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PIC: Syria and Refugees

The specific issue in the world that I chose is refugees, most notably Syrian Refugees. There are over 11 million Syrians displaced from their homes, with almost 4 million displaced outside of Syria. So many people are being forcibly removed from their homes because of war, conflict, and persecution. This is a real issue, a serious issue. I’m not interested in this topic because it’s interesting, I’m interested in helping to solve this issue because it’s an issue that needs to be solved.

A refugee cares for his grandson, who was born on a refugee camp in Lebanon. Image from World Vision, on the 4th image of the slideshow.

This is a significant issue in our world, because it’s hurting millions upon millions of people everyday. People are being forced out of their homes, their country, people are being attacked, injured, and murdered. Homes are being destroyed all throughout Syria. Lebanon, a country on the west border of Syria with a population of only 4 million people, has over 1 million Syrian refugees displaced in it. There are also about 1.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. There are less than 1 million but at least 100,000 refugees in Iraq and Egypt, and over 600,000 in Jordan (Statistics from the  UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.) The reason this is an important topic to know about is because it’s a topic that needs things to be done about it. These refugees need food, reliable clean water, hygiene supplies, blankets, and more. There are over 2 million Syrian refugees that are children, most of which are receiving no educational support (Numbers from the World Vision Website.) These people are being forced into terrible situations, and unhealthy locations. Some of these people will be their for the rest of their life. The average time for a refugee to be exiled for upwards of 17 years (information from TED Talks.) This is something that is important to know because people are dying, and will continue to die unless we do something about it, and we can only do something about it if people know things about it.

Raijab’s camp settlement in Lebanon, just miles from the border of Syria. Image from World Vision, on the 5th image of the slide show.

At this point in the project, I’m still planning on finding more out. I still have questions, such as: What is the rate of illness in these refugee camps? Approximately how many people are being forced out of their home per day? These questions and anymore will hopefully be answered from my Original Research, which leads me to the last thing that I’m wondering: I’m not exactly sure what to do for my Original Research. I could do some sort of survey, which could tell me something like how much people know about the topic, but this wouldn’t tell me much more information on the topic itself. I could instead to an interview, although I’m not exactly sure who I could interview. I’m still working on it, but I’ll figure it out. Anyway, that about wraps up my first blog post, but before I end this, here is my Annotated Bibliography.

Jevon Price

Ms.Giknis

English 1

24 April 2015

                                            I’m poor, I’m black, Yay I go to Harvard!

The project that will be focused on is the concept of whether Affirmative Action, an act that is committed throughout the United States, should be used in the selection process of higher level education. For those that are unaware of the issue, it’s the process in which people are selected predominantly based on both their race and geographical background, and in many cases the sum of yearly income that enters their household. It’s basically what allows the higher power to choose which of those can live their lifetime goals of achieving the dream college, but putting a huge racial stamp on the envelope. I know that at the ripe old age of fourteen that this has nothing to do with me, but in just a few short years myself as well as my fellow peers may fall victim to this flamboyant secret that is meant to be a figure of imagination that has since grown to national recognition. This matter that is often swept under the rug, should in fact be brought to the light as it does not clearly benefit the masses.

Perhaps one of the most principal problems facing young men and women every year is that of where they will go after they receive their high school education. For many that have made a clear choice to reach for the colleges of their dream thinking that it would be the most ideal place to nurture them through the beginning stages of adulthood, while constructing the foundation of an illustrious career in the making. But it is the broken spirits of those who are more than qualified that can’t draw their bulging eyes from the big REJECTION on the top of their letter simply because their not a poor black child from the mean streets of Compton, or a talented hispanic singer who’s mother worked hard to support multiple kids. What might seem to be ridiculous on paper is true for many all across the country. Something that is absent from many people minds is continuously being brought into the life due to working a modern use of racism. By striving for a look of diversity amongst its students, many campuses are using race to forge an image that does not deal with the quality of education that is being offered. Studies have shown that over the past twenty years, while trying to make a supposedly diverse campus many colleges are accepting more and more black and hispanics while limiting the amount of white and asians.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21576658-first-three-pieces-race-based-preferences-around-world-we-look-americas

( This image illustrates the averaged enrollment of African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians in college.)

It is seen that despite your abilities, if your color is not what they want in their crayon boxed your don’t become a member. People have the right to know that their futures are depending on if they’re either black or poor enough. Darker or can be spared more pity. Minority is what can get you to a major. The dangerous part of this is that many who are accepted into these high level institutions are not at all ready for what comes with the acceptance letter. Law school as proven to be a case in which this is evident as African Americans have shown to generally do poorer both in school and on the LSAT exam.

http://www.newsbatch.com/race.htm

( The image illustrates the performance of African Americans, Whites, Asians, and Hispanics on the LSAT exam, percentage of getting into the law school, and grade point average. )

It should also be noted that African Americans students generally make up the bottom twenty percent of for those in law school. Probably the most shocking is that this idea is being approved by some of the public. A recent study showed that there are those who believe that Blacks and Hispanics deserve a little extra help compared to that of their Asian and Whites peers. Others also believed that they deserve special treatment as a result of inequalities faced in the path. Neither having to deal with whether an applicant is qualified enough. Interesting. For college the work doesn’t matter.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/americans-oppose-affirmative-action-for-race-if-you-only-ask-white-americans/276426/

( Study of Whether black and hispanics should have special preference when it comes to applying for college)

Affirmative Action was used to give African Americans equal opportunities, and in many ways it has, but on the other hand it is setting up many young black students for failure as their futures are being tampered with to make the cover of a brochure more...colorful. If the idea was to make blacks more apart of the grand scheme of things, it has worked but at the expense of many white and asians students who now seem to be thought of as to privileged for college, or not struggling to the capacity of gaining a quality education. I don’t understand why colleges continue to use the idea of affirmative action to only benefit themselves, when the whole point of college is to mold the new generation to be the best that they can be. I also want to know how can something that has severe origin in a dark time in history that was used to help those in need, do almost the same exact thing as those from its original time period but to a different set of people. More importantly why is this still being allowed to happen. As I continue, I want to center more on the individual effects that affirmative action has had on people. Affirmative Action is the secret that both makes and breaks dreams without a logical purpose, and from what I’ve come across is not needed in the modern society.

Annotated Bibliography

Open Your Eyes

My project is based on events that has been happening since the Jim Crow era and is sadly still relevant in 2014 and today. My topic is police brutality. I am interested in this topic because I want to express how wrong and inhumane a lot of these crimes are and I want to show people how horribly this affects black people as well as other races.

The picture on the left, demonstrates a group of children learning in a classroom.

For this quarter benchmark I would like to do on tutor kids English, as a second language. I'm more comfortable with doing this topic because I know a lot of languages, and I want to help others who don't know at least the English language. What I am hoping to do is to help tutor kids with their homework, who speak another foreign language. They are a lot of immigrants children that come live here in America. When some of them do, they may not know or understand how to speak English. My goal is to make kids comfortable learning how to speak English to get a better communication with whomever may encounter with.

This photo on the right, shows an example of how children in a classroom loses their confidence.

In terms of participating with the class, students who seem to have trouble with the English language are often shy and extremely nervous I would want to help them with finding their confidence and having a better communication with everyone in school. Some students faced teachers making their learning environment more difficult by their way of teaching. Some cases where teachers wouldn’t explain/go over the work appropriately, for the student to comprehend it and get it done the right way. Therefore, I want to assist not just teaching them English but, with finding their confidence any order to participate in school.

This image on the left, shows kids exploring a globe in a classroom.

What I am wondering at this point of process is, finding specific creative ways to tutor children their second language. Will I learn a couple of new languages as I tutor kids? It would be great if I do! I hope that through this process I not only teach a second language to others, but help them gain confidence in school. It would help a lot communicating with people who speak English.

Bibliography

My project is on the subject of stereotypes about dyslexia.  The reason why these stereotypes exist is because people don’t understand what dyslexia is. The point of this project is to defeat those stereotypes and make people understand what dyslexia really is. I picked this topic because I have the beautiful disability of dyslexia.  We found out about it in 6th grade.  But my family knew I had it since around 3rd grade.  But when we told the school that we thought I had dyslexia they didn’t believe us.  And get this, they said that dyslexia isn’t a real disability.

Some of the stereotypes there is, includes dyslexics seeing EVERYTHING backwards; or that we are stupid, and can’t read or write.  But with my research and past experience with dyslexia I see that it isn’t like this.  It may be harder for someone with dyslexia to read and write but they can do it, they just need extra help.  And someone with dyslexia isn’t stupid… I mean Albert Einstein had dyslexia!  There are many famous dyslexics .

Some of the ways I researched this was by looking at different articles and watching youtube videos.  Also, I know many people who have dyslexia so I know lots from them.  And I have dyslexia so I am pretty experienced in this subject.  A reason people also need to know more about dyslexia because 1 out of 5 people have dyslexia.  It is a very common disability but not many people understand what it is.  And a you may even have dyslexia but you wouldn’t know because teachers don’t pay attention to it enough.  There are different types of dyslexia. Phonological Deficit is one type it is when you have trouble decoding and assembling words.  Speed/Naming Deficit this is when you are a slow reader and you have trouble with sight words.  A sight word is a word that is easy and doesn’t need sounding out.  Comprehension Deficit is when you have poor understanding of the text.  Here is a graph that shows what a dyslexic usually has….

http://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/types-of-dyslexia.html

This shows that a dyslexic has all of the disability.  But some dyslexias are more difficult than others.  For instance I have a mild case of dyslexia.  I used to have really bad dyslexia but when I got older it got better because I got a tutor.  Dyslexia is when you don’t process the spelling and reading rules as easy as normal minds.  But don’t use this as an excuse to stop your learning, is the greatest lesson that I’ve learned.  Because hard work is what you need and you just try your best and you will overcome this struggle.

In this point in my research I am wondering different peoples stories and if they were bullied or treated differently because of their dyslexia.  I am hoping to find this out by interviews and researching people who have dyslexia and their struggles.  Maybe even find a couple famous peoples stories that have dyslexia and their struggles.  I really just want to open peoples minds to what dyslexia is.

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/14gfRuS-uo9kv4_qElc7SiYWODF9laquR9k0_s31wXDE/edit?usp=sharing

Consent is a funny word. Everyone has a different idea about what it means, and many sides to the same face causes problems.

In my opinion, consent is safety. Consent is being able to trust that your sixteen year old child can go to a highly populated convention for cosplaying geeks and not be sexually assaulted and harassed. Do you know how difficult it is to have to convince your parents you can protect yourself from a community you're supposed to be a part of? Or maybe, the worrying you do when trying to figure out which costume to wear; “Will this give people the idea that it’s okay to touch me?”

I am a cosplayer, I am not an object.

Cosplay is “the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime.”

Cosplay is not “Lets wear this to get everyone’s attention!” or “I just love it when random strangers come up to me and grope me!”

Consent is “permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.”

Consent is not “Their clothes are so revealing! They were asking for it!” or “If you act like a slut, you'll be treated like one!”

So, basically what I'm trying to get across with this project: COSPLAY DOES NOT EQUAL CONSENT!

A sign from Geeks for CONsent. (SOURCE)

At this point, you're probably thinking about passing this off as just another passive-aggressive rant you can ignore, but this is important.

Last year, a young female cosplayer was found badly beaten, sexually assaulted, and unconscious after being taken from San Diego Comic-Con by a 29 year old male. (Source) This is only the most recent that’s been recorded publically. Sometimes, people get lucky and they don't end up drugged, and half dead- At that same convention, Adrianne Curry (America's Next Top Model) defended one of her friends after their pants were yanked down by a man trying to grope them. (Source) What I’m trying to say here is that this happens a lot more than you'd think. It might not be important to you, and I don't mean to pull this card but, what if this happened to someone you cared about? What if it happened to you? Would you know what to do?

More importantly, do you want to? Would you want to have to worry about protecting yourself every second you're trying to enjoy something important to you? Would you want to be bound to your phone in fear? Not just yours, but your parents’? Do you want to have fun, or be safe?

As one source said, a cosplayer themself, “The groping, the stalking, the upskirting, the unwanted attention and photographs are all part of the misbehavior and women want it stopped.” (AATTP)

A spandex cat woman suit is not consent.

A short-skirted Harley Quinn is not consent.

A big-breasted anime character is not consent.

COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT.

Because yes! This happens every single day to people on the streets and in public areas. This is something that happens. And the same excuses are used- Clothes, attitude, alcohol; but people don't even listen to cosplayers- to us. We're a joke. And yes, I understand that that’s the case for a lot of people, but there’s a lot more people fighting with them because more times than not people think cosplayers allow it.

This project is meant to show how poverty is affecting people's lives. I want to bring awareness towards how we can help. Poverty, in my opinion, is an interesting topic and I think that we can and must raise money to combat it. Poverty means the state of being extremely poor. This means having barely any money and a scarce amount of money means no food. Due to this, people are suffering and even dying because of poverty. Today, this situation is critical since the United State’s poverty number has doubled.

This chart show that Pennsylvania have the highest in population and is one of the nation poorest cities due to extreme poverty. As the population increase, the number of poverty increases.

"Pennsylvania Poverty Numbers Available | Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger." Pennsylvania Poverty Number Available. Coalition Against Hunger, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.hungercoalition.org/story/recent-data-confirms-millions-pennsylvanians-continue-struggle-hunger>.

The Black Eyes Peas Where Is the Love”

Poverty can be relate to the song, “Where Is the Love” since in this song, The Black Eyed Peas sing about world problems such as poverty. They say how it is horrible, and peace and love should be the solution.

Annotated Bibliography Links

       Love at first sight more like physical attraction at first sight.

   Comparing "Taming of the Shrew" to "Romeo and Juliet - 1996 Version"

                Carolyn Borock

In the popular shakespeare play “ The Taming of the Shrew” proves that the idea of being yourself is a bad idea and lying and being deceitful is the way to go in getting a girl. In the taming of the shrew young Hortensio sees beautiful Bianca and he decides to court her. The only thing getting in his way is that Bianca’s  sister Katherine is not wed and must be before Bianca gets courted. Hortensio comes up with the clever idea to dress up like a music teacher in order to get close to Bianca. But as seen in the 1996 version of “Romeo + Juliet,” Romeo sees young Juliet and falls madly in love even without one word coming out of her mouth. But he does not lie and deceive her as Hortensio has. ( Romeo and Juliet portrays the long-standing conflicts between the two families in Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues.)

Contrary to what society believes, people don’t really fall in love at first sight. Almost always, it’s lust at first sight. The intense attraction that people feel for someone when they  first lock eyes with each other, those butterflies in someone’s stomach and that skip in their heart, in all probability, is lust and not love. Lusting for someone isn’t a bad thing, because love generally starts with lust and desire and grows and blossoms into love over a few weeks or months. In the movie Romeo and Juliet, as soon as Romeo saw Juliet, that was it, he had to have her. The only thing that he was truly falling for was the physical attraction. The same goes for Hortensio who sees Bianca and he decides to marry her right away. In contrast, Hortensio goal’s are a little different by having the mindset from the beginning that he is going to marry Bianca. The way he goes about getting Bianca is by dressing up and not being who he is. On the other hand, Romeo loved Juliet but never lied and was not deceitful to impress her. This just shows that society has proven that, in order to win the girl, a person must be who they truly are. These texts show the standards in life and love that being yourself truly is a great thing.  

(Act 1, Scene 2, line numbers 130-140)

“Now shall my friend Petruchio do me grace

And offer me disguised in sober robes

To old baptista as a schoolmaster

Well seen in music, to instruct Bianca,

That so I may, by this device at least,

Have leisure to make love to her

And unsuspected court by herself”

In the “Taming of the Shrew” this quote is explaining how Hortensio is going to steal Bianca’s heart. He is tricking the father Baptista into thinking that he is a schoolmaster. This will then lead to the father hiring him to teach Bianca. His overarching goal is to get close to Bianca. In this scene he is taking to Grumio and discussing the plan. This goes along with my thesis because he is a servant and is changing himself to fit what he thinks her ideal man is. This proves the thesis by being yourself is a better option then tricking a girl to like you.

Even though the two shakespeare plays are quite similar there are major differences in how the characters go about getting the girl.  

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bApvA8me8q0  < Clip of the Scene

In this scene from “Romeo and Juliet,” the characters are seeing each other for the first time. Romeo starts to “flirt” with her in a way such as kissing the glass between the two of them. Romeo is being real and honest about his feelings for Juliet and expressing that. Unlike Hortensio who decides to be someone he is not when dressing up as a school master.

"Quote 2 from Play"

(Act 3, Scene 2, line numbers 70-85)

“Gamut I am, the ground of all accord:

A re, to plead Hortensio’s passion;

B mi, Bianca, take him for thy lord,

C fa ut, that loves with all affection;

D sol re, one clef, two notes have I;

E la mi, show pity, or I die.”

Call you this “gamut”? Tut, I like it not.

Old fashions please me best. I am not so nice

To change true rules for old inventions.

In the play Hortensio is portrayed as being weird and unlikable. This quote was given at the music scene where he tells Bianca of the whole scheme to get her love and affection. Which in the end became a terrible idea because bianca found that a red flag.

In the last scene of Romeo and Juliet - 1996 version lying ended up being a terrible thing.

After romeo finds Juliet “dead”, he decides to end it all because he couldn’t live with the pain of losing her. This is the only time they have ever lied or was deceitful and look what happened they ended up dead. How she was deceitful was to intake a liquid substance and this would put her to sleep. People believed she was dead so she had a grave in place. The effects wore off about one minute before he drank the potion. She grabs his hand and starts crying and kisses him as he dies. She shoots herself in the head and they both end up dead.  

In the end being lying and deceitful is never a good thing.  Romeo and juliet end up dead. In the taming of the shrew hortensio doesn’t get the girl. Society hasn’t learned that being yourself in the end is all you need to be. These two plays portrayed that very well and tought some meaningful lesson that being yourself is ok and not to be the person who you're not.

WORKS CITED:

Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Print.

How has MS affected the people around you

For my Passion, Information, and Change: You and the World project I wanted you introduce my class to the MS society. This is an important topic to me because my Mom has MS and its not just affecting her and her health its affecting my entire family I feel like out of everyone in my family it has its biggest toll on me. I couldn't imagine life without my mom, she has always been there and some advanced stages of MS can lead to the person losing their ability to control their movement. Some of the issues is that many Doctors and Scientist don’t have a cure for this disease and in advance stages people are at risk of losing their lives.

My Mom, Nikki has MS as well as my 5th grade teacher, her MS is affecting her spinal cord and I’m very nervous as to what can happen. I’ve seen my mom in pain many times and it upsetting to see the one you love the most in pain. My fear is that her condition might get worse and that she’ll end up losing the ability to move. I don’t want to see my mom like that, seeing what she goes though now is already unbearable. MS is a disease where the immune system eats away the protective cover for the nerves which can cause damage to the nerves obviously. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide. MS can affect the Brain, the Spinal Cord and the Optic Nerves, In my mom case MS is affecting her Brain.

When Doctors did an MRI in 2008 they found out that she has white spots on her Brain and she has really bad Migraines, she sometimes feels very weak and has tingling in her foot things like that. They diagnosed her with MS. I was only 7 at the time and didn't really understand what the problem was with my mom, I just knew that she was very sick. Me, My Mom, and my little brother been taking part in fundraisers that they organize during the summer and if you take part in the action they will usually give you an orange cross with is the symbol of MS. I believe that this is Important for people to know because I think that learning about this information and sharing it to others can maybe have an effect on them and maybe one day they can find a cure for MS to help the millions of people who have it, such as my mom. They have many Medication to help treat MS but all of them are though IV and my mom actually goes to the doctor once a month and gets her Medicine. She has to take a lot of pills to help her with the symptoms.

I have many questions that I would hopefully get an answer to one day. I just wonder why and how people get MS and where does it comes from. I know that its not transferable so thats a good thing. Like my mom I sometimes get bad migraines and I went to doctors don't be worried they just said I need to wear my glasses because I'm straining my eyes to see. Im wondering what I could do to help my mom and help her though this. I left some Links at the bottom, hope you guys check them out.

More about the MS society

Find out the symptoms

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1jsNMQGUESewl-OlLqlDfi69X8x5ce4AVC0zM56kW2h4/edit?usp=sharing

Comparing The Taming of the Shrew and 27 Dresses

Both in The Taming of the Shrew and 27 Dresses, there are characters who wish to win someone’s love in means that are not natural nor romantic. Jane can best be compared to Petruchio in this sense, however, because Jane ends up with another man entirely, the movie implies that women do not know what is best for them, especially in regards to love.

In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is adamant about wooing Katherine to be his maiden, and has set up elaborate ways in which to tame her into his wife. In 27 Dresses, Jane is madly in love with her younger sister’s fiance. Because Jane has been a bridesmaid in 27 different weddings, she completely does not accept the idea that her sister will be marrying the man that she loves. Jane, although selfless in her ways, can be compared to Petruchio because both of these characters wish to “win” a person. However, with a woman as a pursuer, because she ends up with another man entirely, it implies that women do not know who is best for them and need a man’s confirmation.  

“Why, that is nothing: for I tell you, father,

I am as peremptory as she proud-minded;

And where two raging fires meet together

They do consume the thing that feeds their fury:

Though little fire grows great with little wind,

Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all:

So I to her and so she yields to me;

For I am rough and woo not like a babe.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 135-144)

In this part of the play, Petruchio is describing to Baptista his precise intentions in making Katherine fall in love with him, disregarding any and all arguments against his intentions. Petruchio does not find love or the potential of it in Katherine, but instead wants to use this marriage as a status symbol because of her riches. In this sense, Petruchio is trying to prove something to himself by doing so.

In 27 Dresses, because Jane has been the bridesmaid in so many weddings and has yet to have one of her own, also finds that getting married will benefit her in a similar sense. She wants to prove to her family, friends, and herself that she is worthy of marriage, and is adamant about marrying the man that her younger sister is engaged to.

“Then God be blessed, it is the blessed sun,

But sun it is not when you say it is not,

And the moon changes even as your mind.

What you will have it named, even that it is,

And so it shall be still for Katherine.”

(Act 4, Scene 6, 19-23)

In this scene of The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is convincing Katherine that the sun is the moon, and once Katherine agrees with him, he then changes his mind and convinces her that the sun is in fact the sun. Then, Katherine gives up on any rebuttal and decides to just follow whatever Petrucio ends up saying, and tells him he is and will be correct regardless. This scene shows that, regardless how minor the decision is, women are incapable of coming up with reasonable conclusions in any situation, and cannot speak for themselves without their thoughts or feelings being validated by a man’s.

In this scene of 27 Dresses, Kevin is suggesting that Jane say “No” to her younger sister, because she’s convincing Jane to do absolutely everything for her wedding. He then asks Jane if she’s ever said no before, and persuades her that she should be able to say no to her sister. The interesting conclusion that this scene presents is that Jane needs permission to say no. Before Kevin suggested she speak her mind, this scene makes it seem as though Jane would have never thought of doing so before. Interestingly, Kevin has a similar impression on Jane that Petruchio has on Katherine. Petruchio asserts very clear, authoritative power over Katherine. Kevin, although tactfully and subtly, introduced his feeling of entitlement over Jane, by making it as if he’s granting her liberation.

Comparing “Taming of the Shrew” to “She’s All That”

Both the book, “The Taming of the Shrew”, and the movie, “She’s All That”, prove that men have always looked at women as something to possess and that they feel as though manipulation is an appropriate way to to go about possessing a woman.

In the Shrew, Petruchio wants to possess Katherine for her money, but needs to manipulate her to be the type of girl he can deal with and marry. In She’s All That, Zack wants to possess Laney to win a bet, but also needs to manipulate her to be the type of girl he could deal with and make prom queen. Both men are manipulating these women, but in the Shrew the manipulation is more blatant and Katherine is well aware of what is going on. Whereas in She’s All That, Zack is much more sneaky about manipulating Laney, and even though she had some early suspicions, she isn’t really aware of what is happening. Men have always seen women as an object to possess and manipulate. And with women gaining more rights in society, men have only become better over the years at hiding this manipulation, instead of changing their mindset.

“One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife

(As wealth is burden of my wooing dance),

Be she as foul as was Florentius’ love,

As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd

As Socrates’ Xanthippe or a worse, …

I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;

If wealthily, the happily in Padua.”

(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 67)

In this quote Petruchio talks about how the only thing that matters to him in a woman is how much money she has. Basically, no matter how bad she is, he will deal with her and marry he as long as she’s rich. He speaks about women as though if he makes the decision to go forth and put up with them, then the will be married. He doesn’t speak about whether or not the woman will want to marry him nor does he mention her say whatsoever. If she is rich enough for him to want to possess the woman, then they will be married no matter what.

Zack then finds himself in an extremely similar situation even though he has to have a little bit of help from his friends to come to his epiphany.

In this scene Zack is sulking over the fresh break up with his ex girlfriend as he watches her all over another boy. His friends then remind him of his status at school, top of the class, best jock, etc. Zack and his friends then talk about how he will get over his ex quickly since he can have any girl in the school that he wants considering his status. Zack also speaks about the girls in his school, as Petruchio did, as if they are just something he can possess if he so wants to.

“And woo her with some spirit when she comes!

Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain

She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.

Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear

If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks …

If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day

When I shall ask the banns, and when be married.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, Line 177)

Petruchio is now going over his plan as to how he plans to manipulate Katherine into being his wife. He speaks of the plan proudly as if he is doing nothing wrong, considering back then he wasn’t since women didn’t have much of a say anyway. This portrays Katherine having no choice and that Petruchio can easily get what he wants.

Zack is then found in almost the exact scenario, only for a different reason.

In this scene, Zack is making a bet with his friends about his plan to manipulate any girl at the school. Different from Petruchio, Zack plans to manipulate a woman to become the perfect prom queen, not the perfect wife. The fact that his friends don’t think it will be so easy for him to do this shows that times have changed and that women do have more of a say and that they may not be so easy to just possess.

“I am ashamed that women are so simple

To offer war where they should kneel for peace,

Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway

When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.”

(Act 5, Scene 2, Line 219)

This over the top speech shows that Katherine is just doing what Petruchio says in order to survive, she doesn’t actually believe what she is saying based on how fast and drastically this being truthful would have made her personality change. Katherine is now very aware of the manipulation taking place by Petruchio considering he didn’t do much to hide it. Women didn’t have much say back then, portraying why Katherine has pretty much accepted the fact that she is being manipulated to become his wife.

Lindy has found herself in the same position as Katherine, but handles it very differently.

In this scene, Lindy has found herself also aware of the manipulation after she is humiliated at a party in which Zack made her go to. Unlike Katherine, Lindy was completely unaware of the manipulation considering how sneaky Zack had to be to make it work. It did start to work, she changed her entire appearance for him and attended a party with the high school kids she hated, but as soon as her earlier suspicions turned out to be true, she objected it all. She does not at all accept Zack’s conditions for her to change in order to be his prom queen.

The fact that Zack almost loses the bet and Laney altogether once she figures out how she is being manipulated shows that women gaining rights in the world has made it more difficult for men to manipulate and possess women considering Petruchio couldn’t lose Katherine since she had no choice. But, Zack does win Laney in the end, after trying a little harder of course, which proves that the idea that movies, novels, etc. still like to play around with the idea that men can manipulate women in order to possess them and have them fall hopelessly in love.

Works Cited:

1. Mamma Mia! Dir. Phyllia Lloyd. Perf. Amanda Seyfried. Universal Pictures, 2008. DVD.

I Have More Control

By Ilker Erkut

I am comparing both Taming of the Shrew and the movie Hitch.

In the movie Hitch, the main character Alex Hitch is like a love doctor.  He is called when guys are in need of help when it comes to women.  He plays a character who thinks he understands women.  He finds a woman of his intellectual match, and instead of showing his true feeling, he uses his generic women tips to get what he wants.  In the play The Taming of the Shrew, the character Petruchio is in a similar but different predicament.  He sees Katherine, one of the king’s daughters and declares that she will be his.  Katherine and her sister, Bianca are on the road to marriage.  Petruchio uses his manipulation and cockiness to trick winning her over.  He tricks the king and everyone around him, getting what he wants.  All the events up until the marriage between Katherine and Petruchio has led the book to be called The Taming of the Shrew.  

These scenarios are similar because the male feels that they have a more dominant role in these situations.  Both Alex and Petruchio act as though they understand the women more than they understand themselves.  The women in the situation just sit back and watch it happen, until the end where they show that control is not always the path to take.  Sarah in Hitch, makes Alex realize that she wants someone who is themselves and she wants someone with insecurities and imperfections.  Katherine kisses up to Petruchio making him feel in control, but she is secretly has a plan to get him back for the fake marriage.  According to the play and the movie, control matters in relationships and because of that the characters, like people in real life, learns that control ends badly for whoever has it.  

Quote #1

“Father, ‘tis thus: yourself and all the world that talked of her have talked amiss of her.  If she curst, it is for policy, for she’s not forward, but modest as the dove; she is not hot, but temperate as the morn.  For patience she will prove a second Grissel, and Roman Lucrece for her chastity.  And to conclude, we have ‘greed so well together that upon Sunday is the wedding day.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, Line 307-315, Page 97)

In this scene Petruchio manipulates Katherines father.  The king is definitely believing every word that Petruchio is saying because it seems as though he wants it to be true.  Katherine is having a hard time finding a man because she rubs off as being very nasty to people and shoots down all the men.  The king was desperate for her to find a man.  Petruchio makes it clear to her that something is going to happen between both of them.  Then the father comes in and Petruchio states that Katherine was very lovey dovey when it was just them two talking.  The king accepts and Katherine is furious.  This scene was a prime moment in the play because Petruchio figured out a way to take control of the entire situation.

Alex is the man listening to the conversation.  He was supposed to be that guy who is talking to the girl behind him.  He had it all thought out until this guy shows up.  He had to figure out a way to gain control of the situation considering he is the relationship expert to others.  Alex Hitch walks up behind the man and acts as though he is her boy friend who had to run an errand.  Alex finally gets rid of the guy so he can have a stab at this women.  He played the situation to the point where Sarah, the woman, was already impressed.  After he gets her attention he goes about his conversation in a very “in control” tone of voice.  He explains what every other man would have done in this scenario and he starts the relationship off in a controlling way.

Quote #2

“I am ashamed that women are so simple to offer war where they should kneel for peace, or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway when they are bound to serve, love and obey.”

(Act 5, Scene 2, Line 177-180, Page 219-220)

In this scene Katherine swallows her pride and gives this long speech about how women should be loyal and do what men ask.  It clear that she is tricking Petruchio for later.  She realizes that the only way out of this is to go through with it.    She can take control of the situation later in the marriage and make Petruchio realize he should have never conned her into the marriage.  This little speech of her almost seems scripted considering all the hatred she had toward him in previous conversations about it.

Allegra Cole, the women with the blond hair, thought Albert Brenderman was tricking her and instead of sticking with him like Katherine would have done, she left.  She continued her life without him.  Alex hitch agreed to meet with her to explain that Albert truly loves her and that he was not tricking her.  Albert just needed someone to guide him around his own insecurities.  Petruchio had so much self confidence that everything he said was cocky and always sounded like there was more behind what he was saying.  It almost as if people like Petruchio are the only one who can get the best women because he is cocky and great guys like Albert cannot because they are nice and always scared to make a bad impression.  This is what the world has come to.

Quote #3

“I know not what to say, but give me your hands.  God send you joy, Petruchio.  ‘Tis a match.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, Line 338-339, Page 97)

At the end of both Taming of the Shrew and Hitch, the men with the control are in predicaments.  Hitch realizes in the last scene of the movie that control was able to get him, women and the respect but never allowed him to connect with the girls on a personal level.  He was never able to fall in love with them, it was a game that he always had to win.  Now he is chasing the women he tried so hard to impress.  In Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is mind blown to see that Katherine is so satisfied with the idea of marriage even though she doesn’t remotely like him.  The ending throws people off because it is not as expected.  The controller's are being controlled.

Hitch realizes that he needs to make up for all the acting he was using before by showing, Sarah, he truly loves her.  He chases Sarah out of the building and sprints until he gets close enough to jump.  The things that people do for love are crazy.  Sarah gets out of the car and makes sure he is ok.  In the end she explains that she loved him too but wanted him to work for hers.  Petruchio grows more of a liking toward Katherine because she has lightened up so much at the end.  He is ready for the best life, while she is planning how she can get the most out of her arrangement.  

In both The Taming of the Shrew and Hitch, there are a lot of problems with love and relationships.  They both beg you to ask the questions; is love real?  In Taming of the Shrew, it dwells more on the fact that you grow to love someone if you have control over them.  Getting the love and satisfaction they need will not be hard to get because have control.  In Hitch, Alex Hitch is a man who believes in control and being perfect but he realizes near the end of the movie that to truly love there needs to be no control games.  Alex needed to lose his barriers and open up and in the end he almost dies just to show his true feeling toward the women he loved.

Sources -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvbZsDZRBWk

"Hitch (2005)." YouTube. YouTube, 2005. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

“The Taming of the Shrew”

Holderness, Graham, and William Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1989. Print.