The Martian Human Nature

The idea that meant the most to me in “The Martian” was the idea that nothing is worth more than a human life. In the novel, no effort was spared in saving the life of a single person: Mark Watney. NASA built a million dollar space shuttle to send Mark Watney the necessary supplies he required in order to live until he could be brought back to Earth. JPL, under the command of NASA’s Teddy Sanders, worked nonstop for months in order to provide the spacecraft. Hundreds of people worked tirelessly through the night and into over-time in order to finish on time. Engineers, mechanics and astrophysicists worked to build Mark Watney a life saving shuttle. When the shuttle failed the effort didn’t stop there and a new plan was formed. The world’s greatest minds worked together to create a new plan in order to save Mark,who’s life was still in great danger. Organizations and countries all worked together to put the new plan into action, it required China to donate its booster, JPL to construct another shuttle and the Hermes crew to add 533 days to their space travel. None of those who helped flinched or thought about the cost that was being placed on one man; they just helped because it was their nature. The first chapter of the novel summarizes this philosophy perfectly: “If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do.” ( Weir 23). The idea that struck me most in the novel was how willing people are to help, no matter the cost.

The Martian- Movie vs. Novel

I started reading the martian by Andy Weir after watching the movie and have been incapable of putting the book down. The Martian is a very long and detailed novel but it is so intriguing the length goes unnoticed. I preferred the novel over the movie because it had more detail and scientific justification. There were some major differences from the novel to the movie but it still managed to capture the essence of the story. In the novel, communication is lost between Mark Watney, the fellow stranded on Mars, and NASA, the organization who sent him there and is planning his safe return. The communication loss causes a major problem in the novel because Mark is travelling across the red planet is unaware of an approaching sandstorm. This is a perfect example of dramatic irony because only NASA knows about the storm, this extra twist added more excitement to the journey. The sandstorm made the trip across Mars even more dangerous, creating more anticipation. Another major difference from the film was the ending: in the film commander Lewis saves Mark. In novel it is Dr Beck who retrieves Mark still strapped to the MAV and though Mark suggests an iron man escape he did not attempt as seen in the movie. The film version of the ending created more drama with Mark floating in space and the added redemption of commander Lewis. Besides the retrieval of Mark Watney the ending is also different in that the book ends with him on the Hermes and the movie ends with him back on earth. Overall the movie kept true to the essence of the novel and none of the changes took away from the story or disappointed the audience.

Annotated Bibliography

D'Ammassa, Don. "The Lost World." Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 1 Mar. 2016

Don D’Ammassa hints that “The Lost World" existed before it was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He comments on how many adventure stories are similar with a universal theme of a lost world hidden from civilization. Though much of the world is now charted he appreciates the genre's recent return in novels written by modern thriller authors. In the famous novel a scientist by the name of Challenger discovers a plateau where Jurassic life thrives, D’Ammassa identifies some of the flaws in the story specifically the reason why the winged creatures stayed on the isolated plateau. He also comments on the many sequels that were made, only one of which he believes is worth reading. D’Ammassa explains the novel’s influence on film: the novel was turned into many films though only the silent film of 1925 was deemed good enough to capture the essence of the story. In D'Ammassa opinion, “The Lost World” is not the greatest written adventure novel but it inspired the many more that followed.

Wong, Amy R. "Arthur Conan Doyle's 'great new adventure story': journalism in the lost world." Studies in the Novel 47.1 (2015): 60+. General OneFile. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

In Amy Wong’s review of “The Lost World” she identifies the plot similarities to other adventure novels such as Jule Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” The main points however are to discuss the style of writing rather than the plot and content. Wong discusses the importance of journalism to the novel and Doyle’s role in journalism. Doyle’s aspiration for journalism are seen through this novel as he attempts to add a more professional and romantic style to the genre. He based the journalist character, Edward Malone, on E.D. Morel who launched a campaign against the brutality of slave labor. Wong relates the character's inspiration to the fact that Arthur Conan Doyle was a passionate advocate for a just society and was strongly against individuals who were unjustly accused of crimes. Doyle’s opinions and journalistic style in the novel “return literary authority to romance” (61). It is Wong’s opinion that the novel as a whole is successful in joining the press and literary imagination to create professional journalism.

Great Gatsby 1974 Cold Open

The Great Gatsby 1974 cold open does a good job at introducing the plot and setting for the film. The Great Gatsby cold open introduces the setting with the grandeur of the Gatsby Estate. It shows the large pool, the luxurious study with a piano and gold running through all the fixtures, the large pillars, and chandeliers: all of these convey an upper class setting. The cold open also gives a hint to the theme: the hollowness of the upper class. It gives clue to the theme because it depicts the mansion of Gatsby however there are no people in any of the scenes, the house is empty. Each room of the house is empty which gives a sign to the theme that the upper class just like their houses are hollow and shallow. It also introduces a hint to the conflict, in the bedroom and study there are pictures of a woman however there are no signs of a woman present and the JG symbol implies they belong to a single person of those initials. This introduces a possible conflict because we can see that JG loves a woman that is not with him. The cold open, however does not hook the viewer because it gives the impression that the movie will be very slow moving. It doesn’t hook the viewer because the cold open consists of no movement there are only shots of empty rooms coupled with slow music. The slow music and emptiness of the house sets a sad tone to the movie.

The Great Gatsby Pre-reading

Employment

If I had the ability to chart my life and plan exactly what would happen and be able to choose my employment I would want to be a wildlife biologist. I would want to have been in this field since graduated from university with the highest degree in wildlife biology. I would want to be hired straight out of university to work for a company or organization with goals for discovery and conservation. I hope to have been involved in many projects geared towards the study of animals and their habitat. I hope to be involved in the conservation of animals and that I can help endangered species and discover through observation what we can do to help protect them against ourselves. I would plan to be involved the Kalahari project where biologists are studying meerkats. I would plan to make new discoveries about their behaviour and learn more about how they communicate and cooperate with each other. I plan to prove that mammals have emotions and a thought process much like humans. My discoveries would help animals so that humans will stop destroying their habitat and using them for our own advantage. Specifically I would like to help save the lemurs of Madagascar against their distinction. I plan to travel the world and study animals and how they interact with each other and their environment. I plan to be an important figure and scientist in the world of biology and conservation. My dream job is a wildlife biologist that works for animal lover and with animals.

Macbeth Reflection

Opinion on the Macbeth Unit

In my opinion, Macbeth was a well developed story with an interesting plot. With that being said Macbeth was written for King James as a play in seventeenth century England. Because Macbeth was written as a play there isn’t a lot of character descriptions or development, many characters are only seen a few times so it is difficult to get a sense of where they fit into the plot. Also much of the play happens extremely fast, there isn’t much space between plot changing events and the whole thing seems rather rushed. For example, Lady Macbeth dies, an army is defeated and Macbeth dies all in a matter of a few scenes with little description of how it actually happened. We don’t know for certain whether Lady Macbeth kills herself, we don’t how the battle unfolded in detail, and we don’t know if Macbeth dies from a fatal blow to the stomach or if he was first weakened by a gash to the leg. I think that the story of Macbeth is a good one that has important themes and messages but as book study I don’t think it has enough content. I don’t believe that when Shakespeare wrote his plays he meant them to be studied. Macbeth is meant to be a performance, in the same sense if you wanted to read the story of Narnia you’d get a better understanding and vision of the story by reading the novel instead of the theatrical script. Without the descriptions found in regular novels it is difficult to envision what Shakespeare imagined. The story of Macbeth is sound but I don’t think that it is the best choice as a book study.

Significance of knocking in Macbeth

In act 2 Macbeth kills Duncan with the dagger of the guards and kills the guards to make it look like the guards were responsible for the murder. After Macbeth murders Duncan he starts to hear a knocking. Macbeth is startled and shaken by the knocking. In my opinion the knocking is a symbol for Macbeth’s conscience knocking on his morale door. Macbeth becomes worried about the murder and feels that no amount of water can wash off the blood on his hands or the guilt. Macbeth’s conscience has just showed up and made Macbeth regret his actions. Macbeth says “ Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst.” In saying this it is clear that macbeth wishes that the knocking would wake Duncan but he knows it can’t because he is dead. Macbeth wishes that Duncan would wake up and that macbeth would be free of his guilt and paranoia. When Macduff sees that Macbeth is awake he thinks it is because the knocking has awoken him. The knocking didn’t wake Macbeth from his sleep but the knocking awoke his conscience. Macbeth’s conscience has been awoken and he realizes the gravity of the crime he has committed. It is now apparent that Macbeth has a conscience but before it was asleep. The cruelty of the murders he committed and the knocking on the door awoke Macbeth’s conscience. But it is now too late for Macbeth to develop a conscience because Duncan is dead and the deed is done. He must now face the world with the guilt of the crime he committed.

Macbeth Pre-Reading

Ambition is the strong desire to do or achieve something and I believe that ambition can be both positive and negative. An example of how ambitions lead to negative results is found in the story of David Johnstone and John Hoare. David had an ambition to row across the Atlantic Ocean; it had only been done once before but for whatever reason he had to do it. His strong desire to row the ocean caused him to spend all of his money on a boat and find a partner. After a lot of hard work and generosity of the people, John and David were able to launch from America on their way to Great Britain. They rowed somewhat successfully for a while until a storm hit and the boat was lost in the unforgiving ocean. Sure this is an extreme case of a failure in ambition but nonetheless it proves my point. David had an ambition to row the ocean and this desire resulted in his death. Ambition for smaller things like fortune can also result negatively if it causes you to take risks or ignore other aspects of your life. Even if you succeed in your ambition to achieve something like wealth the outcome can be negative if you have lost friends and experiences along the way. On the other hand ambition can be positive when you work hard for your goal without losing sight of what’s really important. An example of positive ambition is in Terry Fox: he had a desire to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Terry had a desire to raise cancer awareness and even though he eventually died he succeeded in his goal. I think ambition will only result in a positive outcome if there is reason for your desire, maybe if David were rowing the ocean to raise awareness for Cancer research he would have achieved his goal. Knowing his desire was bigger than himself maybe he would have rowed fast enough to beat the storm instead of taking his time. Perhaps wanting something for a reason makes it more possible for you to succeed.

"The Lost World" Title

I am currently reading the classic novel "The Lost World" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The novel's title, "The Lost World", is appropriate to the themes of the book. Arthur Conan Doyle chose an appropriate title based on the main setting of the book. The majority of the book takes place in the remote amazon following the footsteps of Professor Challenger's expedition. When the characters are not on their journey in this uncharted land they are speaking of its existence and planning their own expedition to test the theories and findings of Professor Challenger. During his previous expedition Professor Challenger discovered the possible proof for his evolution theories, a hidden piece of land containing creatures once thought to be extinct. This remote area in the South American Amazon is a mysterious world to mankind. "The Lost World" suits the novel because Professor Challenger has found a strange plateau where antiquated creatures thrive. These creatures of massive size and prehistoric nature resemble nothing of the creatures found anywhere else in the world. Professor Challenger's expedition revealed an area of undiscovered and untouched landscape. This piece of land possesses secrets to evolution and extinction. Before having been discovered this area of land was lost and unknown to mankind. The creatures and organisms found on this rare and hidden plateau contain the lost links to many phenomenons previously unknown by science. Professor Challenger's dangerous Amazon is truly a lost world.

The Lost World- Chapter 4

I am currently reading “The Lost World” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have read the first 4 chapters and have made the decision to read the novel to the very last page. I plan on finishing the novel because it has themes in which interest me: biology and exceptionality. The novel expresses themes of biology through the accounts of an eccentric zoologist named Professor Challenger. Professor Challenger spent a year in a remote location in South America where he observed creatures in which other scientists deemed extinct. Professor Challenger also expresses his theories on evolution in the novel, which oppose those of Weissmann. Professor Challenger is a character that, as seen by his theories, opposes accepted behaviors and belief of both society and science. Owing to the fact that he is an unconventional character he is also a very intriguing one. Due to his lack of refinement, he is often unpredictable, making the story even more compelling. In the 3rd chapter his erratic behavior is evident when he tackles a journalist, Ed Malone, upon inquiring about his adventures in South America.  Ed Malone brings us to another theme in the novel, exceptionality. He embarks on a journey to find out about Professor Challenger’s accounts in South America, seeking a thrill well aware of the professor’s unconventional behavior. Malone is on a search for an adventure after his love interest Gladys rejects him on the grounds of not being an interesting enough man. Gladys seeks a man with great experiences on thrilling expeditions, a man who would produce envy from other woman. Ed Malone is on a search for exceptionality to prove himself worthy of Gladys. With appealing themes and unpredictable characters, “The Lost World” is proving itself to be a good read.