Term 3 Blog Prompt 2

It was a hot and humid Sunday afternoon at Orchard Road with the Great Singapore Sale going on with many customers from all over the country thronging the shops to snatch up the best deals at Ngee Ann Shopping Centre from jewelry perfumes and the atmosphere was so lively and almost everyone had bright smiles of satisfaction having been able to buy all that they wanted or needed at such affordable and good bargains especially at shops selling branded goods as they are usually sold at exorbitant prices and this was one of the few and rare opportunity to be able to buy them.

Same-sex marriage

I feel that same-sex marriage should never be legal in Singapore. Same-sex is definitely not normal and it means that the people who are gays and lesbians have a problem. By legalizing same-sex marriage, it would not solve the problem. Instead, you are encouraging them and influencing others around them too. I feel that we should not be encouraging them; instead, we should be helping them to change. For example, psychiatric treatment would be best for them to realize that what they are doing is abnormal. In fact, same-sex relationships should not be considered a crime too. They should be just brought to seek treatment. Not dealing with the problem effectively and legalizing same-sex relationships would lead cause many complications such as angering them. These activities would cause unrest within a country and a riot would mean people getting hurt.

Legalising same-sex marriages might be able to appease the same-sex people, however, that is definitely not addressing the issue and in the long run, it would be very damaging to the society and the people. If same-sex marriage is made legal, many people would be bolder in announcing their gay or lesbian tendencies and not be afraid to carry out their personal activities in public. In my opinion, this is very unhealthy for the society. Moreover, another major problem that will arise is prejudice. Just like the racism that the Whites had against the blacks, there would be a new form of prejudice that the Straights have against gays and lesbians.

In conclusion, I feel that legalizing same-sex  should not be legalized and that all same-sex people should be able to recognize that there is a problem with them and getting married with someone of the same gender is definitely not normal and that psychiatric treatment would be the best way out for them.

Journal Entry of a day in World War II

It has been three days seen I have been sent out to fight in Germany. Since the day that I have parachuted down, I have been camping in the jungle for two days. We are running out of food as we were very lightly equipped when we jumped out of the plane. We are subjected to constant ambushes from German forces and we cannot advance until we have reinforcements. Our task is to capture a German bridge. Our commander repeatedly reminded us that German forces would be weak and limited for they were all sent out to battle elsewhere. However, I am beginning to doubt that. In fact they seem even better equipped than us. Reinforcements were supposed to come by yesterday night, but they kept being delayed. War is really very cruel and whenever we press the trigger and kill a German soldier, we feel far from being a hero or being patriotic for we know that another innocent and young life has been lost.

HOME-BASED LEARNING ONLINE LESSON (24-25 May 2011) LA_ACE

"Rainbow Death" by Hubert Wilson
Difficulty Rating: **

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Part 1:
The poem by Hubert Wilson emphasises on the modern day warfare weapon, the use of herbicides during the Vietnam War. Herbicides by the name of Agent Orange, green, pink and purple were some of the herbicides used during the war. The most widely used herbicide was Agent Orange contaminated with TCDD. THe main purpose of the herbicides was to clear off the foilage along the riverbanks as there were many Viet Cong soldiers ambushed there. As they sprayed the herbicides, they got their intended results and the plants dried up. However, the American were so shortsighted that they did not know they were contaminating the Vietnamese's living environment too. Due to the toxins in the herbicides, it resulted in approximately 400,000 deaths and disabilities and 500,000 children born with defects. It showed that even though the war has ended, misery of the people from the effects of the war live on. In addition, it is the innocent generations of civilians who will have to pay the price for the grave mistake America made.


Part 2:
1. Whose Point of View


Statement: The poem adopts a first-hand account of war’s evil, for the poet was the Ssgt USAF, from 1968 to 1972

Evidence: The poet, Hubert Wilson, was the SSGT of the USAF from 1968 to 1972

Elaboration: The poet wanted to speak of the horrors and terrifying effects of modern warfare to the public as he had been through the whole war.



2. Situation and Setting

Statement: The poem was set in the Vietnam War, However, it also shows the present effects of the war.

Evidence: The "Agent Orange" shows that the poet was referring to the Vietnam War. While the line "Toll on the innocent and unborn." shows the present effects.


Elaboration: The poet wanted to show that modern warfare caused a lot of harm and pain for the civilians just because of a simple yet grave mistake made by the United States. The disabilities and birth defects are long term problems that cannot be healed with a pill or two. In fact, it is something that will stay for generations.



3. Language/Diction

Statement:The tone is as though he is speaking in disapproval of the US's mistake and rebuking them, asking them to reflect on themselves.

Evidence: "America did not foresee. Expecting others to pay a high price. Now thinking twice?" shows the poets unhappines with America's decision .

Elaboration: He sounds as though he is forcing them to reflect and telling them that it is too late.



4. Personal Response

Statement: The title of the poem is oxymoronic. Rainbows are meant to be a sign that the worst is over. However, in the poem, it means that the troubles are far from over.

Evidence: The rainbow death is referring to the different colours of agents, for example, "Agent Orange, Agent Green" most of which form the colours of a rainbow.

Elaboration: Rainbows are never used to represent death. A rainbow usually appears after the rain, in other words, it is a sign that the worst is over. However, in the Vietnam war, the "rainbow-coloured agents" bring death, disabilities and birth defects to the people.

Was the decision to assassinate bin Laden rather than bring him to trial a justified one?

In my opinion, it is justified to assassinate Osama bin Laden. This is because he has caused a lot of troubles and anxieties to the world, planning massive terrorists attacks that have claimed the lives of many. Capturing Osama bin Laden might not be the best idea as he has a wide network of people who can always plan his escape. For example,there were a group of terrorists in a prison in Afghanistan who escape from a tunnel dug by their comrades. Moreover, capturing Osama bin Laden would bring a lot of trouble to the United States as there would widespread unhappiness.In the worse case scenario, there could be bombings or attacks against America such as the 9/11 disaster to force the United States to release Osama.

Deception Point

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/976.Deception_Point
Recently, I read the book "Deception Point" by Dan Brown. I rented it from a bookshop as it was highly recommended to me by my mother. It is a very exciting fiction book. The book was very lively, descriptive and the reader is always kept in tension and suspense. It is full of action and one could never predict the outcome of the book. When the reader thinks that he or she might have figured out the outcome, another twist is always awaiting them which changes things 180 degrees! A great boook for people who dislike reading. This could be the book that will pique their interest in reading

World War I LA ACE Part 1

Introduction
World War I (WWI) or the First World War, formerly called the Great War, was a major war centred on Europe that began in the summer of 1914 and lasted until November 1918. It involved all of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred around the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility. It was the second deadliest conflict in Western history.


Literary Works
War poems were very famous during World War I. Poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon wrote poems reflecting the lives they led while they were at the war.






Wilfred Owen
Won the Military Cross by seizing a German machine-gun and using it to kill a number of Germans. 

On 4th November he was shot and killed
Wrote famous poems such as Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce Et Decorum Est
Influenced by Siegfried Sassoon to write his own War Poetry
Showed the negative effects of war

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




DULCE ET DECORUM EST by WILFRED OWEN
 
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Summary

In a nutshell, Wilfred Owen was in the military and wrote on his experience.

He was heading back from the front line when they come under attack from gas shells. All of them manage to put their gas masks on in time except for one soldier and they throw him into the wagon and watch his painful suffering.
The last stanza is meant to reveal the ugly truth and reality of war so that people would not think that war is honorable.
Shows that war is senseless and far from honorable or glorious.

Innocent youth who are sent to the frontlines to fight the war die and do not get to live a normal life.
He himself was a youth when sent to the frontlines to fight the war.


Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (September 8, 1886 - September 1, 1967) was an English poet and author. He became known as a writer of satirical anti-war verse during World War I

The Hero by Siegfried Sassoon

'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke
In the tired voice that quavered to a choke.
She half looked up. 'We mothers are so proud
Of our dead soldiers.' Then her face was bowed. Quietly the Brother Officer went out.
He'd told the poor old dear some gallant lies
That she would nourish all her days, no doubt
For while he coughed and mumbled, her weak eyes
Had shone with gentle triumph, brimmed with joy,
Because he'd been so brave, her glorious boy. 
He thought how 'Jack', cold-footed, useless swine,
Had panicked down the trench that night the mine
Went up at Wicked Corner; how he'd tried
To get sent home, and how, at last, he died,
Blown to small bits. And no one seemed to care
Except that lonely woman with white hair.

Summary
The poem describes a visit by an officer to deliver a letter from the colonel about her son who has just died. Outside the house, the officer reflects on the “gallant lies” that he has just told her and on the unpleasant truth of the soldier’s cowardice and attempts to get away from the front line. Now only Jack’s mother cares for his memory.

Sources
Poetry of the First World War by York Notes Advanced

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owena.htm
Wikipedia
Google images
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/33903-Siegfried-Sassoon-The-Hero