"My Life in France" Ethical Decisions

During Julia Child's time in France, she was very fortunate not to be confronted by many difficult decisions. She does talk about a friend of hers named Lee Brady, who worked at the US Embassy in France. In 1950, Brady was assigned to work at the Public Affairs Office in Indochina (Vietnam). This meant that he would be taking orders from the emperor Boa Dai, seen by the rest of the world as a puppet for the French. Child tells the reader "... a most difficult and dangerous assignment indeed. He would be forced to work with the Boa Dai regime, which had not been freely chosen by the majority of the citizens (104). Not only was Brady putting himself at risk by working for an unpopular government, but he was also going against the American ideals that he had grown up with, the ideas of voting for a strong leader. Child points out that "What was an emissary of the US government supposed to say when the Communist claimed, correctly, that his government supported a puppet, dictator and horror?" (104). It seemed like the wrong choice from many angles, but for Brady his only other option was to quit. He chose to go to Indochina in the end, though what became of him when the US got involved in the Vietnam War is not mentioned in this book.

I think that Brady made the wrong decision to go to Indochina. Not only was he not following his own morals and ideas, but he was also putting himself in danger by supporting an unpopular government in a country that was on the brink of civil war. It does not seem fair though that the only other option was to resign his position and find a new job. I can Kind of understand why he chose to do what he did, but in hindsight I do not agree with his decision.

On the Waterfront

Throughout the entire movie "On the Waterfront," Terry is constantly plagued by the question of whether or not he should testify in court against the mob, or remain quiet. During the first part of the movie, Terry feels very strongly about not testifying. He feels that if he does, he would be a traitor, betraying his brother Charlie and others in the mob. He outright refuses to say anything to the police on multiple occasions. But as more people are killed by standing up to the mob, including Charlie, Terry's views begins to change. He starts to realize that testifying in court is not an act of treason, but a step that must be taken if he ever hoped to end the reign of terror the mob created on the waterfront. The rest of the workers on the waterfront thought he was a traitor too when he testified, but slowly they too begin to see him as an icon for change.

I think that Terry made the right choice in the end. Keeping silent about the mob was hurting lots of people. I think in the end the safety of the workers and the ability to speak freely was more important than the possibility of you being seen as a traitor. But I can't say for sure what I would have done in Terry's position. It was very dangerous to stand up to the mob, as we can see from Joey and Doogan. I guess in the end it all comes down to which is more important, your safety or the freedom of the waterfront workers.

Ethical Decisions in All My Sons

The play All My Sons by Arthur Miller shows two very different views on the same ethical question based on their experiences and situation. Joe Keller was born with very little, forced to struggle to make a name for himself. He spent 40 years building up the business he has now and it has become almost everything he has. That coupled with the fact that he does not want his son to have to go through what he went through gives him the motivation to do whatever he has to do to save the business. As he tells his son Chris "You lay forty years into a business and they knock you out in five minutes, what could I do, let them take forty years, let them take my life away?" (69). This desperation he feels to keep his business running motivates him to make the decision to ship the cracked cylinders, even though he knew that they could be dangerous. He puts his family before society. Chris on the other hand has had a very easy life, never having to work for anything. His experience in the war also instills in him empathy for those you do not know. He can not see beyond the fact that his father's actions resulted in the death of 21 men. As he explains to his father "I was dying everyday and you were killing my boys and you did it for me? What the hell do think I was thinking of the Goddam business?" (70). He values society over family. He is unable to see the business side of the issue, making what his father did into an awful crime. These differences form a brutal conflict which results in the death of Joe.

Even though I don't support his actions, I think it is unfair to judge Joe by his decisions until you understand his background and motivation. What he thinks is right could be very different from what his son or the rest of society thinks is right. Different experiences change people in different ways and can affect who they place first, society or family. I personally believe that in the majority of cases it is better to place society above family. Every person has their own family, their own story and their own right to live. Yet occasions arise when family does come first. It depends on the situation you are placed in and what your options are. Therefore I believe that it is impossible to say for sure that either family or society should come first.

My Life in France Post 2

Throughout the book, My Life in France, Julia Child continually talks about her original incompetence in the kitchen. Coming from a typical California family, Child's parents rarely cooked, and as a result she never learned. As she tells the reader, "but I was never encouraged to cook and just didn't see the point in it" (4). It is hard to believe that the woman known for her cooking ability never touched a stove before she was married. After her marriage, it was still a long time before she was inspired to learn how to cook, and cook well. She was inspired to take up cooking when she and her husband moved to France. There, she was amazed by the wide assortment of extremely delicious food and encouraged to try her own skill. As Child recalls "Surrounded by gorgeous food, wonderful restaurants, and a kitchen at home -- and an appreciative audience in my husband -- I began to cook more and more" (42). Her astonishment by how good well prepared food could taste gave her new motivation to learn to cook, and create masterpieces of her own. Her desire and willingness to try new things helped show her a whole new world, and shaped the rest of her life.

I chose to write about this aspect of her life as a contrast to All The Pretty Horse. Throughout the entire book, John Grady is trying to find the old life that he had had to give up because of his mother. Though he matures a great deal, it seems that he can never accept a new way of life than the one he has given up. Child seems to be the opposite of that. After her marriage and her life in France, she is eager to embrace a new life style that had before seemed stupid and pointless. After reading both books it seems tome that Child had a much more fulfilling life than John Grady in part because of her willingness to try new things and change. From these books, it seems that flexibility will bring more happiness than stubbornness.

My Life in France Post 1

I decided to read the book My Life in France by Julia Child. This book is an autobiography about the amazing chef Julia Child, the woman who revolutionized home cooking by creating the first cooking show. Even though this book is mostly centered on her time in France, when her husband was working at the US embassy, there is also quite a bit on her childhood and the road to her love of cooking. She and her husband were night and day. She was raised in California and hardy ever traveled, while her husband was well traveled and well cultured. It was a huge decision whether they should get married or not. Their final decision to get married was not widely accepted throughout her family. Her husband was an artist and a democrat, and her conservative father did not agree with him on anything. Though the decision seemed to be a bad one, in the end it worked out for the better.

Another major decision she had to make was whether she should go to France or not with her husband. She had never been to Europe before and had heard countless bad comments about it and France in particular. She also did not speech a word of French. The only person she would know and would be able to talk to would be her husband. She decided that she would go to France, even if it did seem crazy. It was a good thing that she did, because it was there that she acquired her love of cooking and her desire to share her knowledge with women in the United States. Those are two major decisions that Julia Child had to make that would determine the course of her life.

Halloween Origin

Have you ever wondered where the idea for Halloween came from? I mean come on, who would ever say "Ok kids, go and knock on stranger's doors and ask them for food"? This holiday was started by the Celts more than 2,000 years ago. They celebrated the beginning of the New Year on November 1, called Samhain (SAH-win). They believed that the night before, spirits, demons, and fairies walked the earth. People would sacrifices animals over bonfires and dress in animal skins and other costumes to confuse these spirits. Sometimes they impersonated their dead family members. These traditions evolved into an excuse to break down social order for a day. Men dressed as women, women as men, children as their parents, etc. It is also believed that people who dressed up as spirits would go and perform silly acts for people for food. This is probably how trick-or-treating began. When Samhain met Christianity, Halloween was born. November 1 is All Saints Day, or Hallows Day. The night before, Hallow Eve, soon became known as Halloween. For more information about how Halloween began, and how MN had a major role in modern day Halloween, visit http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081027-halloween-facts-costumes-history_2.html

EE10 Picture

"How to Catch Birds in their Element"

There is nothing more amazing than a well taken picture of a eagle snatching a fish from a lake or a heron taking flight. But how do people do it? How can you get those amazing shots? The article I found give tips on how to capture those shots without breaking the bank with travel expenses. Most great bird pictures are taken near the photographer home. That is because the best way to start photographing birds is to know and understand the birds. The article recommends researching spiecies of birds in your area, including migration habits, to know when the best time to catch your bird is. But nothing beats getting out with binoculars and a field guide and watching the birds for yourself. Birds are creatures of habit, and once you start to pick up on these habits, you can predict what they will do in the future and start to plan your shots. This article also talks about having the right lighting. If you want your bird to look turely alive, you must have some light reflected in the bird's eye. That means having the sun behind you at a low angle, and the bird in front of you while taking your picture. These are just a few of the tips in this article. For more tips go to http://www.popphoto.com/howto/5464/how-to-catch-birds-in-their-element.html

Ettlinger, Richard. "How to Catch Birds in their Element" PopPhoto.com. Sept.2008. <http://www.popphoto.com/howto/5464/how-to-catch-birds-in-their-element.html>

Heavy Metal Worms

A major factory just sold a bunch of land to be used for wildlife or farming. Great right? There is only one problem. Nothing will grow in the polluted soil. They heavy metals, a toxic reminder of the factory that one stood here, kill plants, leaving a waste land that could remain unuseable for years. But now there is a solution. Worms! No, I don't mean the little earthworms that live in your garden. This species of worms, just discovered in England, have a special digestive system, so they can eat the metal rich dirt without dying. What is even better is that they leave behind soil that can easily be used by plants. The worms digestive system coats the metal with portein, so it doesn't hurt the worm. The metal is still toxic to humans, so no food crops can be grown, but other crops such as plants for bio fuels grow very well. This kind of worm still needs a name and quite a few studies to back it up, but scientist hope to one day breed these little guys and clean up polluted areas with them. And who knows, maybe the plants that grow their could be used to power the factory it recieved land from.

Owen, James. Heavy Metal-Eating "Superworms" Unearthed in U.K. National Geographic. 7 Oct 2008. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081007-super-worms.html

Homer: Feminist or Sexist

Though Homer’s Goddesses were very strong females, I believe that Homer had a more sexist view of women than his contemporaries. It is easy to look at Homer’s portrayal of Athena and Hera and say that he was an early feminist. But the key is to look at other Greek mythology written by an assortment of writer to truly see how women were viewed. Though many of the myths passed down to us today are centered around men, there are quite a few with strong females. Atalanta was a famous huntress. It was said that her skills surpassed all of her male counterparts. She was always looking for adventure. For that very reason many men wanted to marry her. She could have settled down and had a nice easy life and raise a family like a good wife, but she did not. She did everything in her power to remain single, loving the freedom she had without a man. It took nothing short of the goddess of love to get her to marry, and even then she could not be persuaded to love the man she married. Another strong woman was Daphne. Her father, the river god Peneus, had showed her handsome men who had all tried to woo her. She asked her father to not make her marry. Not even Apollo could change her mind. When he saw her and began to chase after her, she was willing to be transformed into a tree in order to keep her freedom from men. Those are just two of the many strong women in mythology.

Homer’s (human) women were very different. In the Iliad, the women of Troy are barely considered human. They are treated as possessions, something to be taken from a ransacked town. Achilles even gives away a woman for a grand prize during funeral games for Patroclus. There is never any mention of them other than something to be fought over. In The Odyssey there is also the double standard. Both Penelope and Odysseus are considered to be faithful to each other, but after a closer look you see that Odysseus was with many other women for years and years, while Penelope has been sobbing every night for him, having to put up with suitors that she could easily get rid of by saying she would marry one. Homer’s women were very different from other myths of the time. These examples show that even though Homer’s goddesses were very strong females, when it came to the human race he is just another sexist.

Early Birds or Night Owls

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Have you ever wondered why your sleeping patterns are what they are? New studies are showing that these patterns are hereditary, not just based on the environment that you’re in. Scientists have found that although you actions are controlled by your brain, your basic behavior including your mental clock, is genetically encoded, meaning that it is something you are born with in your genes. So you can predict how a person will act, just by looking at some skin cells. With these new discoveries come new possibilities. People are now starting to look into using this knowledge to create new medicine to help people with sleep disorders have more regular sleep schedules. Hopefully people with sleep disorders will sleep easy wit this knowledge.

Owen, James. "Early Birds, Night Owls: Blame Your Genes." National Geographic. 28 Jan. 2008. 30 Sep. 2008. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080126-sleep-genes.html>.

"Smells Influence Dreams"

What if you could control what kind of dream you had. Scientist are now looking at something that could do just that. In a recent study, scientist found that if someone smelled a rose while they were asleep, they had more pleasant dreams while people who smelled rotten eggs had bad dreams. No, they didn't dream about roses or rotten eggs, just the mood of the dream changed. It is widely known throughout the scientific community that your sense of smell is closely linked to the part of your brain that deals with emotion, but this study even surprised specialist in that field. The study tested 15 healthy women (widely believed to have better noses) in thir 20s. When they entered REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, they got a ten second burst of scent, then were waken up 1 minute later and asked about their dreams. Only one person dreamed about the scent they were smelling. Some people are saying that if they had slept longer, the sent might have incorporated itself into their dreams, but no one knows for sure. More test will be conducted to address this and other theroies.

Carrol, Rebecca. "Smells Influence Dreams, Study Says" National Geographic. 23 Sep. 2008. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080923-smell-sleep.html>.

"Palin's bubble: Will it bulge or bust?"

This article, found on MSNBC, addresses a question that most campain follower, especially democrates, have been asking. How long will Palin be front page news? Ever since to first primaries last year, the media has been favoring Barak Obama, even over Hillary Clinton. But after the announcement of McCain's running mate, the media has fled to Palin, leaving Obama in the dust. This has been great for republicans everywhere, the author argues. The publicity is helping republicans running for the house or senate secure seats that before were in jepordy. And, for the first time since this race started, McCain seem to have a major chance at winning. But be warned my republican friends, it isn't all good news. The "Palin effect" can't last forever. The author tells us that since the news is so favorable for the republicans now, if they can't come out on top in the polls, they will not win the election in November. This is as good as it is going to get. I don't know who will win in November, but be warned. A lot can change in 50 days.


Todd, Chuck. "Palin's bubble: Will it bulge or bust?" 18 Sep. 2008. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26676452/>

Welcome

Hi, welcome to my blog. This blog is for outside reading in my Enriched English 10 class. I will try to update frequently, but I don't guarantee anything. Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoy my blog (and if you don't, that's too bad).