I've learned a lot about writing during the first half of this semester in my English Composition class. Composition is defined in this class as putting ideas onto paper. After our first day, I was nervous because I didn't think I was any good at writing and that's what our class is based on. However, I was excited to learn that we would be posting all of our assignments on a blog. I think that it's a great way to get the students interested in doing the work; at least for me personally. Before this semester, I hadn't been in school for about 5 years. In this class, Sabatino asks us to write so we can get our ideas out and to become better writers. I've enjoyed doing the blog assignments and have seen progress since the beginning of the semester. I feel like I am more relaxed now when writing them because I have gotten more comfortable doing them. Our first formal assignment was the Hiraeth Narrative. I really enjoyed writing mine even though it was very emotional for me. Writing my hiraeth brought back a lot of old memories from my childhood. It was nice to be able to remember what my life was like back then. It also hurt because of the feeling of never being able to go back to that again. I feel like this assignment was what really drew me into the class. Our second formal assignment was the Academic Mindsets Argument. This might have been my least favorite assignment. I feel like I didn't do as well on this assignment as I would have liked. It was harder for me to get interested in than it was for my hireath. I used my six-step writing process plan and I believe it really helped me complete this assignment. Our third formal assignment was the Film-Based Argument. We each had to pick a movie for this assignment and vote for which one the paper should be on. Surprisingly, my movie won the tournament. I picked Slumdog Millionaire. I was a little nervous about this assignment at first. However, after starting the paper, I couldn't stop. Writing this assignment really helped me see how much I've grown since the beginning of the semester. As a writer in this class, I feel as if I am improving significantly in most areas of my writing. The most positive change I've noticed is that the more I write, the more comfortable I feel with writing.
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Who did I work with to compose my project? Was this a good approach?
I worked alone to compose this project. I think it was a great approach because I could completely focus on the assignment. I wrote this assignment when I was the only one in the house so I didn't have any distractions. I always work better when I can completely focus on my assignment rather than the things going on around me. What was the most difficult part of my writing process? Why? What did I do to overcome the obstacles? The most difficult part of my writing process is always getting started. It's hard for me to begin writing when I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to write about. To overcome the obstacles, I made sure I had no distractions and I sat down and started writing. I also did some research online to help get the ideas flowing in my mind. When did I write this project? Good approach? I wrote this project on one of my days off from school and work. I had no other responsibilities that day. I started early in the day so I would have enough time to complete this assignment. I think it was a great approach because I gave myself enough time to write without having to worry about other obligations. Giving myself enough time to write is crucial so I don't feel as stressed or pressured. Where did I write this project? Good approach? I wrote this project in the comfort of my own room. It's very quiet and calming in my room. I think this was a great approach because it is where I feel most comfortable. Writing in my room is always the best option for me. It's a place where I can be comfortable, relaxed, and have the least amount of distractions. Why did I choose to write about my chosen topic? I chose to write about my topic because it is what intrigued me the most. I felt like I had more to say about that topic than any of the others. It was also a topic that I was interested in learning more about. How will I adapt/revise my writing process for future revision of this project? [Be specific. Review your current six-step writing process plan and consider posting a new six-step plan.] My current six-step writing process plan includes setting quiet times to write, setting the mood, starting early, getting feedback from others, having something to drink, and tracking my progress. I believe I did most of these for this assignment. The only thing I would do differently would be to start brainstorming a few days sooner than I did. That would give me more time to process my thoughts and ideas. One thing I did differently with this assignment was that I used more outside sources which helped me to generate ideas. Overall, I am satisfied with the way this assignment turned out and I believe my six-step writing process plan helped a lot. Katana Smith
ENG 100 Assignment #3: Film-Based Argument Efficacy of Torture in America In Slumdog Millionaire, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy shares the story of Jamal, a boy who grew up in the slum neighborhoods of India and managed to gain a spot on the gameshow, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Throughout the film, Jamal is shown as a person who must overcome many obstacles to survive, including an experience of torture when he provides the correct answers to too many gameshow questions. Jamal’s torture does not reveal the confession his torturers are seeking because Jamal is telling the truth. Torture has been a controversial topic across the world and in America in particular. Research has shown that torture is not an effective method to gain intelligence because it is illegal, leads to false answers, and it creates a global mistrust of the people enforcing the torture. Part of the eighth amendment in the United States prohibits the state and federal governments from imposing cruel and unusual punishment. Cruel and unusual punishment is defined by Merriam-Webster as punishment that is offensive to the contemporary morality or jurisprudence (as by being degrading, inflicting unnecessary and intentional pain, or being disproportionate to the offense). I would say that torturing someone violently in order to get them to tell you what you want to hear is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Torture is a violation of human rights. The interrogation method is a more effective and legal way to get someone to talk. Not only is torture illegal, it’s also very ineffective when it comes to finding the answers you’re looking for. When military agents torture suspects, many times these victims provide false answers to stop the pain they feel from the torture. In the article, Torture Is a Crime, Curt Goering says “Time and again, our clients tell us that they would—and did—say anything to make the torture stop. This is true for victims subjected to physical torture as well as psychological torture. It has been proven that torture is far more likely to produce ambiguous and false, rather than clear and reliable, information.”. When people are subjected to extreme pain, physically or emotionally, they go into survival mode and will say or do anything to get out of the situation they are in. In the article, The neuroscience of interrogation: Why torture doesn’t work, Carol Elliott says “Interrogators often escalate torture when they think a suspect is withholding information or lying, but there is no good evidence that interrogators are better than the rest of us at detecting lies. In fact, there is evidence that when people are trained as interrogators, they become more likely to think others are lying to them. This belief can lead to alarming errors, whereby people are tortured because their torturer wrongly believes they are lying.”. As you can see, torture can be very unreliable. In addition to torture victims providing false answers, torture also leads to a global mistrust of the people and/or governments that enact the torture. Many times, the people in charge of torturing the suspects are people of power. These are the people that we are supposed to trust as Americans, as they are somewhat in control of our safety. Most of them will do whatever they have to do to the victims because they are getting paid significantly for their services. In the article, Torture: Ineffective, Illegal, and Unprincipled, Steve Cohen says “If the people who are responsible for enforcing our laws—and our principles—violate those laws and principles, it fosters disrespect for all principles and laws.”. How can we trust our government if they are illegally torturing people and intentionally trying to hide it from us? While people have many different ways of viewing torture, I am personally against it. I believe there is more evidence of torture being ineffective rather than effective. Although there have been cases where it was believed that torture was beneficial, the times where is wasn’t are much greater. Steve Cohen says, “We do not need to use brutal tactics to reduce criminal behavior. Vigilance, intelligence, skill and strategic thinking are far more effective.”. It’s not worth risking peoples’ lives and mental health if there is no guarantee that the outcome will help solve the problem. After doing more research, I have concluded that torture is an ineffective way to find the answers you’re looking for because it is illegal, leads to false answers, and it creates a global mistrust of the people enforcing the torture. Prompt:
-How is it possible for someone from the slums to have as much knowledge as Jamal does? Why did Jamal's brother Salim use Latika to turn on him? -How was the love between Jamal and Latika portrayed throughout the movie? Purpose: -To prove that no matter your environment or how we can become victims of circumstance, we all still have the capability to overcome those obstacles and succeed. Audience: -Your primary audience is Professor Mangini and classmates. Your secondary audience is anyone else that visits your blog. Focus: -Please provide a short summary of the movie. The focus of the assignment is first explaining a little about Jamal's background in the slums. Next, show the audience how he earned his knowledge by using direct quotes from the movie. Last, explain how you think Jamal got to where he did in life. Style: -The tone of this assignment should be persuasive, using quotes and scenes from the movie to prove your point. Slumdog Millionaire is a movie about a teenager named Jamal living in the slums on Mumbai. He becomes a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He is extremely smart and gets to the last question before the grand prize. Before he can answer the question, he is detained by the police. They suspect him of cheating because they don't believe someone from his background could ever know all the answers. However, his life in the slums was the reason he knew all of the answers. During the show, he gets flashbacks of his life which give him the answers to the questions. The movie has scenes from both the present and the past. The earliest flashback is from when Jamal was five, and he and his brother are trying to get an autograph from a famous man named Amitabh Bachchan. Then it flashes back to when his mother was killed in the Bombay riots. It shows the first time he met his love, Latika. He and his brother take her in as their "third musketeer". Later, a gangster named Maman, tricks them into coming with him, saying he will take care of them. Instead he makes them beg for money on the streets. It only gets worse when he starts blinding the children to make them better beggars. Luckily, the brothers escape but Latika is still stuck with him. Over the next few years, Jamal and his brother make a living in any way they can, but Jamal is hoping to find Latika. When he finally finds her, she is working as a prostitute for Maman. The brothers rescue her but Jamal's brother holds a gun up to him and tells him to leave so that he and Latika can be alone. After that, Jamal doesn't see either of them for a long time. Now he is on the show trying to win the money but hoping to reconnect with Latika. He doesn't know the answer to the last question so he uses his phone a friend lifeline. He calls his brother, the only phone number he knows. Latika answers. She doesn't know the answer to the question but tells him she is safe. Jamal luckily picks the right answer and wins all of the money. Jamal and Latika meet at the train station and are reunited once and for all. Slumdog Millionaire is an eye opening movie. It gives you an idea of what life is like for people living in the slums. Jamal has been through so much in his life, which is why he knew almost all of the answers on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Jamal and his brother lost their family at such a young age. They have to do anything they can to get by. I can't imagine having had to do the things they did. Jamal meets Latika and falls in love. Their story is sad but has a happy ending. Jamal says "Run away with me". Latika says "And live on what?". Jamal then says "Love". That scene of the movie is an accurate portrayal of their relationship together. Throughout the movie, they have their ups and downs. At one point, Jamal says "I love you". Then Latika says "So what? It's too late Jamal". Latika had many bad things happen to her in the movie, like when she was basically kidnapped by Maman. A lot of the things that happened to her affected her relationship with Jamal. But in the end when they finally reconnect, Jamal says "I knew you'd be watching". Then Latika says "I thought we'd meet again only in death". Jamal says "This is our destiny". And Latika says "Kiss me". It's a beautiful ending to a love story. |
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