Reply to Caitlin's Blog Post 8

This is really interesting! I am really intrigued by these specifics of this assasination. I agree with you that when I think of an assassin, I think of a person with no feelings, no heart, and not really caring about their own life. However, the fact that these assassins held off because there was a crowd of school children is interesting. I really wish that no one would ever murder anyone, but hey, this is a fallen world and the chances of that are basically zero... I would love to think that these men did not shoot Villa at this specific time out of the goodness of their heart, but it is kind of hard to believe that they really care about others when they are trying to murder someone. However, this story does lead one to believe that these assassins did take the children into account and did have some kind heart and caring feelings although their acts may prove otherwise. But maybe there was a risk that the assassins saw with the children, not necessarily because they cared about the children, but maybe like if they shot Villa in front of the children, then maybe the word would spread quicker and there was a higher chance that they would be caught (if they actually cared about that). Maybe... It is so hard for me to believe that murderers actually care, but that is just me. Again, as Gabrielle and Caitlin said, we will never know the true motives unfortunately, but thank you for the intriguing story!

Blog 8- Thoughts on "The South"

Before spring break, we read "The South", by Jorge Luis Borges. I thought it was a pretty interesting short story, and again, I really enjoyed the fact that it was fiction. With fiction, there are almost always many different ways to interpret the reading and many different ideas that can be taken out of a story. One thing that I believe became pretty clear to me by the end of this short story was that Juan Dahlmaan never truly left the sanitarium.

Dahlmaan is hospitalized by a pretty careless injury, hitting his head on something while running up the stairs. He initially talks about basically experiencing hell and the pain that he experienced with this injury. The surgeon actually told him that he was on the point of death from septicemia. First of all, I looked up sepsis and discovered that even today; sepsis takes the lives of millions of people each year. This is one fact that might lead the reader to believe that Dahlmaan never made it out... Another hint that Dahlmaan's wound was fatal is that in the beginning of the second paragraph, Borges states that "destiny can be ruthless at one's slightest distraction." This statement kind of foreshadows that this injury is going to prove to be fatal and that this is his unfortunate destiny. Also, later in the story (supposedly after he is released from the sanitarium), Juan rides a train and gets off at a general store where he recognizes the shopkeeper to be one of the male nurses from the sanitarium. This leads me to believe that he is actually just imagining this whole experience and that the shopkeeper is purely a figment of his imagination, and he is actually the male nurse. Finally, at the end of the story, Dahlmaan is able to choose his own death. He describes it being "a liberation, a joy, and a festive occasion" which to me seems quite an odd way to describe death. He also relates being stuck with the needle in the sanitarium to being killed with a knife and that "this would have been the death he would have chosen or dreamt." All of these signs lead to the main idea that Dahlmaan never really got better, and that the events he experienced after being released from the sanitarium were all just a figment of his imagination and a dream that would never truly come true.

Reply to Elena's Blog 7

I really enjoy all these images that you showed. I agree with you that the general goals of mural and graffiti artists are similar. However, I feel like there are key differences between the two. Sadly, I know almost nothing about murals or graffiti, but I feel as though the huge problem with graffiti art is that it is illegal... I do agree with you that both artists are trying to convey their ideas and thoughts to the public through their art and that they are similar in that sense. I feel like they are different though because murals are normally more realistic and planned out while graffiti is more cartoony and spontaneous. Artists who make murals are also normally formally trained and have the right or consent to do their art, where graffiti artists are still extremely talented and as you said, self-taught, but they do not have the property owner's consent to make their art. I like both types of art although I do not know much about either kind so let me know if I am wrong about anything. Both types of artists are amazing and I wish I could experience this kind of art more.

Blog Post 7- Mural Thoughts

I was completing this weekend's discussion questions and found the questions on murals to be intriguing so why not write about some of my thoughts for my blog post this weekend. I have not actually seen any murals in person to my knowledge, which is very sad. One of the questions was what is a mural, and I thought that a mural was a work of art completed on a permanent surface, such as a wall or ceiling. The one example I could think of was the Sistine Chapel. I remembered having to do a project on it my junior year of high school in World History class and found some of the murals pretty interesting. I am pretty sure the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are considered to be murals, if not, they should be. 

I specifically remember one of the images and murals from the Sistine Chapel being pretty powerful and interesting to me. It is the one about the origin of sin and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. By the way, Michelangelo painted all of these images, and they all are representations of stories from  the Bible. 

The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

This mural depicts the fall and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. I really enjoy Michelangelo's representation of this scene from the Bible and the powerful imagery he uses in this picture. Obviously, one of the most salient features of this mural is the snake-like human, or the human-like snake (whatever you think). This image is also kind of divided into thirds, and it displays two different scenes and times simultaneously. The leftmost third of this image shows Adam and Eve before the fall, created in God's image, perfect and pure. It shows them falling into temptation and taking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the one thing God specifically said not to do... In the middle third is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and a snake-like human creature reaching out to Eve. One of the most interesting parts of this image is definitely this creature wrapping around the tree with the body of a snake. Then, the rightmost third of the mural depicts Adam and Eve again, being banished from the garden by the cherub who is pointing the way out with a sword-like thing. Notice how before the fall, Adam and Eve were brighter colors and after the fall, they turned to darker colors. I believe this represents the sin that occurred and the change that will no be eternal. Also, in the left of the picture, the background behind Adam and Eve is rocks and leaves while the right side is barren, because of the fall and the sin that Adam and Eve committed. Another point that may be significant, is that the tempter in the middle, has female-like characteristics. This might be because of the fact that Eve was the one that was tempted first and gave the apple to Adam. I really enjoy this depiction of a very important scene from Genesis Chapter 3 of the Bible which I am familiar with. There is a lot more symbolism in this mural that you can probably see as well. I really enjoy the symbolism and powerful imagery that Michelangelo uses in this classic story. 

Although, this is not an image from Latin America, it is the one mural that I could think of that is very interesting to me! I consider this practice for the murals that we are going to look at this coming week. It shows that murals generally use symbolism and powerful pictures to get across their point and to convey the artists ideas. I hope you enjoyed this image as I do and can see the power in this important scene from history. I am excited to see some of the murals from Latin America this week and the ideas that they attempt to convey to the the viewers. 

Reply to Caitlin's Blog 6 Pancho Villa

I really enjoyed that you took the initiative to look up additional information just out of curiosity. I think that is something that a lot of us need to do more. However, of course it is very important to be careful where you get your information...  I found a lot of what you said to be very interesting and saying to myself "Oh! I didn't know that!" Who knew that his name was not actually Pancho Villa, and that he fled to the mountain as a young man and led a group of bandits. I didn't! I also really like how you said that he was a "real life Robin-Hood". I need to try to compare people and different things in reading and history to things that I know really well so that I can comprehend it better. Thank you for posting this interesting information about this interesting and important person that we would not have known about otherwise.

Blog 6 The Underdogs Randomness

In class this week we began to read The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela. I did not really know what to expect from this novel, but when it turned out to be somewhat of a fictional story I was happy! I guess I am just going to talk about what parts of the novel I have enjoyed so far and what I dislike about the novel. As I said, I am happy it is story. Stories are always easier to comprehend which makes the read so much better if I am able to understand and actively picture what is going on. However, parts of this novel are confusing to me because the dialogue. A lot of the time, it is not too specific on who is talking so I have to look back at the beginning of the conversation and follow it line by line to figure it out. I do like, however, the interactions between the characters and the amount of dialogue that occurs between the characters. To me, it keeps it interesting and exciting. When I read, I always try to put myself in the character's position and figure out why they act the way they do, but a lot of the time, my brain is way too different than the characters brain so I just frustrated and ask, "Why would anyone do that...?" For example, the way that Demetrio's band and army treat women and just destroy towns and the homes of innocent people is beyond me. Humans who act like reckless animals always confuse me... Of course, this is a fictional novel and written to prove a point or to convey a main theme, but it still confuses me. It is also interesting to me how Luis Cervantes changes throughout the novel, how he goes from being not so sure about the pillaging to willingly lighting a house on fire. One ironic thing I found is that in the beginning, Demetrio's house was burned down and separated from his family, and later, he is the one destroying the villages and being cruel to innocent people. These are just some of my random thoughts about the novel through parts I and II, as I have a lot of trouble finding connections with the reading and something else, but I hope someone out there got at least one thing out of this random post.

Reply to Alexis's Blog 5

I really like the points you made in this blog and these too are questions I struggle with and ask myself. I feel like we think we have good intentions and believe we are "helping", while acutually we are kind of being selfish. I think a lot of whether or not intervening is right depends on the situation. As your third question states, I feel intervening with a humanitarian crisis is necessary, but that is a good question. How bad does it have to be?... I do not know... All your questions are really good and they make my brain hurt! I agree with you that the US should focus more on its own problems, because we probably have the same problems as other countries if not worse yet we think that our problems are solved and other countries problems are worse. However, we have so many issues it is not even funny. I also really like your point that us intervening and pointing out the problems of other countries really just makes us feel better about ourselves and that our problems are not that bad. These are extremely good questions that need a lot of thought. Thank you for bringing these questions up!