it progresses to the bread and butter part, and how Gwendolen replies with a “looks down on” manner, the scene gains more passive agression.

It reveals how the upper class, but especially females need to keep the decorum and cannot simply swear or act in a non-sophisticated manner even in situations that upset them, and hence keeping the decorum in all situations.

The comedic effect comes how Cecily talks sweetly yet her comedic actions of giving the opposite food of what Gwendolen asked for and thinking how horrible she is acting while nowdays, actions like these would be viewed as humorous.

Excerpt 2:

Wilde satirizes Victorian ideals by Cecily mentioning how a person leading a double life, pretending to be wicked but being very pleasant contradicts with eachother and shows the Victorian ideals of a man.

It suggests that Cecily views boys that behave badly as something she should neglect due to the societal standards, however, they fascinate and drawn her in.

The whole conversation is parodic to an extent, because me usually tell the girls how good they are and that is what makes them attracted to them, whereas here, Cecily is specifically asking for the bad Algernon has done and that is what she finds attractive.

Her grandmother's death leaves Mikage feeling truly alone for the first time, triggering an intense sense of loneliness and despair that makes her want to give up on living.

Why does Mikage accept the offer to live/ move in with Yuichi?

Mikage and Yuichi share a deep connection through her grandmother, with Yuichi having been close to her and understanding Mikage's pain in a way others couldn't. Mikage is also drawn to Eriko, who takes a motherly role and expresses that she knows what it's like to be alone, which resonates deeply with Mikage.

What is so special/ mesmerizing abour Yuichi’s kitchen to Mikage?

She notices an enormous sofa in the living room and behind it in the large kitchen, she saw pots and pans, no table, no carpet, just “it”. She asks to explore it further, seeing the good quality mat, silverstone frying pan, a vegetable peeler and plates. Everything was organized and she “fell in love” with the kitchen immediately.

How was the first encounter of Mikage with Eriko?

The meeting was short but impactful, with Mikage instantly struck by Eriko's extraordinary beauty. Eriko, Yuichi's mother, welcomed Mikage warmly, explained she had to leave for work, and then rushed out the door. Despite it being bried, the encounter deeply affected Mikage, who was left speechless by Eriko's appearance.

-The fact that Sotaro (Mikage’s old boyfriend) loved plants and they always met outside has a connection to Mikage’s deep description of how the plants looked like, and also why she probably liked Yuichi’s apartment (it reminded her of Sotaro and the relationship they had). Sotaro is not very fond of Yuichi and accepting of the fact that his mother is a “he”. Yuichi wanted Mikage to live with them, and I found interesting how she imagined him as her boyfriend, not in a romantic kind of way, but following the thought of slapping him “if he was my boyriend, I would slap him.” Also, when they were writing the postcards, there was some chemistry between them and again, Mikage might be falling in love with him because they share the common feeling of sadness and loneliness (something happy people cannot understand).

I learned how incredibly important it is to have people surrounding you that are able to help you cope with grief, like Mikage having Yuichi and Eriko around and feeling so welcome in their house makes her feel not only less alone, but the little things like small talks or drinking tea together give her a sense of belonging and serve as a “family substitution”.

The part that moved me was the encounter of Mikage on the bus with Yuki, her grandmother and the mother, how sentimental and nostalgic it was, it actually reminded me of my own grandmother’s passing and how Mikage broke down crying afterwards, thinking how Yuki should cherish these moments with her grandmother, made me feel her pain. Even the meltdown she had in the alleyway afterwards intensified the effect of this situation and again, all paths lead her back to a kitchen which provided a sense of solace even in her current state.

Restoration + grief, loss and death

Joy companionship, acceptance

Family (chosen), gender

Symbols

Kitchen- comfort, routine, normality, stability, nourishment

Food

Dark/light

Audience: normally infographics are designed to reach as wide an audience as possible. As always look out for technical language that might indicate a niche audience.

Simplification: the main purpose of infographics is to simplify complex knowledge or data. Look out for all kinds of simplification techniques including summary, bullet points, images with captions and more.

Illustrations: they say a picture is worth a thousand words and nowhere is this more true than in infographics. Icons are simplified images that symbolise certain ideas from the text.

Structure: good infographics are little visual narratives that tell a simple story, so look out for structural elements that help you decode the sequence of events.

Design: infographics are supposed to be eye-catching. Colour, typography, font and other design features should combine to help you get information and also engage your interest.

Graphs and Charts: should present information in a fun way, illustrations are more detailed and artistic (more unique) icon is a symbolic representation of an idea(reproducible)

Copy: Multimodal, it will have a headline as well as subheadings, illustrations or icons will be labeled, short pieces of texts are snippets (technical or topic specific vocabulary)

Composition and Structure: a visual narrative that tells a story, timeline or chronological structures

Colour schemes: simple and designed usually only with 2 or 3 colours, symbolic to the setting or subjects

The headline is “Churn out every idea and then burn it down”. It attracts attention because of simplistic and short diction, straightforwardness and shock value.

Subheadings are present and add to the pathway that the reader is to follow to maintain a logical structure of the articles argument.

The colour and images capture attention because of their vibrancy and originality. The text is simple and official looking, the font is easy to read.

2. Leaf paragraph

It provides an introduction to the topic of the article and it also presents the authors opinion which is key to the readers understanding of the article. References real-life experience and provides a funny but compelling hook.

3. Visual elements

There is a vibrant image, uniform paragraph length, a quote and bullet points (manual like). The captions provide information about the paragraph and play into the argument of the author, logically structuring it and presenting it in a digestible way.

4. Authorial voice and Perspective

Since its an opinion article the voice of the author is very prevalent in the content. Thomas Maisey offers a perspective of a content creator while addressing ordinary people that too can engage with AI in their job.

5. Argumentation and Perspective

The main argument and message of this article is that while AI is a useful tool and can be helpful in your workspace or even personal life, it should never be placed instead of your own originality and should never be presented as your own work.

The quote used from George Orwell, who is a credible distopian author supports originality and how greatness is achieved when one is honest, along with the mention of Netflix and Disney+, which are well-known streaming platforms and revealing how AI subtly influences our everyday life.

6. Language and Style

The author uses listing, in many cases a tricolon or at least a list of 3 aspects together with short, snappy sentences to further reinforce the urgency of the article and appeal to pathos. As mentioned earlier, these techniques together with the statistics and quotes used (30% of your output etc.) help achieve a stronger, factual arguement. It also directly adresses a particular reader, which makes it even more personal, as if he was speaking to the singular person reading it. The choice of diction used shows a strong persuasive vocabulary like “opportunity, ideation, prediction engines are powerful” which further contributes to the strength of the article.

Critical Thinking and Interpretation

1. While this article is not neccessarily biased, it does not provide a balanced argument in my opinion. It reinforces the central message throughout the article sections, however, the final section does mention how people should use AI, not as a medium for originality they present as ideas of their own, but more as a tool to help guide the creative process. This section is quite small and doesn’t provide depth so I would say the article could have a bit more balance.

2. I would provide more balance and also not only include the small section of the “manual” as how to use it, but also focus on the idea of using AI for a person’s benefit or for the benefit of the world (e.g. Medicine).

3. I would analyse the language and tone (how does the author use language to persuade the reader, formal, informal, satirical, humorous, choice of diction etc.), bias (since this article was quite biased, I would analyse how teh argument could have been made more balanced, and structure (is it organized logically and easy to follow).

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