Toefl Essay #2: Disabled People

             The gap between 20 century and 21 century was particularly long. In 1999, there was a rumor that the world would disappear. Some people gave up their job and house and stayed in the mountains. Some people made refuges and prepared their last moment. However, the world did not extinct and the first sun for 21 century appeared. This century was unexpected and surprising for people. Thus, 21 century is changing rapidly as day by day. In this society, our environment is changing and people’s live are improving. Plus, handicapped people are living a better life because of technology development, improvement of social prejudice, and exclusive system.

             First, the development of technology will help handicapped people. Handicapped people have difficulty moving. Physical disabled people cannot move their body properly and need a wheelchair or someone to help them. Mentally disabled people need someone to help their daily life. These people need full care and support but before 21 century this was not possible. However, 21 century’s technology can now fulfill the needs of these people. Instead of human watching over these people, robots can be attached to the handicapped part of the person and can 24 hours do things that people order. .

             Moreover, disabled people can live a more comfortable life because 21 century will abolish society’s prejudice against people with disabilities. People think that disable people are weak and that they are better than them. These prejudices are disappearing through school education and media. They are teaching people that everybody is equal. This idea was not an important matter until the 21 century. People believed that higher class people were superior than lower class. In the 20 century almost all the countries changed to democracy. People began to protest to what they thought was unfair and violating their rights. Now, people care about other people’s right and know that disable people are equal as them. With these idea, people no longer mistreat or ignore them but respect and help disable people.

             Last, exclusive system for disable people will make their lives easier. Disabled parts of their body had made their lives difficult than regular people. It was difficult to move and do ordinary routine. Now there are exclusive systems made for disabled people to solve their discomfort. For example, parking lots for handicapped people help them to find an easier place to stop Disabled children school supports them to study with other people’s care and love. Also, there are equipments just suitable for the disable part of people. For example, there are remote controls that operate by people’s eye. This was made to solve the discomfort of people who cannot move their body like Lou Gehrig’s disease patients.

             All in all, 21 century has brought positive changes to disabled people. They can benefit from improved technology, upgraded perspective, and exclusive system. Still we have 88 years left till 22 century. For the remaining period, handicapped people’s life will improve and they will feel comfortable.

Take Home Writing #1: "Earthlings" Film Review

<Earthlings> Film Review 

          Look at the eye of the person that is seating closest to you. Then look at the eye of the cow in this poster. What do you feel? Do you recognize that the cow’s eye does not have hatred but obedience? The cow’s eye is saying “I will follow human because it is my fate.” Usually, looking at the eye of people or animal has become a habit because it shows how they had lived. I began to watch this clip with the question of why this animal would have this kind of eye.  The clip showed how inhumane animals were being treated as pets, food, leather, entertainment, and science. However, this clip lacks some important ideas to show the true meaning of the cow’s eye.

           First of all, the clip did not show why this is happening. The scene of animals being mistreated was thoroughly shown through hidden cameras and Joaquin Phoenix’s narration. However, the film did not provide the reason why this was happening. The reason why animals are being abused is because of meat demanding society. Recently, the demand of meat has increased rapidly. In the past 10 years, worldwide meat consumption has increased 20% and over the past 40 years, it has tripled. To fulfill the demand, factory farms are increasing. Before, family farms raised cows, pigs, and chicken in a small unit. In order to compete with other family farms they had to produce the best quality. They raised these animals with extreme care and sold them. However, the increase demand made these farms die and instead factory farms appear. The abused scene in the movie is mostly from these factory farm. Factory farms is the process or raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a business. To run a business, animals are raised with the lowest price to produce the most profit. In these farms, animals are treated only as an object, product, money and not as an earthling. The clip lacked to provide the basic reason why this is happening which is because the increase of meat.

           Moreover, the film was focused too much on the emotional part. The logical, emotional, and ethical appeals were not balanced. The scene of people mistreating animals and the last poor moment of dying animals were continuously shown. Of all the brutal scene, the part when people were killing chicken by throwing them on the wall was most impacting. Usually, chickens are killed like that because it tastes most delicious when these chickens are frightened at their last moment having their muscles condensed. I could hear the sound of chickens dying but the people were jumping on them and swearing. Like this part, the film shows these parts stimulating people’s emotion. However, it failed to show the logical and ethical parts of this case. The people who abuse animals must have a reason. For example, the owners of stray animals must have a reason for throwing their pets away. Plus, science experiments are done to animals for a reason. The director argues that it is no use doing these experiments on animals because they are different from human. However, medicine and surgery techniques that we use have developed because of the sacrifice of animals. It was an inevitable process. For some cases, animals had to be treated this but the film did not care to think about this and pleaded for emotion of watchers.

           Lastly, the film did not show why it is bad to treat animals awfully. Animals are used by human for food, leather, entertainment, scientific experiment. The movie repeats arguing that we should not abuse these animals but the reason is not provided. People have different opinion about animals. Some think that we are equal and some think that we are better than them. The people who think that we are superior over these animals mistreat them and enjoy the pain of the animals. Plus, without animals humans can not exist. The documentary begins by saying that the earth is composed of animals, nature, and human. If one of them disappears because of the overwhelming power of one, the three can not exist. For example, when nature becomes too strong, human and animals suffer from natural disorder such as hurricane, typhoons. In addition, if humans takeover animals, several drawbacks would appear. Depicted in the movie “the Rise of the Planet of Apes”, scientific experiment or mad disease can make animals change and attack human. Plus, the factory farms harm the environment  through the heavy use of inputs such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers used for feed production.  The film failed to show specific reasons why we should not mistreat animals.

                  All in all, “Earthlings” lacked few things to show the true meaning of the cow’s eye in the poster. It would have been better if the film focused more on basic reason of the abuse of animals, and focus more on ethical and logical parts than emotional parts. Thus, it should have enforced why it is bad to treat animals like this. Besides these three points, the film had truelly affected my habits. After watching this film, I could not eat my mother’s wine roasted pork. I could not forget the scream of the pigs when it was hanging even by smelling and looking at the pork. Also, when I looked at the red blood of the cow, pigs slayed, I wondered if human had the same blood color. It made me feel that human have a different blood color because we are so mericless toward earthlings. It is unavoidable for human to kill animals for meat but when killing these animals it must be done with thanksful mind. We must have interest of how our dinner was made instead of just enjoying it.

Random Writing #2: Chapter 4-6 Reading Journal

<Neverwhere> Chapter 4-6

 

 

 

                  Finding a symbol in a novel is like finding a treasure that your parents had hidden when you were young. It is thrilling and exciting. A novel is usually an imaginative story in which the author tries to deliver the theme in these symbols. You can actively understand the story by finding the hint and grasping the meaning in it. Thus, symbols that represent object or cases arouses questions and interesting ideas.

                  First of all, the conversation between the rat and Richard made me think of how to prove our existence. Richard tries to prove who he is to the lord Rat speaker in the underground by his library card and credit card. In the real world, we prove who we are by showing our identification card or student card. However, in the story these kinds of methods did not work. This gave me a question “What truly proves who we are?” After a long time of thinking, an interesting answer came across my mind. We can prove our existence and what kind of person I am by the relationship between people like family and friends. Richard could not prove who he was because he was eliminated from the memory of people in the Upper world. People around you can show who you are because they can explain what kind of experience they had with you. Thus, it made me realize how important relationship between people is in the above world.

                  Second the story of Anaesthesia and the Bridge allowed me to think about a life principle which is to take something we want by giving up something special. Anaesthesia was hurt in the above world and a rat brought her down. She seems to miss the above world because when she starts to tell her story to Richard she has her eyes fixed on the ground ahead of her. Richard asks if she ever tried to return to the above world, but she said “You can’t. It’s one or the other. Nobody ever gets both.” Plus, the bridge that you have to cross to go to the Floating market took Anaesthesia away. To Richard it was shocking but to Hunter who crossed the bridge together thought it was utterly usual. Through these incidents the narrator wanted to raise the common sense that you have to give up something to get something to the reader’s mind. We think it is obvious but we have to respect what we are giving up. It might be a person or even your life. The narrator wanted this to be valued.

                  Third, the Floating Market gave me a question about trust in our society. In the Floating Market, people sell unusual products such as dreams, weapons, rubbish, lost property, and candles. Also, they bargain things they want instead of using money. While Richard who was from the Upper world was observing this market he had a question “Why isn’t anyone stealing?” People in the underground can maintain this market because they trust each other. On the other hand, the above world does not trust each other so we have guards who check that we don’t steal. To be honest, it is really difficult to imagine this kind of market because I am too used to the society of no trust. Hence, the narrator wanted to criticize our society of no trust.

                  All in all, these chapters brought up 3 impacting ideas. It pointed out how to prove that we exist, the principle to give up something for something, and the real society of no trust. It is easy to just pass over obvious things around us. The author brought up the common sense around us to the surface to give us an opportunity to think about them.

Randome Writing #1: Chapter 1-3 Reading Journal

「Neverwhere」 Chapter 1-3

People say that we should not evaluate a person only by his or her first impression. This is the same when reading a book. It took me nearly a week to open this book because the dark cover looked boring. However, as soon as my fingers touched the first page of the book, all my senses could not stop activating until page 45. The first 45 pages had totally grasped my soul. For one hour I felt like I traveled inside the novel with Richard and Door. The first three chapters left me two ideas that did not leave my mind.

First of all, the author’s unique writing style helped me to understand the story more. The writer starts the story by presenting the two main character’s story. In the prologue, the novel starts by explaining Richard’s party for leaving to London. The author chooses not to continue to illustrate about Richard adjusting to London life. Instead he starts chapter one by announcing Door’s spooky story about how she escaped from Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. . After the two characters meet, he writes about them being together and develops the story. This style of writing helped me to easily understand the relationship between the characters. Plus, it helped me to be nervous and focus on the story. In addition, this style of writing hinted that how the writer writes about the character shows the relationship between them.

Moreover, I thought that the part when Door did not explain what happened to her to Richard would bring a negative effect. Richard brought Door who was on the streets into his house leaving his girlfriend behind. Also, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar searched his house. Door was talking to animals and doing weird things. Richard must have been confused and unsure of his decision. However, Door refused to answer just saying that he doesn’t want to know. I think it was unwise to not tell him what is happening to them. It would have been better if he knew and understand the situation than being confused. If he does not know what is happening throughout the book, I think he will no longer help her.

Closing the novel at page 45 was the most difficult choice I had to do that day. I wanted to know more about the book so I wanted to read more. However, I felt that reading until chapter 3 would help me write a better book journal without knowing what happens later. Each page describes a real fantasy that fascinates me and I am delighted to read the next chapter.