Task 4 : Women rights

1. I feel that the women were given very little to no human rights in Saudi. This can be shown from “women are also not allowed to vote, or even work without their husbands’, or fathers’, permission.” This explained that women are at the control of men in Saudi, and they have no say in their homes, not to say in the country. Also, they are actually condemned for trying to earn simple rights like allowing women to drive. This can be shown from “Dammam for up to five days on charges of disturbing public order and inciting public opinion by twice driving in a bid to press her cause.” This showed that the people the Saudi treated women as they were not allowed to have rights and should be charged for trying to earn them.
2. I feel that the use of social media has been an advantage to the women in Saudi. Through the social media like facebook, this case about not giving the women in Saudi the right to drive had been made known to the world. Thus, the world is doing lots of things to help them gain their rights. This can be shown from “asking him to free Ms. Sharif and grant women the right to drive, gathered signatures from more than 600 men and women”. This explained that people all around the world are helping them and it is trough social media that they knew these things. Therefore, with social media, Saudi women can gather more support from the rest of the world and gain their rights.
3. I think that the people of Saudi should learn to realize that by giving rights to women, they are not bowing down to the western onslaught for Saudi tradition. This can be shown from “the government remains steadfast in the face of a Western onslaught on Saudi traditions” Also, they must realize that women also have the ability to do things as well as men do, and by exposing them to the outside world, it may even help boost the country’s economy as a whole due to more people being able to enter the work force.

Extension Activity
I agree to a large extent that women make good leaders. This is because women have proved themselves to be worthy of being leaders for the past few decades or millenniums. Queen Elizabeth I, Mother Teresa and many more. They have not only proved to be great leaders, but they also inspire the future generations like us. This example has shown that women do make good leaders. If women’s leadership is not recognized, leaders like Hillary Clinton would not be able to compete with Obama for the presidency seat during the election. Also, women have proved themselves to be more meticulous when planning and doing things, this can be shown from the distinct difference in a boy’s room and a girl’s room. One last vital point would be that if men can be good leaders, why not women? Women can do what man is capable of. They can drive, score in their studies, and lead the company and more. Thus, women definitely make good leaders. However, even until now, there is still a slight debate about whether women make good leaders. There has not been a single women president in the United States history, despite it being such a free human rights state. Also, Singapore only just had her first women minister a few years back.

I disagree that women makes good leaders to a certain extent. This is because women have to look and dress better in front of everyone. While walking on the streets, it is not a rare sight to see a man in his singlet or sports attire. However, you rarely see women wearing her sports attire walking on the street, what’s more a leader. Therefore, a women have to spend that extra time to doll herself up and face the public, which a man need not do and can spend more time to think about how to lead the country or the company. Thus, women have to spend extra time to do other things and are more unsuitable to be a leader. Women also tend to be more emotional and be easily moved by little things that happen. However, a leader should not be too easily moved by little things.A leader should be decisive in their actions and not be easily wavered.

Reflection on Research

My impression of Shakespeare and his work are always very unclear as I have never went to read one of his books or watch his plays. However, I have heard that his book were almost not understandable in the normal English context, and required word by word deciphering to understand it. Thus, I was also afraid to read his books due to my poor English standard. Shakespeare live in the Elizabethan era and there are many differences in the world we are living in now. Firstly, the most obvious difference would be the difference in social classes. There is of course, unarguably social class difference in our society now; however it was still much better than that then. The people of the low social classes can never get to the top no matter how much effort they put in. This is unlike the society now, where anyone can rise to the top if given good education and effort is put in.
Also, the hygiene knowledge then was not good. People did not know that dirt carry germs and the black plague caught the people in that era off-handed as they had no knowledge of how to prevent it from spreading, which was one of the main reasons why it caused that many deaths in the Europe region. Shakespeare lived in a society that is evidently different from us. However, some of his works can be applied to the modern day context. One of the examples would be the Merchant of Venice, where racism between the Jews and Christians were mentioned not only once. This can be related to the skin colour racialism in our society now. Also, phrases such as “love is blind and lovers cannot see” is one of the most common phrases authors and people like us use in our writing and daily conversation.

Flying the flag in Bosnia

1)The tone of this poem is sad and grieves. The poet uses phrases such as “Her face is hidden by her hands, but her hands are enough” This showed that the women is really sad that her son had left her, but to see the sadness of the women, one need not see her face, even the hands were enough to show her greive. After seeing her pitiful state, even the grave digger felt sorry for the women. This can be shown from “ A full cup of coffee, Left by the grave digger”, which shows the woman’s helplessness and how pitiful she is. The old woman is also ravaged by the fact that her son died. The poet describes her as “an old woman, whose hair is parted, straight down the middle”. This showed that the woman is so affected and sad from the incident that she even lost her original look.

2) The poet uses the shirt from the woman’s dead son to signify as a flag. The writer then go on to say that “ In a country that already has too many” this showed that many people in the country had already died due to the war that was going on at the point of time. The purpose of the poet is to show that many innocent lifes were taken as this caused great sadness among the family members. This explained why war should be avoided as it would do both countries no good.

Dulce et Decorum Est

1)The literal meaning of this imagery is that the soldier was hunch backing while walking like an old man because of the heavy bags that they have to bring to war. These can be shown from “Bent double” and “like old beggars”, which explained that the solider was bending his back while walking and was like an old man. However, the implied meaning is actually the fact that the soldiers were tired and do not want to move on anymore. By analyzing the first stanza of the poem, my impression of the soldier is that the soldier is weak and not prepared for the war. This can be shown from “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots” and “Men marched asleep”. This showed that the soldiers were actually very weak and not prepared for the war.

2)The sound devices and imagery in the poem such as “GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,” helps to build up the tension in the poem as it vividly describes the war scene of releasing poison gas to knock out the enemies. Also, imagery such as “Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light” shows the chaotic scene of the war fight. Also, “clumsy helmets” is an imagery that shows the feelings of the soldiers at that point of times as they were so scared that even putting up a helmet is a difficult thing to do.

3)I think the poet wants to convey the message that war is bad, cruel and children should not be taught that it is right to die for your country. This can be shown from “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” Which means it is sweet and right to die for your country. However, the word lie in the poem showed that the writer thinks that this was not the truth. Also, the phrase “Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,” showed that war was actually very cruel. I agree with the author’s point of view as war indeed took away the lifes of the innocents and most of the time, it is started off because countries could not talk things out amicably. War would cause both countries to suffer and the impact on the people emotionally would last forever. Thus, this trauma should be prevented at all cost

Feature article, cell phones and student use

Cell phones are one of the greatest inventions of the century and are now widely used the most convenient form of communication device. Every country, every state, we see people walking talking with their cell phones, more so in school, where cell phones are used so frequently, in fact, too frequently that a rule have to be put up to prohibit the use of cell phones in class. The cell phones greatest users are the students, because of their mass messaging entertainment and their needs for easy communication when doing projects. What attract the students to using the cell phones is not only about the convenience alone but also the entertainment it provide like games.
There are many disadvantages to using the cell phones, and it is still arguable whether it is a curse or a blessing to the society, especially students. In modern days, the internet is not the only platform for playing games. In fact, the cell phone is a much more convenient and portable platform to play games than a bulky computer, especially in the busy school life of students in this era. The common sight of students with an iphone in hand is a really good example to show the convenience of gaming with the cell phone. The iphone enables convenience download of games from the app store any time, and with students having such technology at hand will be disastrous if not handled with self-control, which will eventually distract them from their studies.
It is also true that the cell phone had brought lots of convenience to us. One of the main reasons why cell phones are one of the greatest inventions is its convenience of communication. People being able to reach each other in any part of the world have definitely caused the world to become smaller. This “world-shrinking technology” will allow conference and collaborative learning much easier and attractive, especially for students. Instant messaging has become one of the students’ favorite forms of communication and what is so amazing about that is the effortless way of generating ideas and telling it to your classmates in the minute of typing a few buttons.
There are disadvantages for cell phones, but there is nothing in the world that is perfect, therefore, solutions are needed to curb the problems that cell phones give. Normally, when students use cell phones too much, the very root of the problem boils down to cell phone gaming. Parents can of course control their child at home, but the cell phone is too easily portable and would constantly be out of the parent’s control. The best way to counter this problem is to buy the phone with functions only to call and to message, which greatly reduces the chances of the child getting hooked onto cell phone gaming. In the end, it in fact boils own all to the self-control of the student, and he or she needs to prioritize whether their studies or the cell phone gaming comes first.
Cell phone for student usage is a controversial topic that in my opinion would never get an final conclusion whether it is a blessing or a curse. However, what the world can do is to point out the disadvantages of cell phone and try to change it. Normally, the functions that cause the disadvantages of using cell phones are the functions that enhance the advantageous functions. Cell phone definitely enabled easier communication, but is it worth have that convenience to risking some youths neglecting their studies?

Dear grandmother Tokiko Kanno,

I am Sim WenHong from Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore. The world knows that Japan is now facing a great economic crisis and the people there are suffering, with people losing their loved ones, houses being swept away by the monstrous tidal waves. I have all seen it on television. It is indeed a heart wrenching moment when I saw those images and I believe that other Singaporeans also think so. Thus, we are also doing their best to help Japan by raising funds. With these funds, food supplies and daily necessities can be provided to you and the fellow victims of Japan. Although now is a hard time, I believe that Japan, given its good economic status will recover fast, so take care of yourself, especially that you are in your old age. I have gotten notice that you have been sleeping in the school hall for a few days now, shelters will be provided soon and elderly people such as you will be given the priority. Singapore’s media is also trying to raise funds for Japan by putting up advertisements to encourage the raising of funds, not only Singapore, the whole world is also doing their best to aid Japan in getting through this tough times. They have sent teams to provide basic necessities and shelter for your people. Japan, you must know that you are not alone, the whole world is watching and praying for your economic, and more so, you, and the fellow citizens of Japan. Thus, do not worry too much. I can never understand your feelings, although I tried many times, but Singapore and I hope that the victims will get on with their life, and not stay in self pity. It is times like this where a nation has to be strong and the people have to get back on their feet.

I understand that you are concerned about the recent radiation leak form the nuclear plant. A few number of people have already went to curb the situation. Thus, the situation is still in control. Lastly, be strong, Japan, we care.

Reflection on article of plastic surgery

Assumptions
I assume that for the people who went for plastic surgery,especially teenagers, are mostly people who are more concerned about their image on the outside. Although some may say that they are not vain, the main reason to do plastic surgery is to make yourself look better! That is the reason why they went for plastic surgery.

Point of View
There are basically 2 point of iews presented in this article, mainly the people who went for the plastic surgery, and the people who don't. The article states that more and more teemagers are getting plastic surgery and even parents supported he idea of their children getting plastic surgery. However, most of the Psychiatrists diagreed to teenagers getting plastic surgery and especially those that are more invasive.

Consequences

There are many consequences to getting plastic surgery. Of course it does make you look nicer most of the time, however, how you picture yourself afetr the surgery is definitely different fromhow the surgen pictures you. Therefore, there is bound to be some difference in the "perfect" image of yourself. Also, parents should not be too supporttive so as to prevent their child from getting vain.

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to somehow condemn the teenagers that are getting plastic surgery despite their young age. This article is also partly to caution the parents or other teenagers to not believe or encourage too much of plastic surgery.