France in Japan

 Seeing the section mates go to the sea program, I feel like I want to go abroad. Unfortunately. I won’t go, but I went France in Japan. I mean to be studying French last week. It was 6 hours a day, so it was a little tough, however; I enjoyed learning French. As the days go on, I gradually remember the sense of French. Also, my French pronunciation haven’t died! After all, I was really encouraged to be a trilingual; Japanese, English, and French. Although it is a little hard to speak English properly after speaking French, my learning experiences of English definitely help my learning of French.

 Anyway, I will be a trilingual and talk to lots of people.

Spring is Going to End

              I’m nearing the end of my first spring term (so fast!), so today I’ll talk about my learning in ARW, Academic Reading & Writing.

              I’m enjoying this class because I can discuss the content with my section mates and the teacher. The contents are interesting, of course, and also, I can hear many opinions. Actually, my section mates have various backgrounds and tell me the ideas that I’ve never encountered with. I’m always stimulated by them.

              During spring, I study many things; Meiland, How to write the essay, The Old Man and the Sea, and so on. I’m sorry that I cannot say I could absorb all of them, but I’m keeping pursue my studies. Especially, the essay work made a difference because it is quite different from the essay I’ve written in high school. First of all, I hadn’t known the citation is significant and complicated. Although LBH is still my good friend, I can understand its importance. Also, it is academic. In academic essays, I must construct my topic in a proper order logically. This process is so hard. I’ve recognized I’m not good at it, so I’m working on it to improve my skill. I WILL overcome my weak point!

              During last several days, it was raining and raining. It’s obviously Tsuyu. However, my spring term will continue for 1 week, so I’ll enjoy it till the very end.

Old but Honorable

http://goo.gl/fVwnAj

 Today, I want to talk about the old man in The Old Man and the Sea. He couldn’t have gotten any fish for 84 days, so he must be depressed. However, he isn’t. His eyes are still “cheerful and undefeated." Why? It’s because he feels honored to struggle with hardship, and he never lose. In fact, he looks defeated for us, but he doesn’t regard the situation as defeat, and he just keeps struggling with it.

 For my generation, the honor in struggle is a nonsense. Like other fishers in the book do, some people laugh at those who are struggling with something. Talking about ICU students, it is not in the case. However, I have to acknowledge this tendency of my generation.

 At first, I thought that why such a boring story, which has merely lots of fishing scenes, got the Nobel Prize in Literature, but now I know the reason. The old man provides us a sense of honor in struggle.

3Bs for reading fictions

http://goo.gl/ERymrL

 In the last class, we study The Old Man and the Sea, especially the elements that influence fictions. They are Background, Biography, and Bias. I didn’t used to read fiction with thinking about this 3Bs. I have just read them to enjoy stories. However I feel like to understand stories better when I know 3Bs.

 Talking about The Old Man and the Sea, 3Bs are useful to make sense of its story. The book was created in 1960s, so it was influenced by the time; Cold war, Red scare, Atomic bomb. Those fears made Hemingway to write the peaceful scenes. Also, his personality and experiences have responsible for the content. At first, I wondered how he created the plain, endurable and hopeful old man even though he was indeed hard-tempered man. However, though the discussion, I became to think that he might be like the old man; living calmly in peace. And finally, there are some biases in the book. I didn’t notice any of them (I haven’t gain the critical eyes). Dan showed that it has not only negative biases but also positive ones. That was a little surprising for because I’ve identified bias as negative idea.

 From now on, I’ll think of 3Bs when I read fictions.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Hemingway.

http://goo.gl/LpiRZm

 Hearing Ernest Hemingway, I was like “Um, he was a writer.” I’m sorry to say that, but that was all. After some research, I mean pre-reading, I’ve realizes that I know one of his works; For Whom the Bell Tolls.

 I read the article from LIFE, and it provided me some interesting things about Ernest Hemingway. It’s said that some great writers are trouble makers, like to drink too much. He is in the case. I guess that such an uncompromising personality generates the artistic works. It is hilarious that the magazines which deal with his problematic actions have been sold better than his works, though. Well, I have never met a person like him, so I cannot imagine how awful to be with him, but according to Alfred Eisensstaedt, I can understand he was so bad-tempered. I wonder how he created the plain, endurable and hopeful old man.

 Dan told us that The Old Man and the Sea includes the idea of stoicism. Stoicism has a virtue which prefers self-sufficiency, endurance and determination. By the way, there is an opposite idea which called Epicureanism. It prefers to let people’s mind free and relax. Anyway, the book shows Stoicism. The old man believes in Stoicism because he doesn’t want much food, and he has been enduring his failed fishing. Reading it further from now on, I may find those aspects more.