Noelia Martinez: A Scroll Through English 101

Dracula and Women When reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, I felt that the role of women in the novel is divergent. In certain cases, women in the book are portrayed as dependent women who are conserved and live to cater to their husbands. In other cases, women are lustful beings who have no respect for themselves or have no fixed partner. The limited number of women in the book fall into one of these categories. In the novel, Mina represents the innocent and conserved. She lives to her husband’s expectations and doesn’t have an exciting personal life, this is shown in her journal entries. Lucy represents the women who are lustful. I would say she has no fixed partner, but I feel that she is now Dracula’s possession and is forever his. “Dracula’s Brides” represent the lustful, and malicious women in the book because, from the infrequent times they’re mentioned, they’re doing something of the sort. Mina is excluded from some of the vampire hunting strategy meetings because she is portr...

Their Eyes Were Watching God and Feminism In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character’s actions are correlated to feminism. Black feminism is shown in this novel even though many feminist movements only fought for the rights of a white woman. Janie, the main character, manifests many things that feminists would support. Not only does Janie exhibit feminist attributions, but so does the author. Zora Neale Hurston and the main character Janie, both convey fearlessness, Janie because of her actions in the story and Zora Neal Hurston because of her willingness to write a novel of this caliber at the time. Women in the book, like Janie, were disrespected and dehumanized by men who were too hurt by society and needed to feel empowered by disallowing women to prosper to their full potential. Janie was a smart woman who did not let men take advantage of her and lived her life without caring what other thought of her. Zora Neale Hurston was also empow...

The Kite Runner I enjoyed reading the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini because it let me explore a different culture. The book game me insight on an interesting friendship between two boys with different upbringings. Each of them had different strengths and weaknesses that complimented the other. Amir and Hassan’s relationship took a sharp turn when cowardice expressed itself in one of the boys. Years later, nevertheless, their care for each other never faded and this resulted in one of them taking a dangerous trip back to Afghanistan. In this trip, Amir takes Hassan’s son to America to give him a better life. When I watched the movie based on the book, I was overwhelmed with emotions. It was great to put a face to the boys who were practically inseparable and that is portrayed immensely in the film. I was broken hearted again with the scene where Amir is a coward and does not help his best friend when he needed help. The scene is so greatly manifested that I started to cry...

Film "Front of the Class" An educator is someone who enlightens others. They teach things that will one day benefit others someway. To be an educator means to have patience, tolerance, and dignity. If one is going to teach others, they have to be ready to teach at a pace where others are able to clearly comprehend them. They need to have tolerance towards people of all races, religions, and backgrounds. Educators should accept anyone who is willing to learn no matter what they look like. One example of an educator showing tolerance is when Mr. Cohen has to deal with the little mean kid in the class who had several mental disorders. Although, he was sometimes disruptive in class, Mr. Cohen knew he was willing to learn how to read when he stayed after class with him. Mr. Cohen has dignity because even after being turned down by many schools, he saw his potential and self-worth and had a vast amount of determination.  A mentor that I have now that really impacts me is...

Dr. Sexton and Dr. Barfield are both doctors who work with children. They both have their own ways of interacting with their patients. Dr. Sexton engages with his young patients by wearing t-shirts with superhero logos. It makes them comfortable to be around him and it gives the kids a sense that he is interested in the same things as them. Dr. Sexton’s service dog also creates a pleasant environment by making the hospital seem more playful. When my sister visited the hospital with sick children, the hospital had contracted a Poodle to give the children something positive to look forward to. On the other hand, Dr. Barfield talks to his younger patients as he would with someone on the street. He leaves the medical talk to the side and participates in a regular conversation, not only that the kids will understand, but will feel comfortable hearing. Dr. Sexton and Dr. Barfield both had their own personal medical issues they’ve dealt with. Dr. Sexton has Spastic Diplegia and Dr. Barfield...

TED Talk on "How Simple Ideas Lead to Scientific Discoveries" by Adam Savage When watching the video, I was amazed at all the things these scientists were discovering but I was astounded learning that they were doing this more than 200 years ago. Each idea they wanted to solve, stemmed from a small little story that occurred to them. Also, I thought it was amazing that these scientists were doing these kinds of calculations with no calculator. This goes to show that anything can inspire someone to gain a certain interest or become something that relates to what they were inspired by. It was also great how when these scientists made calculations, they were only a small percentage off of the actual answer. If one watches a show based on math when their younger, they can catch an interest and maybe later in life solve one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems. A story that seems similar to that of Richard Feynman’s, but not really, is the story of my little sister. One day ...