Kareena Mathews SCLA 102: MWF 11:30-12:20 SCLA Discussion Paper The exploration of strength and relearning due to challenging obstacles is a central theme in literature and film, resonating with audiences worldwide. Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Tara Westover's memoir Educated, and Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers offer insights into these themes. Each piece of the literature provides details on the human experience of overcoming situations and striving for personal growth and development. When viewed alongside the Pixar animated film Wall-E, which portrays a post-apocalyptic world where a lone robot embarks on a journey to restore life to a desolate Earth, these works collectively reflect the resilience of people and the transformative power …show more content…
Oryx and Crake. In Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, the exploration of strength and relearning is woven into the complex narrative of the dystopian world. The protagonist Snowman (formerly known as Jimmy) survives in a world devastated by genetic engineering. As one of the few remaining humans, Snowman struggles with loneliness, guilt, and the burden of memories of his past life. Snowman's strength is proven through his ability to adapt to a harsh environment and confront the moral conflicts caused by his former friend, Crake, and the dystopian society they navigated together. In Wall-E, a waste-collecting robot demonstrated incredible strength and resilience despite living on a desolate abandoned Earth. Despite his repetitive routine of compacting garbage and collecting items of interest, Wall-E displays immense emotional depth and an ability to adapt to his environment. He also faced challenges continuously throughout the film, including environmental hazards, encounters with hostile robots, and ultimately, a quest to save
In Wall-E there is a robot designed to clean the inhospitable earth in order for the human societies to come back. In the waste land, trash fills the streets and oceans completely dry up. The land is so hostile that the all the other robots break down and Wall-E is the only robot left. During
The importance of cultural legacies is very prevalent throughout chapter seven of Outliers. The chapter, “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes”, discusses the history of Korean Air and the unbelievable number of plane crashes the company had throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, then goes on to investigate the causes of the crashes and more specifically the cultural traditions that cause the accidents.
Throughout the semester, we have watched three films all in which there has been some sort of resistance to power. Cool Hand Luke, directed by Stuart Rosenberg in 1967, was a movie in which the main character, Luke, played by Paul Newman, has been forced to conform to a life in prison. Afterschool, directed by Antonio Campus, is about a boy named Robert, played by Ezra Miller, who is a sophomore in a prep school who happened to catch two girls overdosing on video. The Matrix, directed by Andy Wachowski in 1999, is about a guy named Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, who is a computer programmer by day and a hacker by night. Although these three movies have completely different plots, they all somewhat relate in a way that the main character in each movie struggles with the resistance of power.
book remains a true testimony to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
The introduction of Outliers begins with an inspection of Italian American immigrants near the end of the 19th century, the founders of a small town in Pennsylvania, called Roseto. In a study conducted by physician Stewart Wolf, et al. researchers set out to decide how the people of Roseto were able to live longer, healthier lives than that of the people in the towns of the same region, as well as the rest of the nation. The secret of the success for the people of Roseto could be found in a nearly unanimous social integration, which focused on respect for elders, a common set of religious beliefs, and an egalitarian way of thinking. Wolf’s findings introduced the medical community to a new way of researching serious health risks; research without isolation of the subject, by including the environment of the people studied. Gladwell ends the introduction by preparing the reader to use “The Roseto Mystery” analogously with his extended definition of success.
Transcendentalist views of bonding with nature and living without the luxuries of cell phones and microwaves are old fashion and difficult to connect with for modern day readers. The uncommon techniques may seem to be a mindset of the past; however, the theories of transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, still reign in modern day. Although the message of the importance of nature is depicted through the 2008 Pixar film about robots rather than living in the solitude of the woods, the views of Emerson and Thoreau can still be seen in the movie Wall-e. Wall-e, an Earth loving robot, shows the values of protecting nature and straying away from conformity similar to the beliefs in the works of Emerson and Thoreau.
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
In life there are times when things go wrong and you are out of fortune. The only way to evaluate your self-identity and character is to get back up on your feet and turn your problems around. In this memoir, A Place to Stand, Jimmy Santiago Baca (2001), demonstrates his adversities throughout his life. Baca’s parent was a big influence in process of creating his own identity. He encounters many obstacles as well as meeting a wide range of different people in society in positive and negative ways. At times in his life, he feels, the world is his worst antagonist. However, Jimmy has overcome the challenges he faces. Baca experiences challenges and difficulties during his youth and prison; However, he managed to overcome
One brilliant man alone tore down the world, in an attempt to create the perfect people. Instead of creating his ideal world, he created utter chaos, where the number of healthy and living humans fell rapidly. After the complete disorder came to an end, destruction and damage were not the only remnants left behind. A new world was begun with the end of the human race and the birth of the perfect race, which was made up of creatures of flawlessness and excellence. Margaret Atwood tells a story of an end, revolving in the time of a society of the future. The previous society becomes shattered because of the decisions made, decisions that can be made today as well. Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake serves as a prediction for modern society through certain concepts in history, science and economics.
While buried, so deep beneath the cavity of adversity, finding hope is nearly impossible. But, it is the ability of decisions that aids as the last gleam of hope retrievable. After facing many struggles, it becomes almost involuntary for someone to put up a guard. With using that strategy, and the transgression of time without progress, there’s a certain ignition of comprehension. Change needs to occur, and a complete remedy of that
Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone should stay in the English IV curriculum because it teaches the reader that anyone can recover from a bad situation. First off, Beah’s recovery home is being visited by people from the UN, and UNICEF. Mr. Kamara talks to Beah after Beah has caught his eye with his performances of rap songs and Shakespeare monologues. Mr. Kamara says to Beah, “You and your friends really impressed those visitors. They know
Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake is considered to be a world time dystopian masterpiece. Atwood presents an apocalyptic atmosphere through the novel’s antagonist, Crake, and protagonist, Jimmy/Snowman. She does this when Crake uses his scientific knowledge and wickedness to eliminate and recreate an entirely new society. “Future-Technology was envisioned as a way to easing the burden of life, and it was accepted that slavery would remain a tacit part of human existence until there would be some effective replacement for it, for until the shuttle would weave and the plectrum touch the lyre without a hand to guide them (bk.1, pt.4), there would be a need for the enslavement of other to ease life’s load” (DiMarco 172). Since there was a need for perfection for a better life it was always understood that there would have to be many occurring disasters in which led to the ending of the human race. Through the presences of separation in social class to form a perfect community, the creation of perfect people (Crakers), and a society full of technology that allows humans to be free from diseases has warned readers of the possible outcome of the novel. The idea of a perfect everything foreshadows the future toward an end in civilization after recreation.
Resiliency is one concept that has never been the human races forte. Many things that happen in our current day and age require a great deal of perseverance and resiliency. People often will give in to the problems in their lives and learn to accept them, instead of persevering through them and working out the issues. The fact of the matter is, if you learn to persevere through problems, your life will be a lot more happy and pleasant to live. In Tennessee Williams’ play, “ A Streetcar Named Desire” suggests that you cannot give up on issues; you must be resilient to those issues and persevere to be happy.
We all dream of an ulterior world, a world in which we picture a perfect life with no struggles, problems, or pandemics. Both Interstellar, by Christopher Nolan, and Station Eleven by Emily Mandel, depict their characters as struggling not only with survival, but their sense of their own identity and security. Within Station Eleven, the saying, “survival is insufficient” is a recurring theme of Interstellar as well. While there are some differences between Murph in Interstellar and Kirsten in Station Eleven, the similarities are their connections to their identity in which adapt to the force of change within their world. As they struggle with adaptation, they cling to books, they remain sane, and becomes motivated to continue battling due to
In my life time I have accomplished many extraordinary tasks that I’ve put my mind too. I discovered that my signature themes have greatly affected the methods that I use to complete these tasks. People use their strengths in everyday life as well as in crucial, life changing situations. Important self-building achievement is one factor that makes people who they are. Another is the way that people apply there strengths to different situations.