Propaganda - It is okay for the government to mislead in order to promote security

Depending on the type of security, it is either okay or not okay for government to mislead in order to promote security. For example, if the security refers solely to the economic security, I believe that Governments have the right and should mislead the public in order to promote security. This is especially true in International Economics, in which a change of confidence in a currency can have drastic effects on its value and therefore the whole economy of the country. Due to this, I believe that Governments should mislead in order to promote economic security. However, when it is a case of a national security threat due to the alleged weapons of mass destruction which Iraq possess according to the United States, then I believe that the Government should not mislead in order to promote security. 

The Iraq war in 2003 is an example of the Government trying to withhold information and mislead the public in order to promote security. This is seen especially by an Interview between a American analyst and a Al Jazeera reporter, which led to a one sided perspective being told by the American analyst of the Iraq war. Unlike the American Government which tries to mislead the public in order to promote security, Al Jazeera aims to bring a non bias view to the public, regularly having Analysts with different viewpoints of the Iraq war on their News Program. Instances of the different viewpoints and biases between Al Jazeera and the American Government can also be seen when Al Jazeera broadcasted a video of dead american soldiers on their News Program, which had a great effect on the American people as they were not handed such images by the American Government as they tried to censor such images in order to promote security. In order to prevent such videos being broadcasted by Al Jazeera in the future, the American Government sent a notice letter to them, asking them to not broadcast such images again. Even after the war had finished and the government of Saddam Hussein had been defeated, many people in America retained their biased and one sided view of the Iraqis and Arabs, often associating these people with the Iraq war. 

Even though I believe that in some cases the Government should mislead in order to promote security, such as for economic security, I do not believe that the Government should mislead in order to promote security like it was done by the American Government in the Iraq war due to the one sided biased perspective which they fed the American people, leaving many of the public with radical viewpoints on political and social issues involving Arabs in the future. 

Media Bias Rewrite

Rewritten Pro-Trump Article based on the Pro-Hillary Article by The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-case-for-hillary-clinton_us_58212bc3e4b0e80b02cc48e6

There’s A Case Against Hillary Clinton. But There’s Also A Case For Donald Trump.

Trump has done various good things for the country so far, and plans to do even greater things once he is elected as president. Throughout his life he has done great things, starting off as a small business man, he soon made a name for himself, developing the multi billion worth company The Trump Organisation. Having acquired a net worth of 3.7 billion US dollars and having reached the top of the real estate business, he plans to spread his success to the whole of America by running for president.

His policies are designed to benefit America. To make America great again. This is contrasted by Hillary Clinton, who lacks honesty and the stamina necessary to be president of the greatest country in the world. Trump’s policies benefit the majority, and not just the top one percent, as in the case of Hillary Clinton. Business taxes are to be cut to 15 percent. Childcare costs will be significantly decreased. The education system will be improved. These are just a few of Trump’s policies in order to restore America to its former glory. The interests of Americans are of highest priority when looking at Trump’s policies.

A high emphasis is also placed on the general safety improvements throughout America, and at its borders, starting with a new immigration system as well as by building a wall around the America-Mexico border which ensures that no more criminals and drugs get through to American soil. Additionally, gang members and drug dealers will be taken off of the street in order to create a safer community. Through Trump’s full support of the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, it will also help and empower legally owned gun holders to defend themselves. 

Through the multiple beneficial policies of Trump which keeps the American people benefiting the most at the roots of all his policies, he will for sure make a great president in the future, unlike his running mate Hillary Clinton who has severe flaws and could be characterised as a complicated figure incapable of running a country. 

Coriolanus Practice IOC Outline

Context:

• This passage is from act one scene one.
• The play Coriolanus is a tragedy written by Shakespeare and is based on the life of a roman soldier called Coriolanus. 
• In this passage, Coriolanus is introduced to the audience.

Overview and structure:

• In the passage, coriolanus is characterised through this interactions with other characters in the play such as the plebeians.
• The passage involves three characters: Caius Martius, First Citizen and Menenius Agrippa.
• Most of the dialogue is by Caius Martius. 

Establishing purpose and significance:

• The passage is mostly focused on the character Caius Martius as this is when he is first introduced to the story. The character impacts the plot heavily as the whole story revolves around his life. 
• This passage is building up to events which will occur later on.
• Establishes the relationship between Coriolanus and the plebeians which plays an important role later on in the play.

Sequential Body Analysis:

Chunk 1:

One sided opinion towards the plebeians by Coriolanus is given to the reader.

• “you dissentious rogues” - thinks of the plebeians as lower than him
• “rubbing the poor itch of your opinion” - plebeians opinion does not matter
• first citizen uses sarcasm to reply “we have ever your good word”
• “where he should find you lions, finds you hares” - Animal imagery is also used to further belittle the plebeians

Chunk 2:

A second opinion on plebeians is introduced by Menenius who does not share the same point of view as coriolanus towards the plebeians. In chunk two Coriolanus also responds to Menenius’ opinion, elaborating on his view point.

• “corn at their own rates” - plebeians desire a more equal society in which there is not one, or a couple of people, who are in charge of the whole society.
• “the city is well stored” - Menenius says that the plebeians know that the city is full of food and that the people should not be starving.
• “presume to know / What’s done i’ the Capitol” - Coriolanus believes that the plebeians know what Coriolanus has done to the society and therefore believe that he should be hanged (“Hang ‘em! They say!”)
• “Below their cobbled shoes” - Coriolanus is referencing the poorness of the plebeians, establishing the plebeians in a lower class than himself. This is especially seen at the end of this chunk when Coriolanus cals the plebeians “slaves”
• “Would the nobility lay aside their ruth” - believes that the nobility is not harsh enough and too lenient on the plebeians

Conclusion:

• The main purpose of this passage is to introduce and characterise the character Coriolanus to the audience, as well as to show Coriolanus’ attitude towards plebeians. 
• This passage also identifies certain political issues in the society which will play an important role later on in the play. 

Practice IOC Outline - Family Furnishings

Context:

This passage is from the short story Family furnishings and is situated early in the story where the narrator was fond of Alfrida. The whole collection in which this short story is in share the element of love. 

Overview:

In this passage we see the narrator exploring the complex family relationships, as well as a flashback being used in order to characterise Alfrida.

Narrator:

The story is told from the first person perspective. This allows the reader to gain insight on  thoughts and how she perceives other characters. This does withhold some information to the reader. Additionally the first person perspective allows readers to see the emotional connections between characters. 

Structure:

The passage is mostly dialougue, with a flashback also being used. Imagery, symbols, and allusions are included throughout this passage which allows the reader to understand certain aspects better. Like the whole short story, this passage also mostly follows a chronological order, however like in the whole story, a time shift is present. 

Main Idea / Purpose:

The purpose of this passage is to tie the entire short story together. This passage is also significant as the complex family relationships of the narrator’s family are revealed, which develops the theme of family dynamics.

Sequential Body Analysis:

Chunk 1 (lines 2-9):

• Theme of power is developed 
• “some sense of triumph”
• “moment of power”

Chunk 2 (lines 10-22):

• Flashback - characterises Alfrida
• Symbolism
• “bells started to ring” (context is WW1) - symbolism for fear, reflects Alfrida’s fear due to her extra-marital pregnancy
• “they were just children” - symbolising/alluding to innocence
• Foreshadows relationship reveal 

Chunk 3 (lines 23-39):

• She starts to piece everything together
• “now I was aware of two things”
• Overlooks truth
• the protagonist never finds out the true relationship between her father and Alfrida
• Metaphor
• Cold fish
• “dark face against the light” - mystery surrounding the character Alfrida. pieces things together about the relationship of her father and Alfrida, but ignores it and chooses to not see the light and stay in the dark. 

Conclusion:

The main idea of this passage is to tie the whole story together by the narrator putting pieces together as seen in chunk 3, as well as to explore the complex relationships of the narrators family. 

Practice IOC

A practice IOC on a passage from The Moons of Jupiter: https://soundcloud.com/lukas-schroth/moons-of-jupiter-practice-ioc

Literary Lyrics Activity: Lay Me Down by Sam Smith

The music video depicts Sam Smith at a funeral in a church, standing in front of a recently deceased’s coffin. Through the use of a flashback, it is revealed to the audience that the deceased person in the coffin at the church was actually Sam Smith’s husband. The music video then returns to the present day which is some time after the funeral, depicting Sam Smith sitting in the church, and mourning. Sam Smith effectively creates a emotionally powerful song through the lyrics, melody as well as the visual aid. The song is written in the first person perspective, allowing the audience to see the story from the viewpoint of Sam Smith. This makes the song more emotional and personal, especially through the visual aid. Additionally the lyrics makes this song more emotionally powerful due to the specific word choice, as seen in this small passage: Deny this emptiness / This hole that I'm inside / These tears / They tell their own story / Told me not to cry when you were gone / But the feeling's overwhelming, it's much too strong. The song is also made more powerful through the visual aid which show the audience what Sam Smith’s life was before his husband had died as it uses a flashback to show when they got married and how happy they were. This makes the song more emotionally powerful, especially as after the flashback Sam Smith is seen in the church alone, mourning over the death of his husband.

Wallace's theory of education and Alice Munro

In the essay “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, the author suggests that freedom acquired through education is the ability to be conscious, sympathetic and adjusted. This is seen in the essay when he says that “You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t.” David Foster Wallace develops this thesis through the use of various examples, such as the supermarket and the traffic. These examples aid the thesis of the story, it being to not be so self centred. Through these various examples, the reader is presented with the possibility that other people are or could also be in a similar situation of just wanting to relax after having a had day. This is however only recognisable when people stop being self centred. This theory relates to our inquiry question of “How can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence?”. This is because when you stop being self centred you will have the opportunity to have empathy with other people as you will stop continuously thinking about yourself, and will instead also think of the rough time that other people may have. This is portrayed in the essay through the various people that are listed who, even though you might not know for sure, might have also had a rough day or more. The emotional intelligence also relates to this, as it is the ability to pick up on body language and the emotions which people give off. 

Wallace’s theory about education can also be applied to the writings of Alice Munro. Many, if not all, short stories by Alice Munro are not plot driven and prompt an emotional response rather than a intellectual response. Munro’s plots have more of a day to day routine aspect instead of the whole story which builds up the a dramatic climax like in many plot driven stories. In the short stories, Alice Munro’s deep meaning can only be appreciated once it is thoroughly analysed as the stories are not plot driven and Alice Munro rather raptures the emotions of the characters and the emotional relationship between them. Furthermore, the Alice Munro stories also often relate to the inquiry question as these short stories often develop empathy and emotional intelligence. This is often done through the use of the first person perspective in the stories, as this perspective allows has the ability to have empathy with the other characters by understanding the feeling that these characters share with the narrator. Due to the first person perspective in many of the Alice Munro short stories, the main character is in the centre of the action, a theme which is also seen in the “This is Water” essay by David Foster Wallace.