Blog Post November 7

       So, I didn't really know what to talk about, since this was a free post. I thought for a while about cool things that I could talk about, but I eventually decided to talk about my internship. On Wednesday, November 5, I went to the HMNS to visit Christine Batten, my mentor. I had to be there at 9:00, and Ian had to be to another internship at 8:30, so I decided to just go over with him. At nine, I met Christine inside the Sharks! exhibit because she helps run it. We then went downstairs to the Animal Alcove, a room on the Lower Level that houses lots of animals. She wanted to put some new rocks in the Sharks! exhibit to give them more places to rest. In the Animal Alcove, we picked up some supplies that we would need for the day: water, some plastic bags, and rocks. We went back up to the Sharks! exhibit and piled rocks in the tank in three different locations. We went back to the Animal Alcove to pick up some crabs, which I would be putting in the shark tanks. Before I put the crabs in the shark tank, they had to acclimate to the temperature of the tank, so they didn't die of shock. To acclimate them, I first put them in a plastic bag filled with the water they were used to. I floated the bags in the shark tanks for fifteen minutes. During these fifteen minutes, Christine and I went to check on an existing, empty tank that she and I are planning on putting creatures in. We discussed different things that could go in this tank, and we felt like nudibranchs would be best for this tank. I am currently writing a proposal to get nudibranchs and other supplies for this tank. After checking on this tank, we traveled back down to the shark tank, and I took the crabs out of the floating bags and placed them around the shark tank.

        The Texas Ecology exhibit opened up about a week before I visited, and she offered to show me it. Of course I said yes! It was incredible. It was clear that lots of effort had been put into making this exhibit look as real as possible. Each tree in the exhibit had trunks that were living. Christine said that the artists creating the exhibit got living trees and pulled each leaf of individually. She said they then attached fake, but realistic, leaves to where the real leaves were. There was also living Spanish moss hanging from branches that were coming out of the ceiling and walls. There were three animatronic animals, a skunk, a woodpecker, and a rattlesnake. I would defiantly recommend going to the HMNS to see this exhibit as it is just stunning.

Journal Nov. 1

I chose to write about this book through the conflict theory perspective. I believe that everyone in the book is in conflict with one another and that helps society. For example, the Nazis were in conflict with the Jews, the Americans were in conflict with the Nazis. Although I don't believe that the Holocaust aided society very much, I could see why someone could think that it taught people a valuable lesson about human mortality and preservernce. Lots of scientific facts were found during the Holocaust and without the Holocaust we would probably never find out about them. Also the Americans in conflict with the Nazis aided society stopping the terrible tortures that went on in the Holocaust. All of these conflicts aided to society in one way or another with some helping more than others.

Journal Oct. 25

2. I chose to write about Art and the Jewish stereotypes that his father matches up with. One major Jewish stereotype is that they are penny-pinchers; they don't want to spend money. Art's father hates spending money. He also saves tons of things that he doesn't need. Even when others offer to throw the things out for him, he refuses. I think one of the major reasons why Vladek doesn't want to get rid of anything is because he had everything taken away from him during the Holocaust. I believe that it would just be natural for one to want to hold onto all of their belongings after everything that they had was taken away. The Holocaust took nearly everything that he loved away and destroyed it. It took away his belongings, his family, and his dignity. The only thing that it didn't take away was his wife. Oh wait, it did. It made her incredibly depressed to the point that she committed suicide. What reason would he have not to want to save everything after all his things were taken away from him.

Journal Oct. 19

I think that it is harder to draw and tell someone else's story than it is to draw or tell your own story. This is because one cannot know every single detail of a story, such as details like who is in the background and what the weather was like. The drawer of the story has to create/imagine these details to put in the story unless they have been told them. The person whose story is being told could possibly get offended by the lack of authenticity in the story just because a few details are not accurate. It is also hard for the drawer to know what emotions the person was feeling at the time they were experiencing this event, which could pose a problem when trying to make the story emotionally accurate. However, the drawer can have a very easy time making the story interesting and intriguing because they can choose what points of the story the want to emphasize. They can also exaggerate other "scenes" of the story to make them more intense and dramatic. This can help to capture the readers attention even if it makes the story not one-hundred percent accurate.

Journal Oct. 10

I am going to write about the Englishman in the novel. I thought that it was really weird that the book randomly stopped talking about him. Pablo said that he went off to go study and practice alchemy, but the book never mentions him again. This leaves the reader with lots of questions like: is the Englishman okay, will he ever make the philosopher's stone, and will he meet the alchemist again? I think that this was poor writing on Pablo's part, but I was wondering what you guys think about it. 

Journal October 4

For my final Alchemist blog post, I would like to talk about names in this book. The book is very strange when it comes to names. Throughout the book, the author only mentions Santiago's name once, and this is when we are introduced to him. "The boy's name was Santiago" (pg. 1). I think that this is so the reader can relate to the protagonist more. A name puts another barrier between the reader and the protagonist. By not having a name for the protagonist, the reader will be able to relate their journey through life to Santiago's journey through life. Even though readers most likely won't travel through Egypt, they will be able to understand his journey to complete their goals easier since Santiago is just called the boy. They will also be able to put their name in place of the Santiago's name because he is just referred to as the boy.

Journal Sept. 28

3. I think that omens are meant to serve as a guide to the characters in the book. They help the characters stay on track during their Personal Legend. Omens also help protect the characters in the book. For example, Santiago saw two hawks fighting and believed that that meant that soldiers were going to bring war to the oasis. If Santiago hadn't seen this omen, the oasis would have most likely been ambushed. Another example is when Urim and Thummim fell out of the hole in Santiago's pocket. This reminded Santiago of the stones, which helped him make decisions that led him on the right path to his Personal Legend. Santiago's repeating dream is also an example of omens guiding a character on the path to his Personal Legend. If Santiago hadn't realized that this repeating dream was a sign from a higher power, he never would have gone on this journey to find the treasure. He would still be a shepherd traveling from place to place.