Yasmine's Blog!!

“It is a melancholy object […] when they see the streets, the roads and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex […]”. This is the truest statement I read throughout the whole, “A Modest Proposal”, by Jonathan Swift. In this proposal, the speaker tells us about the hardships experienced throughout Ireland, mainly in the female population and their soon to be beggar children. The speaker tells of his ideas to make sure that after the age of one, when a child can no longer live on his mother’s breast milk, the children will be taken care of, by the government or by special needs supporters. The author/speaker is possibly a middle class or upper class member of Ireland’s society because although he wants to start this program for the poor of Ireland, he also stated that he doesn’t have any particular or personal feelings toward the situation and is only doing it for the “public good of my country”. This proposal appeared to be not serious when the speaker started telling about how cannibalism was accepted and the poor people and children were delicious meals and great gifts. My initial response was sincere and understanding of the situation in Ireland, and it still is. But my positive feelings towards the article started to decline as I continued further into the proposal. Although many of the points were necessary in peoples’ understanding, support and care towards the situation, it could have been said in less wording and some of the repetition was not essential in the understanding. I feel that this proposal was aiming at the middle but mainly upper class to take charge, because the lower class had no rights and could not take care of themselves, and their population. The lower class was the minority and had minimal rights compared to the middle and upper classes. They needed those upper groups to help them and their families.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 2:17 PM 1 comments

The article I read on theonion.com was named "African Children Given 30000 Unused 'Save Darfur' T-Shirts". This article is turning the situation of Darfur and our response to it into a joke. Hundreds of Thousands of people are dying in Darfur, and although the U.S. says that they are trying to help the situation, not much has been done, other than producing t-shirts or making a few signs. The article spoke of how the U.S. had made 30000 t-shirts about Darfur, but since the problem had not been as much of a concern as they had thought, they are just going to give the shirts to the children of Darfur. Instead of using the money of making the t-shirts to the people of darfur, they made t-shirts, making fun of the U.S's approach to the unfortunate situation. I think that the article was an example of Horatian Satire. This type of satire is somewhat making fun of a group of people, or an idea, but not in a mean spirited way, as Juvenalian satire is. In this case, the satire is aiming at the United State's response to the cries of help from Darfur. The writing was funny because it was written as if it was an article, but was actually making a joke about the U.S. A sentence that made me laugh was: " 'Frankly, we thought this would be a more popular issue," a Mee Tees spokeswoman said." It is funny because it is actually true. The response the T-Shirt company made to Darfur is funny becuase they did not try and help Darfur, but used it as an excuse for business. This is what the United States has become.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 1:57 PM 0 comments

If I were a soldier fighting in war, the item I would bring is my Teddy bear. I got her when I was born from my aunt and when I look at my Teddy bear or hold her, it reminds me of my family. My teddy is pink, but has faded into almost white. She is about a foot in size, very soft, after all those years, and has a button as a nose. She also has a ribbon around her neck, where a red heart hangs, which says “I love you”. Hopefully, I will never have to experience the tragedies of war or go into the war, but if I had to, I would bring my Teddy Bear, to remind me of my family and how much they love me.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 12:49 PM 0 comments