讀書心得徵文比賽得獎名單

讀書心得徵文比賽得獎名單出爐囉!
非常感謝所有參與的同學與兩位評審老師的批改及支持:東吳大學馬健君教授
以及台中教育大學的廖美玲教授。
評審老師此次提到:
大部分作品都寫得很好，
其中幾篇，尤其深刻，讓我忍不住又再多讀幾遍。
謝謝你們給我這個美好的機會與經驗。

All of them are very good! I am impressed!


恭喜下列四位同學得獎

第一名
應外四 張O誠 Never Let Me Go
第二名
法學一 曾O菁 Before I Fall
第三名
應外四 鄭O儀 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
第三名
應外一 林O文 The Hunger Games

請四位得獎同學盡快攜帶身分證、學生證、存摺或提款卡至語言中心辦理領獎手續。

102-1 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第一名 : 應外四 張O誠

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

        Thirty-one-year-old Kathy H. unfolds this story with her monologue-like narration. She grew up with her friends, Ruth and Tommy as her closest ones, in a school named Hailsham, then moved to the Cottages during their teenage years, and after the days in the Cottages, they are required to be either a “donor,” a person who donates his/her organs to the “normals” until the end of life, or a “carer,” a person who takes care of donors. Even if they choose to be a carer, they still doomed to, sooner or later, donate their vital organs to normal people, and then they will all “complete,” or die because that’s why they are created. This genre of this novel arguably belongs to Quasi-Sci-Fi and the time of this story sets in late 1990s. Ishiguro depicts a world developing clone technology in order to prolong human lifespan and to achieve longevity since World War II. Therefore, clones are made for donations, and Miss Emily founded Hailsham so as to prove the world that clones have souls at all.

        The depiction of emotional struggles in this novel is so remarkable that readers are pulled in to ponder over and gain spiritual growth. Along with this story line, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy demonstrate a strong emotional bound to one another. Moreover, during their dealing with the ordeals they have encountered throughout their lives, an enormous sense of loss is shown. On the one hand, they exhibit a very human-like way of interacting with others, while on the other hand, they also illustrate an almost wholeness as a human but something is missing. The biggest reason dividing humans and clones in this story is the way they’re reared. Accordingly, two themes are selected: one is regarding their being deprived of deeper education and the other is about their loss of identity. After brief discussion of the selected themes, the focus will be on Ishiguro’s message to this real world. 

        The first theme chosen is about their being deprived of further education. Though they grew up in a school and created artwork and poetry, they were never enlightened. They sense something weird and sometimes question, but they never think further, or they are blocked to do so. They were told enough to know that they are one day to donate, but they were never told enough to understand the true meanings of donation and why they have to donate. Therefore, since their childhood, they know their only mission is donation. However, some might get the answer at the very end of their lives, while others remain completely innocent when they die. Without enlightenment, they can think on the surface instead of think critically. When encountered with predicaments, like young children, they passively accept it, remain gloomy for a while, or sometimes shout desperately simply trying to drain their powerlessness out. They are not aware to change not because they are really that impotent, but because, with every clone fulfilling their mission, none of them think about escaping and being abnormal as their life mission as a donor has been internalized into their mind. As a result, education itself is a double-edged sword. It enables educated people to think critically if they receive enough nurture of quality education. However, it also paralyzes one’s thinking system if it only teaches talent-oriented subjects, such as creating artwork and poetry.

Another theme is their loss of identity. An important clue is their desire to find their own “possible,” the one who donate genes so that they can be made. A scene describing Ruth’s outrage after they know that the fine lady in the office is not Ruth’s possible best exemplifies their subordinate attitude and inferiority complex.

‘I didn’t want to say when you first told me about this. But look, it was never on. They don’t ever, ever, use people like that woman. Think about it. Why would she want to? We all know it, so why don’t we all face it. We’re not modeled from that sort… We all know it. We’re from trash. Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps. Convicts, maybe just so long as they aren’t psychos. … If you want to look for possibles, if you want to do it properly, then you look in the gutter. You look in the rubbish bins. Look down the toilet, that’s where you will find where we all came from.’

        This scene can be regarded as their epiphany, a moment when they realize that they will never be a decent person as they once dreamed of. Since their childhood, they dreamed their own dreams. Some dreamed to become a Hollywood actor, while others dreamed to become their ideal profession. The fantasy that they had clung to suddenly collapsed. Their desires are never to be fulfilled; even their eagerness to find their own identity and the position in the world failed. They are rootless. Moreover, at all time, they view themselves as subordinates of human beings; therefore, it drives them to seek their identity from their possibles, even though the two parties do not have any strings attached except for genes. In addition, when Kathy worked as a carer, Hailsham was closed. Upon knowing this, Kathy thought about the students who she had grown up together, now all over the country as carers or donors. They were all separated but somehow still linked by the place they were from. Hailsham, a place where their common memories took place, was shut down, and nothing they’re related to will remain. All of them will complete. All of them will leave the world without any traces. They are born and dead without identity.

        Ishiguro depicted Never Let Me Go in a slightly gloomy fashion; all the miseries leak through the lines and shroud your heart with a thin layer of sadness instead of striking you directly with a powerful sentimental bomb. It is remarkably written and enchanting. Not only does it provide immense pleasure for a reader, but, with the first person narration, it leads readers to be the one whom Kathy talks to. In this way, the real world and the fictional world seem to merge, and it makes readers to ponder whether in this real world exist this group of minorities who suffer to make life of the majority more pleasant.

Based on my knowledge of this novel, Ishiguro indeed tried to make the world think, to think what can be done and what can’t. Throughout the whole novel, Ishiguro’s detailed depiction of clones’ misery triggers readers’ sympathy. It is certainly not humane to treat a life like that. Even if some argue that clones are not humans, people don’t do that on animals. Accordingly, there must be a distinction between the forbidden and the debatable. Some issues welcome all parties to present their arguments, while others should remain undone because morality should never fade and always be the priority.

In one of Ishiguro’s interview, he pointed out that one of the most important themes in this novel is limited lifespan. No matter clones or humans, they all live through the periods as a child, as a teenager, and as an old man. Though the life of clones is limited in around 30 years, they experienced discomfort as a suffering patient as well. Ishiguro himself also assisted in shooting the adapted film and at the very end of the movie, unlike the original novel, Kathy has a new line: “What I’m not sure about is whether our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. And none of us really understand what we’ve lived through. Or feel we’ve had enough time.” By reading this novel, readers gain catharsis through the haunting predicaments of the characters, thereby understanding that life is never long enough, not even when we try various means to prolong our lifespan. We all spend our lifetime exploring the true meaning of life. With the dandelion of this well-knotted plot landing in readers’ brain and mind, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy provide inspirations and encouragements whenever one feel defeated. What’s more, it also invites readers to thoroughly ponder over the true meanings of life and the distinction between what should do and what shouldn’t.

102-1 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第二名 : 法學組一 曾O菁

Before I fall

By Lauren Oliver

Everyone must have some experiences about “death”, maybe through one’s beloved relatives, friends or even pets. Most of them caught this opportunity to ponder on some life issues. For instance, “What is the meaning of life?” “Is there really a heaven or hell?” “Is there any destiny target waiting us to achieve?” Moreover, some people may had thought about how will the fateful moment happened and how will they feel when they have to face their own “death”. If you had once thought about the issue above, you can never miss《Before I fall》.

The cover of 《Before I fall》 is a girl lying on a meadow, it made me inferred that it must be a teenagers’ romance. Actually, I don’t like this kind of story and I didn’t pay much attention on this novel. However, thanks to my friend’s highly recommending, I fortunately didn’t miss this interesting novel. Instead of the love between two adolescents,《Before I fall》is talking about a girl’s death and what she had realized in her “die process”. The girl, whose name is Samantha, was one of the most popular girls in her high school, she had a wonderful high school life with her friends. But just as no morning sun last the whole day, she died in the car accident when her friend drove her home after a party. However, it’s just the beginning of the story.

Samantha felt that herself had already been dead, but she then be woke up by her alarm clock and found that it was the morning of her doom day! She had to repeat that day again and again. At first, she tried to avoid things that may lead to her death, but what she had done was all in vain because she would still die in other ways. Even if she had successfully avoided it, she got in another repeat after she slept. Meanwhile, through experiencing her doom day again and again, she found out that even the smallest decision she made that day would cause a vast effect at the end of the day. Though it made her so confused and had tortured her so much, she discovered some hidden facts in her life, found out who really loves her and found out who only wanted to use her. Most important of all, she found out that the most significant thing in her life is her beloved family. After “practicing” so many times, Samantha found the best way for her to live the very last day of her life.

In《Before I fall》, the author used the element “the butterfly effect” to make the story more attractive. Because of the effect, Samantha had seven totally different February 12 to found out many secrets and amazing facts and finally realize what is the most important thing in her life that is worth it to catch the last chance to spend her last day on. But the heartbreaking thing is that she got the point too lately. At least she got the point at the last chance and made herself a better ending, but how about we normal people in the real world? Do we have the chance to regret and to change anything at the last day of our lives? In the story, Samantha had drawn a line in her room and forbad her mother to get through it for protecting her privacy. But in the morning of the last day of the repeating ones, Samantha almost gave up to deal with the confusing situation because she thought she had arranged all things in the right place. She thought that she deserved a great ending but what she found out after she opened her eyes was that she was on her bed with another February 12. Feeling Frustrated, She powerlessly lay on her bed. Samantha’s mother came upstairs to get her out of her bed to go to school and found Samantha was not right. Without hesitation, Samantha’s mother stepped over the line and hugged Samantha.

Though the author didn't explain why Samantha has this unbelievable experience, the story is delicate enough to inspire me. Once I get close to “death”, maybe do something dangerous or when some of my relatives passed away, I would think about the questions about meaning of life again. Sometimes I may not only think about the meaning of life but also what we should pursue and cherish. Moreover, I may think about why human beings should have to experience those complicated expressions and cope with those complex relationships. Are those above gifts or torment from god?

After finishing reading《Before I fall》, I saw the movie《Seven Days in Heaven（父後七日）》, another excellent movie which focus on the love between family members, the meaning of life and the rituals of traditional Chinese funeral. It's great by using a humor way to see those sad things, which made the audience have a stronger feeling to the ironical points by many intensive contrasts. Compare to《Seven Days in Heaven》,《Before I fall》has more focus on teenagers’ bullying issues and their rebelliousness in the gloomy salad days, which makes them neglect they family. I think that is the main idea that the author wants us to realize ── we should not only cherish our family but catch every opportunity to enjoy in our family love because life is always fickle. 

102-1 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第三名 : 應外一 林O文

The Hunger Games

 By Suzanne Collins

  It was the last page of the book, but I refused to read the ending. I wanted the story to be continued. How was Katniss after winning the game? What about Peeta? Deeply put myself in the story, I held my breath and turned to the last page, as if I were Katniss, seizing every opportunity to survive.

  I could see the outline of the Capitol emerging in front of me. The crowd had their hands high in the air, cheering for the Tributes they supported. However, it was not a sport game. The twenty four Tributes from twelve different Regions had the same fate in the end—being killed. The only person was allowed to go home alive was the winner. In other words, the winner must kill all the other twenty three Tributes to end the game. Sadly, there were no winner left occasionally, for the challenges in the game was too tough.

  It was a strategy for Peeta to pretend that he love Katniss, and he was willing to sacrifice for his love. The story did touch the crowd form the Capitol. People wanted to see Peeta and Katniss fighting for the survival for each other. The stories alike could be romantic in our lives, but it was nothing but a brutal challenge in the game.

  From some imaginary screens, I saw Katniss fighting for her own survival. She had her bow and arrows, running through the forest, trying to escape from the enemies that intended to kill her. She hid herself in ponds, slept in trees, and struggled to find Peeta. Peeta was badly injured, dying somewhere in the furious forest. He failed to protect himself. Worst of all, he might get kill by other Tributes in any moment.

  When it came to the end of the game, there were two Tributes left—Katniss and Peeta. Since the crowd of the Capitol was so eager to see their romance, the designers changed the rule of the game. However, the rule was revised again later. The government found that their power was challenged by the young couples. They wanted only one winner instead of two. Katniss and Peeta decided to eat a kind of poisonous berry, for they didn’t want to kill each other. Meanwhile, the crowd from the Capitol would like to see both of them stay alive. Influenced by the crowd, the designer of the game changed the rule again in the end. The pretended lover survived and won the game, but the government was not happy to see this.

  What impressed me most was not the characters or the plot, but the will power of survival. Living in the concrete jungle, it’s pretty hard for me to imagine how difficult it could be to stay alive. Nevertheless, Katniss showed me how impossible it could be. A weird question came to me after reading the story. What if I were one of the characters in the book? Even worse, I was selected to be one of the Tributes. Although that was just an imaginary situation, I thought about it seriously. What if, I could possibly die tomorrow?

 

  I got the answer after reading the book for two or three times later. If I had to die young, I would like to share everything I own with others. Just as Katniss did before she was selected to be the Tribute, I would like to be the candle in the darkness. Providing the needed with hope and warm would be my core value of my life. For I may die young, I shall leave no regret in my life. I should love the ones that are worth loved. I should keep a positive attitude toward every challenge and depression as well. There are no reason for me to look down on anything or feel hopeless, since I must seize every opportunity to live as brightly as possible.

  Now, I breathe the air of freedom and safety, cherishing every moment I live. Even if I know I would not be selected as one of the Tributes, I try hard to share what I have with others. Looking at the bright side of everything and never quit, I refused to surrender to any challenge. Just as Katniss, I fight not only for myself, but also for the ones I love. 

102-1 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第三名 : 應外四 鄭Ｏ儀

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower describes the life of senior student. It is about what Charlie, the main character, has encountered; who he has befriended and how he felt and transferred upon being along with a group of unique friends.

Generally speaking, it should be a book that people who have passed the time of being senior high students will resonate and shout, “Yeah! These were what I did when I was young.” When I read this book, I’m already a college student. I have to be honest that the situations happening in the book probably seldom appear in the lives of the students in Taiwan, no matter in senior high or college. There are issues of friendship, love and family in the story. These are what all human are tangled with in our lives. However, a majority of students in Taiwan may have already missed the very time to experience the craziness and wildness which the characters were having in their senior high. Students in Taiwan put all their efforts in studying, striving for something called “future”; however, while we are keeping our paces to the upcoming future, we have already neglect the moment we are standing on; what we want is a great leap, a leap which may lead us to the top. We bump, we jump; exhaustedly, we fall and try again and again. Repetitively, we never have the chance to enjoy what we are standing on and what surround us. Compare to those who can renovate how the characters feel, Taiwanese readers may can only admire and pity for what they hope to experience at least once.

The characters in the story experience the sweet and sorrow complicated relationship between lovers, bearing the struggling and painfulness of seeing their lovers dating with others, enjoying the relationship and then breaking their hearts in tears. They dance with music, enjoying parties, driving cars, celebrating festivals with friends together. These are so-called normal things and experiences in some of the western society; however, students in Taiwan seem all become the wallflower like Charlie, observing what are happening around them. When I read the story, I have the same feeling as Charlie, as if I am a wallflower like him.

 Charlie, who suffered from a kind of depression and oppression because of his aunt and his good friend who committed suicide, was feared of school. He observed people, hoping to join them but wanting to escape from people at the same time. Then he encountered a group of friends, each of them had their own styles and acted as their own ways. Charlie was shy and even invisible to others, he performed well in academic area but he had no friends before he met Patrick and Sam. I somehow observe people as Charlie did and sinking into our own thoughts. Not knowing how to join others, we escape but hope there will be someone grapping us in. We stand at the edge of the circle which most people are in. We are sensitive and caring. I am really glad when Charlie met Patrick and Sam, who led him to the road of being infinitive. They cared about him, leading him, sharing and laughing with Charlie. They filled out the blank in his empty heart. They needed not to be like everyone else; they had their lives in their ways. And, they teach him something: they can be hero in their own world. They could still be at the edge of the circle, but there are a group of people standing with him, hand in hand. And I feel the infinity as I let them lead me into their world. And back to the reality, I am finding my ways to be a hero in my life.

教學卓越計畫: 英文著作導讀會: Frindle 我們叫它粉靈豆

主講人:世新大學英語學系主任 黃裕惠副教授

主題:Frindle 我們叫它粉靈豆

時間:2013/10/21 13:10-15:00

地點:English Corner 文院418

有任何問題&報名，歡迎洽詢語言中心
02-26748189轉66477~66481(人文大樓307教室)

102-1 英文讀書心得徵文比賽開跑囉!!

102學期教學卓越計畫4-2

102學年度第一學期 英文讀書心得徵文比賽

歡迎各位同學踴躍投稿 !
內容：任挑一本英文書籍，類型長短不限，以英文寫作
字數：500字以上

截稿日期：2013/10/31（四) 下午5：00

參加辦法：
有興趣者請在期限內把英文讀書心得電子檔Word 2003寄到
s49982026@webmail.ntpu.edu.tw，標明 “英文讀書心得徵文—系級學號姓名”。
截稿後將會請評審老師逐一批改，並擇期公布優選讀書心得，
張貼在各大網站及專屬部落格。

英文著作導讀會&英文讀書心得徵文專屬BLOG：
http://lc-guide.blogspot.com/

獎勵辦法:
特優(1人) : 2000元
優等(1人) : 1500元
佳作(1人) : 1000元

101-2 英文心得徵文比賽結果

非常感謝各位同學的參與這次徵文活動!
語言中心收到眾多投稿, 競爭也相當激烈!
首先感謝兩位評審老師的批改及支持
東吳大學馬健君教授
以及台中教育大學的廖美玲教授

「I am very much impressed by the high quality of the students' writings of this year :-) I see great improvements in the writings over the past few years and believe that the activity is succeeding in reaching its goals」－廖美玲教授


「好幾篇作品，都寫得很深刻，希望作者能持續不斷地寫下去。
不是為了別人，也不是為了得獎，只是為了告訴自己，
能思考，能感受，是一件很棒的事。」－馬健君教授

最後，恭喜以下三位同學
第一名: 應外三    江O涵 
第二名: 應外三    張O文
第三名: 應外三    王O喬

以上得獎同學將擇日頒發獎狀獎金 感謝各位同學的踴躍投稿!

101-2 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第三名 : 應外三 王Ｏ喬

Cultural Theory and Popular Culture and introduction 4^th

by John Storey

        After reading Cultural Theory and Popular Culture and introduction 4^th Edition by John Storey, I found it particular deep but interesting to discuss about his hegemony theory. The cultural concept of the hegemony theory is introduced by the Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci defined “hegemony” as a process of negotiation when two parties or cultural groups collide. In other words, hegemony is the result of resistance and incorporation between dominant and subordinate groups. Therefore, the hegemony theory pictures a society in which subordinate groups actively subscribe the values that incorporate them to the prevailing structures of the dominant group, and the people that appear as “dominant groups” are those who function as intellectuals in the society. Moreover, the dominant group does not “rule” the rest of the society, but rather, these intellectuals have reached a high degree of consensus with the subordinate groups. Therefore, the dominant group “leads” the society through moral and intellectual leadership. To make a further and deeper discussion of the concept of hegemony, I can think of three typical examples related to hegemony.

        The first example is the dominance and widespread of American culture and the popularity of McDonalds’ can be seen as a typical example of hegemony. To begin with, though McDonalds appears as an international corporation founded in different countries, in each country, there exists a variety of differences when it comes to the food served in the menus. For example, McRice burger, a ground beef burger, or chicken fillet, served with special sauce in fried rice cakes, can be ordered in the Taiwanese McDonalds’ menu.  Beer is offered in McDonalds’ in Germany, France, and a few other locations across Europe. Another example is the McTurco sold in Turkey, which is 2 burger patties covered in cayenne pepper sauce, and vegetables, and served on a fried pita. From all of these examples, one can see the widespread of McDonalds’ as a symbol of dominant American culture and the different “local specialties” that appear in the menus as subculture groups. It is a process of struggle and negotiation that brings the two together, and such equilibrium creates a variety of “localized food” served in the menus of McDonalds’ in different countries. 

        The second example associated with the hegemony theory is another evidence of the successful dominance of American culture, that is, when mentioning about the American film industry. It is evident that American values are diffused worldwide through the film industry, and there are several main reasons that the American film industry has the ability to become a “hegemon”.  In terms of ability, one cannot deny that “the Hollywood system” has become a standard for the global motion picture industry because the United States has a solid global network, abundant production resources, such as prominent producers, actors and studios.  Furthermore, ever since the early 20^th century, the United States has had a great interest in exporting films overseas. This results in attaining the advantage of monopolizing the global film distribution with nearly a market share of over 50 percent.  Moreover, the biggest advantage is, through such “filmic hegemony”, the U.S. is able to use “soft power” to maintain global hegemony. Unlike the earlier times when people used weapons (hard power) as a violent force to maintain power and dominance, the notion of “soft power” has flourished in the U.S. through different ways, via culture and ideology.  That is to say, the U.S. uses “filmic hegemony” as a soft power to diffuse its values worldwide and make the American influence more continuous and solid. The “filmic hegemony” mentioned above is one aspect of cultural hegemony, for often times, these films tell audiences what the world is or what the world is supposed to be.  Therefore, soft power deliberately enables the dominant ideology or culture, in this case, the U.S., to control one’s thinking and helps maintain its own the status quo. 

        However, some people may be skeptical about the relationship between the spread of films and the control of politics because these people may argue that many Hollywood movies simply function as mass entertainment and do not always reflect American hegemony. Despite such claim, films and politics do have a correlation with each other, whether one is aware of it or not. That is why the American government has always been aware of the political function of Hollywood and maintained close ties with the film industry. Such awareness strengthens the power of “American filmic hegemony” because these films have the potential to represent the political, economic and military aspects of the U.S. 

        One of the suitable examples of U.S. “filmic hegemony” would a further analysis of the James Bond 007 movie series, which is a masterpiece controlled by U.S. funding and in many ways reflects American perspectives.  Over a forty-five year period, the 007 series has achieved tremendous worldwide box-office record and has successfully showed the prevailing American values and cultures. To analyze the 007 series, one can first discuss about the general setting of the series, which is the Cold War, and this holds a premise of “America controlling in the West. Next, one of the series’ specific traits is that the international society is usually divided into “good and evil”, and the nationality of the villains is the key to know who the main enemy of the U.S. is. For example, the Soviet Union plays the villainous role with which the U.S. needs to confront. Furthermore, the American perspective on international politics became more evident after the release of Die another Day (2002). In this film, there was a reestablishment of the villainous role, which was substituted by North Korea. Such switch could not be just a coincidence, but rather an obvious proof of the spread of American political values.  Next, understanding the selection of actors in the 007 series is another evidence of American hegemony. The main character, James Bond, appeared to be as a more “Americanized Anglo-Saxon”.  Albert Broccoli, the producer of the series, chose Scottish-born Sean Connery to play James Bond instead of choosing the British actor David Niven, and this was a critical act of transforming “British” Bond into an “American” Bond”.  Moving to the themes in the series, the core values of the United States are threatened, and the villains’ plans usually include stealing the space shuttle and microchips, which are both advanced technologies of the United States.

        In addition, institutions and infrastructure which are important symbols of the U.S, such as the Federal Reserve Bank, are attacked by “the villains”. One might question why do these villains target strongly on attacking the United States, and the answer would  be that attacking the U.S. is the most effective tactic to disrupt international order. This shows that to threaten the value of the United States equals threating world peace. Therefore, James Bond holds the responsibility to settle down such chaos and restore international peace. Simultaneously, the high-tech equipment and the U.S military are keys to maintain world peace because James Bond is only able to complete his missions through these facilities. This fact can be explained as the superiority of the U.S. over Britain when it comes to science, technology and national defense.  The last interesting point to mention about American hegemony inserted in the 007 series is that the U.S. is seen as “good” in a rather unspoken manner, with which terms such as “safe”, “world” and “best” the U.S. would be associated. Such purpose is to reassure the positive values of the United States.  Therefore, the 007 series is a typical example of American “filmic hegemony”.

        The last example of the hegemony theory is adopted through the historical case of British hegemony in the Caribbean. In order to avoid conflicts and maintain control over the indigenous people, the British rulers instituted a “transformed English” as the official language. The so-called “transformed English” was a combination with new stresses and new rhythms introduced by the indigenous tribes, such as introduced from the African languages.  Therefore, this combination is another example of hegemony, which shows through the process of resistance and incorporation comes negotiation and the result of a combination of the dominant language culture and the subordinate language culture.     
    
        In conclusion, Gramsci’s hegemony theory allows one to view “popular culture” as a negotiated mix made from both “above” and from “below”, both “commercial” and “authentic”, which shows that it is a compromise equilibrium of  forces between resistance and incorporation.  

101-2 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第二名 : 應外四 張Ｏ文

Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

What leads a tender-hearted juvenile to the road of slaughter? Desperation.

Peter and Josie were once close friends. As time went by, they separated apart. Peter suffers severe bullying in school while Josie tries hard to merge into those bullies to make herself popular in school. Mourning over Peter’s dead brother who was a straight A student and athlete, Peter’s parents spend little time on their remaining son, which makes Peter isolated not from school, but also from family. One ordinary day, the accumulated burden caused by bullying, humiliation and violence disables Peter from enduring. Peter pulls the trigger, taking his revenge on everyone in campus with nineteen minutes.

The first time I heard about the story of nineteen minutes, I was strongly convinced that the shooter must have possessed a cold-blooded heart. The death penalty would be the only appropriate solution to his murder. However, I turned out to be sympathetic over his life after reading. I even inwardly imagined he could be acquitted of all the charges and moved on with his new life in the end of the story. Jodi Picoult is an undoubtedly inspiring story-teller. She knows what the readers look for from her story and she meets their expectations. She also casts out questions about moral issues and humanity flaws, which allows people to reflect on themselves and also the society. 

The first disputable issue that hits me is how to define “evil.” When people commit a crime, we consider them villains. When good people commit a crime, doubts arise. Deliberately shooting people to death seems to be an evil deed, but after knowing how much Peter has suffered, can we conclude that Peter is evil? Those smart and athletic cool kids win honor for school but embarrass other slow students for fun. Can we judge they are evil? Josie, once peter’s best friend, humiliates Peter in order to merge into the cool kids. She traumatizes Peter the most, but she keeps feeling guilty for what she has done. How can we define her and the parents, teachers, and anyone who neglect the victims’ crying for help and unintentionally assist with bullying? Evil is never born, but made. Goodness exists in people’s nature. Once attacked by extreme force, it gets twisted, then producing evilness. Evil could not only be an instant thought, but also be expanded to devour the man’s original nature. Peter was previously a gentle kid, who would never be the ingredient for a murderer. “Everyone’s saying I ruined their lives but no one seemed to care when my life was being ruined.” The explosive desperation toward life ultimately twists Peter into a monster with eyes glued to revenge. The pursuit of peel acceptance devours the original nature Josie used to have and twists her into a traitor to real friends. Overdosed vanity and pride twists kids into devils without empathy. Selfishness and reluctance to face the reality creates the indifferent world.

The society encourages people to bravely express their uniqueness, but once refused, people put on camouflage to hide who they truly are, and to better fit into the world. Peter’s softness does not cater to worldly expectation of being a man, and therefore he chooses not to reveal himself, laying low, being invisible in order to escape away from peel’s denial. Josie’s kindness does not qualify her for being a member of the cool kids, so she veils herself with abandoning Peter when he seeks help. The society has been so deformed that one’s merit turns out to be a demerit. Fearing for being excluded, people have to coat themselves with camouflage to survive this cruel and merciless world. Sarcastically, the education has been preaching people to retain the true colors of themselves but forgot to light directions to the outsiders who are constantly told “NO” by others in their environments, by bullies on campus, by parents at home. How to strike a balance between staying in the nature and fitting in the society still leaves uncertainty

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. － Confucius

When the desperation drags Peter down to the bottom, he drowns himself in the attempts at revenge. Serving as a hypnotizer, revenge entitles Peter strength and confidence to overthrow the current society. The power revenge gives off is so devastating that Peter can transform himself into an aggressive, cynical bomber, that the bullies who used to tease on Peter taste the horror of desperation for the first time, and that all the people who always ignored Peter eventually pay attention to him. The effects revenge brings are simultaneously enormous that it rings the warning bell to the world, that Peter ultimately proves his self-existence to the world, and that Peter becomes the person that everyone wants to be, a person who cannot be judged by the world. However, the Author, Jodi Picoult, does not advocate revenge but tries to hold back this attempt. Retaliation serves as a two-sided sword. It stabs the enemy deeply, and cuts the holder back even deeper. Peter wins temporary satisfaction in nineteen minutes, but the vacancy remains forever. He never has a chance to breathe the air of freedom ever again. He will never see whether there would be a turning point in his life where outsiders are welcome, or a place like Utopia where loneliness can be erased with acceptance. He can never discover all the potential possibilities in life, either.

All hatred leads to dead ends; all revenge ends in tragedy. If Peter had not sowed the seed of spite in his heart, he might have still encountered the same difficulties but faced them with positive attitudes. If Peter did not pull the trigger, he may still suffer depressing challenges, but life would be worth anticipating.

    

I have been enlightened throughout savoring every written word in Nineteen Minutes. People and the society are inseparable. The society molds personality; personality creates the society. Contrariwise, the society suppresses personality; personality explodes it. Jodi Picoult never sets a standardized answer to the above issues. She leaves space for us to reflect on ourselves, refit the society and renew the world.  

101-2 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第一名 : 應外三 江Ｏ涵

The Song of Achilles

Written by Madeline Miller

In the movie, Troy, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the story focuses on the beauty of Helen and the invincibility of Achilles. However, the novel The Song of Achilles, written by Madeline Miller, emphasizes on a plain character: Patroclus. The story line centers on the love between Achilles and Patroclus and the struggle between fate and nemesis. Miller not only successfully re-represents the legendary war from an exiled prince’s point of view, but also leads readers to discover the answer, which did not lie in Iliad, why Achilles finally went to war.

Achilles withdrew from the Greek coalition because he felt being insulted by the commander in chief, Agamemnon. His anger came from their disrespect which disgraced his title of demigod and diminished his importance of engaging in the war. No matter how his fellows including Patroclus pleaded him for changing his mind and bringing back victory, he never approved. However, after Patroclus died, heart-broken Achilles went to war to take revenge from Hector, the greatest fighter in Troy.

In the movie version, the director merely concluded Achilles’s wrath as kinship. However, on a second thought, this kind of interpretation might not be convincing enough to explain why Achilles gave up his prestige and life to fight again. If Achilles valued kinship, he would never cruelly abandon Deidameia, the princess who bear his own child. Also, he would never leave his men in the lurch. From this stand point, we can infer that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is beyond family love, and that is the point that Miller tries to deal with.

When it comes to the characteristics of a historical hero like Achilles, we may unconsciously think of masculine, bravery, and intelligence. However, Patroclus has none of these features, instead, he is weak, powerless, and even pissed off by his own father. Since they are so different from each other, why a great warrior like Achilles chooses a man like Patroclus to be his companion and lover? Miller herself explained that she left this ambiguous in the novel quite deliberately. In my understanding of this novel, I especially mention three aspects to answer this question. First, it is Achilles’s admiration for Patroclus that draws them closer and closer. Second, Patroclus’ life experience as well as his value toward life and human heart has a great influence on Achilles. Third, Patroclus’ unflinching love for Achilles connects them together. With these detailed description and strong argumentation, Patroclus, instead of Achilles, is shaped as a hero by Miller, and that is part of the reason why Achilles is so deeply in love with Patroclus.

Achilles admires Patroclus because of his courage to fight against fate. In other people’s eyes, Patroclus is nobody but a loser who is destined to fail and die. However, Achilles discovers the other side of Patroclus and keeps him accompanied. For example, Patroclus was not the most outstanding candidate of being Achilles’s companion, but he won the position without efforts. Achilles’ decision made people wonder, even Achilles’ father, Peleus, was once curious about why he chose Patroclus to be his companion. He asked Achilles, “For many years now, I have urged companions on you and you have turned away. Why this boy? ”Achilles simply answered, “He is surprising.” To a man who is so close to perfection, how could there be something that surprises him? I think, for a half-god like Achilles who is “the best warrior of his generation”, he cannot imagine how he survives in this cruel and unjust world if he has been so weak and powerless. As a result, he is surprised by Patroclus’ perseverance and courage. For example, what caused Patroclus to be exiled was that he accidentally killed a nobleman’s son who snatched a toy from him. The only time he dared to fight back, he was banished from his own country. Even though his life was so tragic, he never gave in to destiny. Instead, he gradually developed his expertise in medication and surgery in order to save those injured warriors. Patroclus’ persistence and goodness not only attract Achilles but also make him look the part of a hero.

Moreover, Patroclus teaches him how to be a real man. Even though Achilles is able to fight, to slay, but he know little about compassion, empathy, and good will. What he pursues is reputation and fame. Therefore, Patroclus shows him something more valuable than slaughtering. We can see this from the conversation, which took place after Patroclus was killed by Hector, between Briseis and Achilles. Briseis agitatedly and mournfully accused Achilles of letting Patroclus to fight in disguise. She said, “He (Patroclus) was worth ten of you. Ten! And you sent him to his death. You care only for yourself! ”

Patroclus showed him a man should care for the minority, for example, refugees and women who were treated as war prize. A man should not blindly slaughter and take someone’s life without compassion. This is the right reason why Patroclus replaced Achilles to fight and further caused his death because he could not bear to see both innocent Greeks and Trojan die for Helen. Therefore, he dived into danger and tried to capture Helen, the cause of the Trojan War, but finally was killed by Hector.   

 What is more noticeably is Patroclus’s unconditional love for Achilles which builds up the foundation of their affection. Although the love between human and divine is only possible beyond the limits of humanity, that is, in death. Despite that he has to give in his life, Patroclus always considers Achilles’s need, feeling and reputation as the priority. For example, at first, Patroclus did not want Achilles to take part in the war because Thetis, the sea goddess as well as Achilles’s mother, predicted that it would cause Achilles’s death, which is equal to Patroclus’ death. However, he let him go and promised to go with him. On the one hand, he could not bear to see Achilles suffer from being underestimated by others. On the other hand, he knew by heart that Achilles was born to make a legend in the history. That kind of compromise cannot be made without great love. After all, love is a condition in which the happiness of another person is equally important to yours.

Just as the comment from New York Times “Miller has taken on a heroic task: to fashion a modern work of literature out of very ancient story.” At the same time, the individual roles formed by Miller differentiate from the original ones, especially Achilles and Patroclus. Achilles is more like a victim of destiny who lives under the shadow of her mother’s will and prophecy. On the contrary, Patroclus who believes in human goodness and his compassionate toward people make him more like a hero in this novel. Besides the characters with brand- new features, Miller’s subtly writing approach which starts from creating the dispute about the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, and then setting the mood for readers to discover the secret by themselves both contributes to the success of The Song of Achilles.

101-2 英文作文徵文比賽開跑囉!!

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101學年度第二學期 英文讀書心得
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