"Call of the Wild"

"Call of the Wild" by Jack London pulls the reader into the thick of the Klondike region of Canada with a dog named Buck. Buck, a saint bernard, sheep dog mix, lived a privileged life being a wealthy estate owners greatest companion. He would spend his days parading around his master's acreage playing with the children and going on the occasional trip with one of his master's employees. Buck's entire world was flipped upside down when he was secretly sold off into the violent grueling dog sledding business. Men had struck gold in the Klondike region. After being shipped north by train and boat, after being beaten by a man with a club, and after being witness to the innocent death of a weaker dog, Buck knew that death by such cruel violence would not be his fate. Throughout his journey Buck encountered various experiences and soon knew that he wanted to be alpha male. Buck worked hard to earn his spot as top dog and after a fight to the death Buck was victorious. Over the course of time Buck was sold to various owners, his second to last being the worst. They ran out of food mid-trip and if their dogs survived you could count their ribs they were so thin. Buck hit his breaking point and was miraculously saved by his final owner, John Thornton. Love was something Buck had never known until meeting John Thornton. Together Buck and Thornton made many discoveries about the world and about Buck's miraculous strength. Regardless of Buck's love for Thornton, there was always something pulling Buck away. It was the call of the wild. The call of the wild got the best of Thornton when one day Native Americans burned his home and murdered him while Buck was out in the wild. Buck returned to the camp minutes to late and out of furry killed every Native American still alive on the property. It was then that Buck knew that the only thing left for him to do in life was run free and run free he did. Buck joined the wold pack and the rest went down in Native American history.

For me, "Call of the Wild" was one of those books that grabs your attention at the start but then mellows out for the majority of the story. Then, BAM! The story suddenly bursts with excitement and before you know it the book is over. While at times it was hard to stay focused on the story when it lacked action, London's writing style kept me interested. He used lots of imagery and was able to paint a beautiful nature scene in my mind. London also did an excellent job of using complex words surrounded by simpler ones so that the reader could infer what the complex word meant using context clues. 

One could argue that the theme of this book was the American Dream. Last year in American Novels I studied the American Dream and it's deep rooted connection to American literature. While I did not read "Call of the Wild" in that class, I should have! Each of Buck's various owners held their own American Dreams whether they be to strike gold, or to become wealthy in another way. Buck too carried a dream with him; Buck wanted to be "top dog".  Nothing other than death itself could stop Buck, nor his owners, from reaching their American Dreams and I think that is powerful. For someone to want something so bad that only death could prevent them from not achieving their goal is truly amazing to me.

In addition to a unique and interesting theme, I also enjoyed the Native American influences on "Call of the Wild". Native Americans have always struck me as fascinating and I was happy to read how London was able to intertwine Native Americans into his story. In the last chapter of the story, London tells the tale of the Ghost Dog. The Ghost Dog whos body toward over the other wolves and whos fur coat shone with colors unique to the other wolves, stole from the Native American camps and mystified them with his stealth. Their were many stories about the Ghost Dog, and the Ghost Dog was Buck. 

Choice Essay: "A Short Essay on the Life of a Pianist"

My second choice essay proved to be far superior to its precursor. "A Short Essay on the Life of a Pianist" by Graham Fitch captured what is like to play piano because you love it, but then also what it is like to put on a show and perform. Fitch also wrote what it takes to have a career in piano performance versus piano teaching and why, at the end of their education, many people find that they just don't have what it takes to successfully have their dream career. "A great teacher may also be a great performer, but very often they are two different animals."

I am not sure if Fitch knew it, but he not only wrote an essay for pianists, but also for any instrumentalist as well as any athlete. Being a piano player, I related to this essay no problem, but I found that I could switch piano with oboe with swimming and still find a a strong connection. To be able to craft such a versatile yet still very accurate essay is amazing to me.

"The secret of performance is to be able to get out of one's own way, and to free up the mind so it is not beset by doubts and insecurities (and therefore tensions) during the process of performing." I think any performer or athlete can agree that that quote from Fitch's essay could not be anymore true. Never in my life have I been able to perform a musical peace accurately and with a freed mind. My nerves have always had the upper hand. "Errors lead to terrors and then to possible paralysis." I know Fitch's statement is true because on the rare occasion that I am able to numb my mind before I race in a swim meet, I have been able to get out of my own way. After any of my best races ask me how I went so fast or ask me what I thought about my flip turns and I would have no clue. I turn off my mind and just let my body do what it knows so well how to do.

"Many find solace in the act of playing, a channel for self expression, an appreciation of the music, and the deep satisfaction of mastering an instrument." Fitch described those who live to perform but he also described the person in the quote above. I am the above person. While I am no wear near mastering the piano, I find that it is my outlet. No matter my mood, piano can fix it. It's like Bob the Builder! Anyway, Fitch truly knows what it is like to play alone not to impress others but to heal yourself. "I was just as smitten with music itself as I was with the piano."

To top off a wonderful essay, Fitch's writing style was perfect for his piece. Just like music, it crescendo and decrescendo. His use of unique words were black keys and the others were white. The piece ended calm like when a movie fades to dark.

Choice Essay: "Growing Up to Soon"

It was harder than I had anticipated it would have been to find an essay on my own. Kudos to you, Mr. Kunkle, for finding five! The first essay I found was written by an anonymous author who I inferred to be a girl. I chose this essay because lately growing up has been on my mind. Each day I am swarmed with emails and brochures from colleges and each day it seems as if someone new expects me to know exactly what I want in life. I'm not ready for that!

The individual who wrote "Growing Up to Soon" didn't even get a chance to decided whether or not she wanted to grow up quickly or if she wanted to ride her childhood out as long as she could. When she was twelve she was faced with the difficult task of raising her baby sister almost entirely on her own and when she was seventeen she began to raise her baby brother. She said that, "I was about twelve and should've been enjoying my childhood rather than getting a taste of the adult world." To me, that is sad because when I was twelve I was playing outside with my brothers and I am only four years older than my youngest brother. While I had began to babysit, I sure could not care for a new born baby all on my own! The writer expressed how she missed out on a lot of fun activities, especially during summer time, because she had to care for her younger siblings. It was nice to finally read that, "I repressed the memories of the summer and forgave my parents for what they put me through. I love my family..." I am happy that the writer was able to find light at the end of the tunnel.

"If Men Could Menstruate"

I think I am speaking for all girls everywhere when I say that, if only this essay could become a reality! "If Men Could Menstruate" by Gloria Steinem was the perfect essay to end the summer with because it was, in my opinion, quite comical. Then again, it angered me quite a bit.

Steinem's voice was very strong throughout the entire essay. I think her voice was a key factor in why I enjoyed reading this writing. As a reader I was never confused as to who's side Steinem was on or as to where she was going next with her writing. I enjoyed her creativity as well as how straight forward everything was. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but from her writing I would guess that Steinem is one of those people who can crack a hoke without a smile and just keep talking leaving the listeners chuckling to themselves.

What bothered and slightly angered me about this is that while obviously the essay is full of imaginary information, it isn't far from what could be the truth. Think of it as the constant struggle of those striving to be considered popular. When the unpopular kid wears a shirt with Elsa and Olaf on it they are picked on for being childish and weird. When the already popular kid wears the same shirt they get compliments and people think it's funny in the best way possible. I know that was a weird example and it definitely was not the best, but I think you got the point and can envision your own similar scenario. Steinem recognized that, in her own words, "men-stration" would create the same type of situation and I think that is bad. Guys are grossed out by women getting their period but if they had it, would it be glorified? That would just be plain hypocritical. Also, would the government really provide free tampons and pads? Do they think women choose to menstruate? No way!

I did find it funny though that Steinem thought that men would then compete to see who had the "better" period. Girls try to hide their period and it would just be odd if it were an openly discussed topic. The idea of designer pads was also quite amusing. I pictured guys showing off their pads as if it were their car. "Dude, look! Mine has Nicholas Cage on it!" That would just be weird!

Adam vs. Eve ("The Great Lawsuit")

I have to be honest and say that this essay confused me. Even reading it through three times could not clear my confusion so I am still feeling unsure of what to write. I did however pull three separate trains of though from the essay. The first being that women are lesser than men. The second being that while it may seem as though men wear the pants, they are really being controlled by women and their sexuality. The third being that everyone is equal in the eyes of God so does anything else really matter?

From the start of the essay I assumed that the entire essay would be about women oppression. Margaret Fuller started off strong with an introductory paragraph about men living off the work and earnings of women. Fuller even goes as far as to say that, "...in a world of men, a true feeling towards women as towards slaves." She also touched upon education and power and how it was not seen as something a woman should have. I think, for the most part, Fuller was right to say what she did about women oppression. Fuller saying that women were thought of as nothing more than slaves was a stretch for me but I really liked how she said that in the current times, a woman with power can be sexy. I mean just look at Beyonce!

The third paragraph had me thinking that maybe the essay would be double sided. Maybe Fuller would take both sides. She said that, "All men are privately influenced by women..." Fuller made a fantastic point in saying that men do have to cater to women in some way so that the women will stick around and give the men what they want. In that way women hold the power. If the woman is not happy, the man is not happy either.

As the essay came to a close I noticed more and more biblical references. Then the essay took a religious twist. The final two sentences said exactly what I believe should be true of our world. "If the negro be a soul, if the woman be a soul, appareled in flesh, to one master only are they accountable. There is but one law for all souls, and, if there is to be an interpreter of it, he comes not as man, or son of man, but as Son of God."

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I found it funny, although also quite sad, that throughout this essay the author said again and again how it is becoming increasingly harder for individuals to read through longer essays, when his essay itself is seven pages long. It makes me wonder if those who read "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" ever finished the essay or if they simply skimmed the surface because they were unable to focus on seven long pages. As the author, Nicholas Carr put it so well, "Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski." That quote scares me in a way because I never want it to be true of myself. Speaking literally, I love the water and am fascinated by what is below the ocean's surface and I just wouldn't be myself if all I did was stay afloat. What makes it scary is that I seem to be floating up to the surface and it seems as if it is getting harder to sink again.
Another part of this essay that I found to be disturbing was the fact that this mental change due to the use of search engines like Google is, just like everything else, driven by money. The internet is spying on you. It tracks what sites you frequent and then puts adds for those sites on various other sites you visit. These ads are flashy and distracting and draw your attention away from whatever your reason for visiting the site was. How does this make anyone money? Well, sites pay other sites to post their ads and then people buy things because of those ads. The people in charge of the sites really don't care that they are ruining peoples' concentration as long as they themselves are making money. That is just one more part of our world that is being controlled by money.
This essay brought up the difference between real and artificial intelligence. Real intelligence is the intelligence that a person gains from attending school and artificial intelligence is the knowledge people accumulate for a short period of time from the internet. Just like the quote about scuba diving vs. jet skiing, this is a scary concept. The fact that people are starting to have more artificial intelligence makes me wonder what people will do in the future when large scale problems arise. When your faucet is leaking, yes, it is great to be able to quickly watch a YouTube video on how to fix it, but what if a never before known of epidemic breaks out? Or what if global warming becomes a scary reality and humans are forced to move into outer space on a ship like something from Wall-e? Then what? Google does not have the answer for such questions and that is why real intelligence is so important. We need to know what to do in these types of situations and so in this case, I would have to say that yes, Google is making us stupid, or at least less prepared.
Does all of this mean that Google is bad though? No. Google, and all other search engines, are very helpful! While writing this very piece I used Google to listen to music, and to find out whether to underline or italicize movie titles in essays. Am I more stupid because of it, no. However if Google is something you rely on like a baby does it's mother while it is still very young, yes, Google very well may be making you more stupid.