This article is about a reporter who had come to America
illegally when he was a young child. He became a journalist with fake documents
and no one had noticed, until he had finally spoken out that he was done with
running from being a illegal immigrant. He had worked hard and achieved many
things while working, however he was not allowed to become a citizen even with
these many achievements. This story really shows the human part of illegal
immigration as opposed to the legal side.
I believe the reason why people immigrate from a country is mainly
because they want to be successful, or live a safer, or better life than they
would be able to in their country. This
is why I think Celia tried to escape Aztlan and go to America, she describes
Aztlan as a dangerous, and very poor country and that it was not safe for her.
I believe that the reason why immigrant’s like Celia would rely on a “coyote”
to bring them across the border is because they believe that the risk of doing
this is not as great as the reward, sot hey think that if they get across they
will be very successful. Although as we saw with the story from the article
that this is a very hard thing to do. When you are illegally in a country you
don’t have many opportunities as someone who is legally there, also they are in
danger of being deported if their documents are fake.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Friday, 16 March 2012
TAM LIN PLAYLIST
Tam Lin Songs:
1) Eye of the tiger (survivor)
We chose Eye of the Tiger because Tam Lin is a military man and speaks of soccer as a field of battle. He says he finds "great pleasure in watching people bump heads together." This almost directly matches the lyrics of eye of the tiger for the main chorus. This also sounds like a song he would listen to due to the overall character of Tam Lin.
2) Man I used to be (K-OS)
When Matt meets Tam Lin it has been many years since he joined El Patron in Opium and he sees Matt as a younger version of El Patron or in other words the son he never had. He tries to steer Matt away from the evil of El Patron as a bit of redemption for himself for the 20 kids he killed. This is shown when Tam Lin says "It's like the old vulture was being given a second chance" (farmer 69). In the song K-os tries to get back to his roots. "Back into the man I used to be. I tried it, I couldn't fight it"
3) Never Say Never (JB.)
We chose never say never because Tam Lin isn't someone who would give up. When Matt went down to the Eejit Pens, he found two other people named Ralph and Hugh who knew who Tam Lin was and what he had done in the past. Matt said that ""Soccer sounds a lot like war" said Matt. "It is lad. it is"said Hugh (Farmer 175). Whenever he got his head smashed, he would get right back up and keep going. The song says: I will never say never, I will fight till forever. I believe the main line of this song perfectly rein-acts to what Tam Lin is as a bodyguard in this book.
4) Dance with the devil (breaking benjamin)
This is because on a consistent basis, Tam Lin is El Patrons Bodyguard. And though he doesn't like him and he thinks of him as a bad man, he is still forced to serve and work for him. This is why it can be portrayed as "dancing with the devil" (this is a direct literary connection). In the story (farmer, page 70): Tam Lin says "El Patron has his good side and his bad side. Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young he made a choice, like a tree does when it chooses which way to grow. He grew large until he shadowed the whole forest, but many of his branches are twisted". Even though he thinks these things, he is still forced to work for him and remain in his hoard.
5) Through the fire and the flames
We put this song in due to the fact that Tam Lin has had to go through a lot of hardship is his life and he sees Matt as a way to redeem himself. The song is about the journey to escape from a horrible land to be free and that is what Tam Lin wants for Matt. He tells Matt this "I've spent years benefiting from the horrors of Opium and now I have the chance to make things right." (farmer 244). This is also the main reason that we choose this song as it is about the struggle to do the right thing.
6) Rock You Like A Hurricane (The Scorpions)
7) What i've done (Linkin Park)
This is because for many parts of the book, he deals with a lot of self angst. This is because he consistently feels guilty about the terrorist actions that he has done and he feels as though he must suffer the consequences for what he did. A quote from the book is "He was guilty of a terrible crime when he was young, and he could never forgive himself. He believed this last act would make up for everything" (page 377 [of house of the scorpion, written by Nancy Farmer] beginning of paragraph 4)
8) We are the champions (?)
9) Scottish bagpipes last song
We as a group picked a bagpipes song because we believe that Tam Lin would like a little bit of culture in his playlist. ""I picked this lot in Scotland, breaking heads outside a soccer field" (Farmer 63). Bringing a little bit of scottish music into the playlist reflects the culture and place that Tam Lin is a part of. Also Tam Lin was a scottish elitist/terrorist, so he definitely thinks highly of his scottish heritage and would most likely participate and enjoy his homelands culture and music.
10) Stronger (Kanye West)
I believe that Tam Lin would listen to this song because, he is all about being a strong a tough man. He also has been through a lot and this song is about basically becoming stronger from your experiences, as we see Tam Lin is very experienced with survival skills. He most likely got his knowledge of survival from personal experiences, this is reminiscent of a line from the song “That, that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger” (Quote from song) Tam Lins experiences has made him have a stronger sense of survival.
1) Eye of the tiger (survivor)
We chose Eye of the Tiger because Tam Lin is a military man and speaks of soccer as a field of battle. He says he finds "great pleasure in watching people bump heads together." This almost directly matches the lyrics of eye of the tiger for the main chorus. This also sounds like a song he would listen to due to the overall character of Tam Lin.
2) Man I used to be (K-OS)
When Matt meets Tam Lin it has been many years since he joined El Patron in Opium and he sees Matt as a younger version of El Patron or in other words the son he never had. He tries to steer Matt away from the evil of El Patron as a bit of redemption for himself for the 20 kids he killed. This is shown when Tam Lin says "It's like the old vulture was being given a second chance" (farmer 69). In the song K-os tries to get back to his roots. "Back into the man I used to be. I tried it, I couldn't fight it"
3) Never Say Never (JB.)
We chose never say never because Tam Lin isn't someone who would give up. When Matt went down to the Eejit Pens, he found two other people named Ralph and Hugh who knew who Tam Lin was and what he had done in the past. Matt said that ""Soccer sounds a lot like war" said Matt. "It is lad. it is"said Hugh (Farmer 175). Whenever he got his head smashed, he would get right back up and keep going. The song says: I will never say never, I will fight till forever. I believe the main line of this song perfectly rein-acts to what Tam Lin is as a bodyguard in this book.
4) Dance with the devil (breaking benjamin)
This is because on a consistent basis, Tam Lin is El Patrons Bodyguard. And though he doesn't like him and he thinks of him as a bad man, he is still forced to serve and work for him. This is why it can be portrayed as "dancing with the devil" (this is a direct literary connection). In the story (farmer, page 70): Tam Lin says "El Patron has his good side and his bad side. Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young he made a choice, like a tree does when it chooses which way to grow. He grew large until he shadowed the whole forest, but many of his branches are twisted". Even though he thinks these things, he is still forced to work for him and remain in his hoard.
5) Through the fire and the flames
We put this song in due to the fact that Tam Lin has had to go through a lot of hardship is his life and he sees Matt as a way to redeem himself. The song is about the journey to escape from a horrible land to be free and that is what Tam Lin wants for Matt. He tells Matt this "I've spent years benefiting from the horrors of Opium and now I have the chance to make things right." (farmer 244). This is also the main reason that we choose this song as it is about the struggle to do the right thing.
6) Rock You Like A Hurricane (The Scorpions)
Our group picked “Rock You Like A Hurricane” because we think that since Tam Lin is a rugged man, this song represents him well. This song is about being a strong powerful man, and that is what Tam Lin is described as in the book. Tam Lin is known to be a brutal fighter, and the songs lyrics are somewhat reminiscent of this so this song is a good match for Tam Lin. We also found it cool that the bands name is “The Scorpions” in correlation to the books title “House Of The Scorpion”.
7) What i've done (Linkin Park)
This is because for many parts of the book, he deals with a lot of self angst. This is because he consistently feels guilty about the terrorist actions that he has done and he feels as though he must suffer the consequences for what he did. A quote from the book is "He was guilty of a terrible crime when he was young, and he could never forgive himself. He believed this last act would make up for everything" (page 377 [of house of the scorpion, written by Nancy Farmer] beginning of paragraph 4)
8) We are the champions (?)
We Picked this song as Tam Lin has survived a lot to get to where he is today with Matt. He “keeps on fighting until the end” like in the song and won’t give up until Opium is destroyed and the eejit’s are set free. He has some scars from his fights “Tam Lin’s ears appeared chewed, they were so misshapen” (farmer 63). He also wants Matt to succeed and be the champion like the title of the song.
9) Scottish bagpipes last song
We as a group picked a bagpipes song because we believe that Tam Lin would like a little bit of culture in his playlist. ""I picked this lot in Scotland, breaking heads outside a soccer field" (Farmer 63). Bringing a little bit of scottish music into the playlist reflects the culture and place that Tam Lin is a part of. Also Tam Lin was a scottish elitist/terrorist, so he definitely thinks highly of his scottish heritage and would most likely participate and enjoy his homelands culture and music.
10) Stronger (Kanye West)
I believe that Tam Lin would listen to this song because, he is all about being a strong a tough man. He also has been through a lot and this song is about basically becoming stronger from your experiences, as we see Tam Lin is very experienced with survival skills. He most likely got his knowledge of survival from personal experiences, this is reminiscent of a line from the song “That, that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger” (Quote from song) Tam Lins experiences has made him have a stronger sense of survival.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Character Cast
Tam Lin (Justin):
I picked Jason Statham to be Tam Lin. First of all, Tam Lin is Scottish while Jason Statham is british. They sort of share the same accent. I also photo shopped his ear because his ears appear to be chewed off. "Tam Lin's ears appeared chewed, they were so misshapen. But when Matt looked into Tam Lin's eyes, he was surprised to see a glint of friendliness." I picked this picture of Jason Statham because his face is shining in the light, so I thought that it would show a glimmer of friendliness.
El Patron (Romi):
I chose Mark Margolis because i think he is what El Patron looks like. I believe this because El Patron is described as a frail old man "Matt saw that what he had taken for an armchair actually contained a man. He was extremely thin, with shoulder length white hair neatly combed beside his face so seamed and wrinkled, it seemed hardly real." Although in this picture Mark Margolis does not have shoulder length hair, he does have white hair, and a wrinkly face. El Patron is also described to be hospitalized and needs medical attention, the picture above shows a man who is needing medical assistance. El Patron is also a drug lord, and the actor in the picture above plays a old drug lord in the show that this picture was taken from.
Rosa (Arash):
I chose Fiona (the link to the article: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/item_ZgaSwXOxWsxlk15YKlIx6N), because she resembles the description of the of the book " all the servants wore black dresses, with white aprons and but another woman also seemed to be a severe woman with deep caresses on the mouth)". However, someone that fits her character almost directly would be aunt petunia from the harry potter series (played by Fiona Shaw). This is because Rosa is rather vicious and mean to Matt, and Aunt petunia is likewise to Harry. However, Rosa takes it to a much higher level of cruelty.
Matt (Sam);
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Sam's Individual post 2
I think that the most important literary aspect that Farmer has shown the theme of trying to become human . This is shown through the fact that Matt tries so hard to do good at school and earn others respect. But no one can get over the fact that he is a clone and not a normal human being. It shows that few people care for you if they believe that you are a sub-human or a animal. This is apparent when Rosa keeps Matt prisioner for 6 months and treats him like a pig or chicken. This theme is kept apparent for the first nine chapters as only a few people actually care about Matt while the rest hate him for being a clone. This is why the theme is the most important literary aspect of the book as it convey's the main lesson that Farmer is trying to show.
The other main literary aspect is the setting which helps convey the theme to us. The border between Mexico and the U.S is a ripe setting and the big house is a great setting to meet the rest of the family. This setting helps us understand the characters and why they are here. Each of the room settings move the story along and the writing gives you a vivid picture of where Matt is at all times. The setting helps impact the theme of the story as the time period is 100 years in the future and this means that cloning is possible. The combination of the theme and the setting help realize the literary aspect of the film.
The other main literary aspect is the setting which helps convey the theme to us. The border between Mexico and the U.S is a ripe setting and the big house is a great setting to meet the rest of the family. This setting helps us understand the characters and why they are here. Each of the room settings move the story along and the writing gives you a vivid picture of where Matt is at all times. The setting helps impact the theme of the story as the time period is 100 years in the future and this means that cloning is possible. The combination of the theme and the setting help realize the literary aspect of the film.
Romi's Blog Response #2
In this second section of the novel (chapter 6-9) Farmer mainly uses characterization to help progress the story, as well as a bit of setting. We saw in the first section how she used setting changes to show how the characters change, and how their psychology works. For example when Rosa had locked Matt away for the 6 months, we saw how he changed from the happy, caring, and naive little boy, to a quiet, depressed child. These changes in Matt's character also happen because of a change in the setting Matt goes from his cozy and safe home, to the vile dark and scary room. Obviously this change of scenery makes Matt change because he is not used to this treatment and area, he is scared of the unknown area that he is in.
As the story progresses in this second section we see that Matt is scared from his experience with Rosa. We see how the experiences have traumatized and had a great toll on him. From seeing how Matt changes in his experiences I believe that Farmer demonstrates that Matt is definitely a dynamic character, and that he will change through the book just like in the first section.
We see that Most characters have foils in this book, for example Tom is a foil to Matt, and Rosa is a foil to Celia. Tom is a lot like Matt in terms of age, size, however in terms of how they act they are very different. Tom is a rude, spoiled, mean child, and Matt is a kind hearted caring little boy. The same is with Rosa and Celia, Rosa is a vile and hateful maid, and Celia is a motherly and caring mother figure to Matt.
Farmer also uses characterization when showing how the characters interact. For example we see that all of the other children don't like Matt and don't talk to him because he is a clone, except Maria who is Matts friend and tries to comfort him, this shows that Maria does not care what others think and does what she herself thinks is right. We see that Tom always hurts maria or torments her, and he is rude to Matt. I believe this is how Farmer shows that Tom is a ruthless, bully and is the opposite of Matt. "Tom Insisted on playing with Maria. He made her cry, but she always forgave him. He followed her to Celia's apartment in spite of- or perhaps because of- Matt's hostility. He seemed to like being where he wasn't wanted." ""Its Nice here" Tom Said picking up Matts treasured teddy bear. "Catch Maria." He swung the bear viciously by one of its ragged ears and smacked her in the face. He tosses it on the floor" These quotation's shows how Tom is a mean character who doesn't care about his friends, or peoples property.
As the story progresses in this second section we see that Matt is scared from his experience with Rosa. We see how the experiences have traumatized and had a great toll on him. From seeing how Matt changes in his experiences I believe that Farmer demonstrates that Matt is definitely a dynamic character, and that he will change through the book just like in the first section.
We see that Most characters have foils in this book, for example Tom is a foil to Matt, and Rosa is a foil to Celia. Tom is a lot like Matt in terms of age, size, however in terms of how they act they are very different. Tom is a rude, spoiled, mean child, and Matt is a kind hearted caring little boy. The same is with Rosa and Celia, Rosa is a vile and hateful maid, and Celia is a motherly and caring mother figure to Matt.
Farmer also uses characterization when showing how the characters interact. For example we see that all of the other children don't like Matt and don't talk to him because he is a clone, except Maria who is Matts friend and tries to comfort him, this shows that Maria does not care what others think and does what she herself thinks is right. We see that Tom always hurts maria or torments her, and he is rude to Matt. I believe this is how Farmer shows that Tom is a ruthless, bully and is the opposite of Matt. "Tom Insisted on playing with Maria. He made her cry, but she always forgave him. He followed her to Celia's apartment in spite of- or perhaps because of- Matt's hostility. He seemed to like being where he wasn't wanted." ""Its Nice here" Tom Said picking up Matts treasured teddy bear. "Catch Maria." He swung the bear viciously by one of its ragged ears and smacked her in the face. He tosses it on the floor" These quotation's shows how Tom is a mean character who doesn't care about his friends, or peoples property.
Justin Individual Post 2
What literary aspect is most interesting to you so far (chapters 1-9). You may want to examine Farmer's setting, characterization, them development, use of metaphor, figurative language in general, etc. Don't forget to use specific examples and quotations from the novel to support your thinking.
The most interesting literary aspect that appeals to me so far is her characterization. I'm very surprised that Farmer has introduced many characters in the first couple of chapters. In chapter one, she established Eduardo and Lisa who so far are both ending up as flat characters. In chapter two, she established Matt (protagonist), Celia, Señor MacGregor, and Steven and Emilia. By the end of chapter 9, they have now introduced Tam Lin, El Patron, Rosa, Tom, Willium, Mr. Alacran, Maria, Teacher, and Felicia. My question to her would be, why so many characters? Aren't you afraid that everybody is going to get confused with the characters? I sure did. At the beginning, trying to keep up with the characters was quite difficult. I found myself looking at the character list at the beginning of the book many times.
I also wonder why the first chapter was there. Why didn't you put the section about the cells in the Prologue. This just puts the book in an awkward position because now, you have created 2 characters to be never talked about again in the book. I also find it interesting that Farmer would decide to introduce the protagonist (Matt) in the second chapter.
The most interesting literary aspect that appeals to me so far is her characterization. I'm very surprised that Farmer has introduced many characters in the first couple of chapters. In chapter one, she established Eduardo and Lisa who so far are both ending up as flat characters. In chapter two, she established Matt (protagonist), Celia, Señor MacGregor, and Steven and Emilia. By the end of chapter 9, they have now introduced Tam Lin, El Patron, Rosa, Tom, Willium, Mr. Alacran, Maria, Teacher, and Felicia. My question to her would be, why so many characters? Aren't you afraid that everybody is going to get confused with the characters? I sure did. At the beginning, trying to keep up with the characters was quite difficult. I found myself looking at the character list at the beginning of the book many times.
I also wonder why the first chapter was there. Why didn't you put the section about the cells in the Prologue. This just puts the book in an awkward position because now, you have created 2 characters to be never talked about again in the book. I also find it interesting that Farmer would decide to introduce the protagonist (Matt) in the second chapter.
Arash's 2nd Blog Post
In terms of literary theory the thing that I am going to be talking about is characterization. Matt is the protagonist of the book, seeing that the whole story is centred around his life. Though he is a rather interesting character because, he gets a lot of angst from his fellow peers. He seems to the people who don't consider him an animal (such as Tam Lin), to be a shadow or reflection of El Patrons past. He is obviously a very round and dynamic character, as he experiences change frequently. I find the way that Farmer introduced Matt to be very good. Matt is a very kind hearted human being, who for the most part does not enjoy seeing other peoples sadness and pain.
Farmers setting also causes all the change that occurs with matt both psychologically, and physically. In the prison that he is trapped in with the vile Rosa, he undergoes physical change through the pain in his feet, and also the other conditions gained from his "nest/kingdom". However the worst is the psychological changes. He became a more quiet and depressed character (containing many thoughts and feelings), aside from the naive kind-hearted protagonist that we knew at the beginning of the story. This can be found from the quote Matt said after Celia and Maria came to the prison to rescue him. The quotation is: "They were an unwelcome intrusion in the orderly world he had created"
Farmers setting also causes all the change that occurs with matt both psychologically, and physically. In the prison that he is trapped in with the vile Rosa, he undergoes physical change through the pain in his feet, and also the other conditions gained from his "nest/kingdom". However the worst is the psychological changes. He became a more quiet and depressed character (containing many thoughts and feelings), aside from the naive kind-hearted protagonist that we knew at the beginning of the story. This can be found from the quote Matt said after Celia and Maria came to the prison to rescue him. The quotation is: "They were an unwelcome intrusion in the orderly world he had created"
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