Empathy Responce

Scenario: It is 2012 and a girl in her late teens has started dating someone who she believes is her true love. Unfortunately, her parents, family and friends don't approve of the relationship and are trying to force her to end it. Her parents have even gone so far as to say that they will disown her if she doesn't stop the relationship. In her diary she writes down her feelings about the whole situation. What does she write?

Dear Diary,

Why is this my life? Why are my family and friends turning on me? The only person who supports me is Ethan, but my parents forbid me to see him. My parents don’t like him because of his family background and because he is not socially sophisticated like my family are. Why can’t I be with someone I really love and be happy, instead of being with someone my parents approve of but being sad and unhappy for the rest of my life.

I love Ethan so much, and can’t imagine living without him. But everyone is trying to get me to break up with him, my parents are even going to disown me! What is even worse is that even my friends don't approve of him. I can expect my parents to disapprove of him, but my friends! The people I trust the most. I don’t know what to do, I have no one to turn to except Ethan, but if I do turn to him my parents will disown me.

Last night Ethan asked me to run away with him, and I am seriously considering it. But I don't know what to do about my family and friends because if I leave, I will never be able to come back, and I am not sure if I am ready to leave my parents. But at the same time I love Ethan so much that I am willing to do anything to be with him.

All the romance movies show how love concurs all, and I truly believe this, but if I choose my true love I will lose everyone else that I love. Why does my family think that they can tell me what to do and say that it's the best thing for me, when I know that it is not!!!! WHY DOES MY LIFE HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!!!!!!

"Love Story" By Taylor Swift Discussion Questions:

Outline the subject matter of the poem?

The subject matter of the poem is a modern version of Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet”. The song outlines young love and the struggles that young people face. The song makes particular reference to the fact that they are using the story of “Romeo and Juliet”. An example of this in the song us the line “'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter, And my daddy said stay away from Juliet. But you were everything to me, I was begging you please don't go”, this is making particular reference to the story line of the original play, as Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers from families that hated each other. For example Juliet says “ My only love has sprung from my only hate.” This is reflected throughout the song aswell.

Why is the poem entitled “Love Story”? Use evidence from the lyrics to support the titles significance and relevance.

The poem is entitled “Love Story”, because it is story that they are telling us about their love and the struggle to get it. Stories always have climax’s and plots and are not always simple, which is a reflection of their love. The line in the poem, “This love is difficult, but it's real, Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess, It's a love story, baby, just say yes”. This line makes particular reference to the fact that it is a love story, but it also shows how they recognize the story when she says, “This love is difficult, but it’s real”.

 Describe the relationship between the two characters.  Who are they?

The two characters are young and in love, they are slightly dramatizing their relationship in a make believe story, however it is still reflecting their true feelings and emotions. An example of their true love is the line in the song, “I love you and that's all I really know”, this line shows how they don't really know what else is happening but they do know that they love each other.

What evidence is there to suggest that these lovers have to overcome obstacles in their relationship?

The lovers have to overcome struggles of status and family as highlighted in the line, “'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter. And my daddy said stay away from Juliet”. There are obviously some issues between their families that are preventing them from being together as her dad tells Romeo to stay away from her. But eventually they work out their issues when he asks her to marry her and he says, “I talked to your dad, you'll pick out a white dress, It's a love story, baby, just say yes”.

What themes and issues are explored in the lyrics and through the video clip?

The theme that is mostly explored throughout the lyrics and video is the theme of forbidden love. The two lovers are not socially accepted together, but they will still do anything to be with each other. “So I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew, So close your eyes, escape this town for a little while”, this line from the song shows how they are hiding their relationship and how their love is forbidden, but they still love each other enough to stay with it.

How does the “Love story” end for Romeo and Juliet in the song? Is this how it ends for the Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? Why does Taylor Swift end her song this way? What perspective is she writing from and why would they want the story to end this way?

“Love Story” ends with them being together happily with all their problems resolved. However this is unlike Shakespeare’s version where they both take their own lives. Taylor Swift wanted to end the story this way to make it a happy story that people would want to listen to. However she is also showing people that things can work out and love does not always have to end tragically. She is offering a nice contrast to Shakespeare version that people might actually relate to.   

SPECS and SLIMS: Not Ready To Make Nice, By the Dixie Chicks

Subject Matter:

The subject matter of this song is about not forgetting what you have done, even if you have offended people. Because you believe in it and your not going to stop being yourself.

Purpose:

This song was written about backlash that the band faced after Natalie’s comments about G.W. Bush, the president of America at the time. It was written to show people how they did what they did because the believed in it and you cant take away people’s beliefs because then they wouldn’t be themselves anymore.

Emotion:

The emotion in this song is very strong willed and determined. You can sense the bravery and the strength behind the words of the song, as they are fighting for what they believe in.

Craftsmanship:

The author has used a variety of techniques in the song including lanuuage, tone, emotion, sound and structure to really impact us and make us feel the way that the band does.

Summary:

Structure:

The song has eight stanzas, three of which are the chorus and the rest are the verses. Most of the stanzas are not the same length and have different content in each.

Language:

The language in the song has a very strong demeanor, it is also very impacting. You can tell that the choice of the words that the writers are putting there heart and soul in to the lyrics.

Imagery:

Within this song there are a lot of examples from the situation the band actually went through. So you get a picture painted of what was going on even if you were not there to experience it. For example “That they'd write me a letter Sayin' that I better shut up and sin Or my life will be over” this is relating to the hate that they got after the comments were made.

Movement:

The song does not really have any sound features, however it is musical as there is music that goes with it. The words as well as the music help create a beat that you listen or read it to which is the movement of the song.

Sound:

There is alliteration in the line “I don't have time to go round and round and round” this affect makes the song more catchy and go more in a rhythm. The song also rhymes which also helps add to the beat and rhythm of the music.

Contemporary responses to war: Chicks In the Line of Fire

1. How effective is the headline?

The headline of the article is quite effective as it draws people in because of the play on words it has used. The author has used the word “Chicks” to represent the Dixie Chicks. This attracts more audience because of the use of the informal language. Also the way that the author wrote the words “in the Line of Fire” represents the fact that the Dixie Chicks have been in a lot of trouble lately, but it also refers to that fact that the author is talking a bit about war.

2. The journalist has chosen not to include an extensive byline. Do you think this is a good decision? Explain your answer.

I think that this is a good idea, because some of the content within the article is quite confronting to some people. Also many people have had problems with the Dixie Chicks, so the author could become another person of attack if people know a lot about her.

3. How does the introductory paragraph help your understanding of what the article will be about?

It makes reference to the things that the Dixie Chicks said to get this whole incident started. It also give as brief introduction on the members of the Dixie Chicks, and there beliefs as well as what they stand for, as this is very important to know in order to understand the article.

4. What kind of tone do you think the journalist is trying to achieve? Provide examples to explain your answer.

The author has both a plain fact stating tone the same as a news reporter would have. But at times there is sympathy in her voice as she is trying to defend the Dixie Chicks. There is also a bit of anger when she is describing what people thought about the Dixie Chicks. For example when the author writes, “As proof, the first single from the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking the Long Way (out May 23), is called Not Ready to Make Nice. It is, as one country radio programmer says, "a four-minute f___-you to the format and our listeners. I like the Chicks, and I won't play it." Few other stations are playing Not Ready to Make Nice, and while it has done well on iTunes, it's quite possible that in singing about their anger at people who were already livid with them and were once their target audience” you can see in this segment of the article that the author has some feelings of disgust towards the things that people were saying about the Dixie Chicks.

5. What do you think the journalist's purpose was in writing this article? Provide examples to help prove your answer.

I think that the writers purpose of writing this article was to defend and justify the things that the Dixie Chicks have been through. You can tell this because at the end of the article you feel like the Dixie Chicks were the good side whilst everyone else who was attacking them was wrong.

6. The journalist makes considerable use of direct quotations throughout the article. How does this affect your understanding of the article and influence your opinion of the band members? Use evidence to support your claims.

A lot of the quotations in the article make you feel like you were part of the argument as you heard all the sides and were witnessing everything. This effect influences the way you feel about the band members because you feel as though you know all the facts and then you decide that the Dixie Chicks were actually good and they were just standing up for what they believed in.

7. How effective do you think this article is in achieving the journalist's purpose? Explain your answer in full please.

I think that the writer was very successful in achieving her purpose because as I said before the purpose of the article was to defend and justify the actions of the Dixie Chicks. This purpose was achieved because at the end of the article I felt like the Dixie Chicks were in the wrong and that all those things that people did to them was disgusting behavior.

John McCrae

John McCrae:

John McCrae was born on the 30^th of November 1872 in Ontario, Canada. He died on the 28^th of January 1918 at the age of 45, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. He developed an intrest in poetry at a young age, and wrote throughout his life. He was Canadian and was a Lieutenant Colonel. He died in the time of World War 1 and he was 45 at the age that he died, this was because he died of pneumonia, which was a common illness at the time.

He was writing about World War 1 as this was the war that he lived through and died during. World War 1 began on the 28^th of July 1914, and lasted until the 11^th of November 1918. It was predominantly called the ‘World War’ or the ‘Great War’ until World War 2. It involved all the world’s great powers. It was the world’s sixths-deadliest conflict in world history.

The most popular and famous poem John McCrae has written is ‘In Flanders Fields’. It was written during the First World War, and was inspired to be written on May the 3^rd, 1915, after his friend and fellow soldier, Alexis Helmer died. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems from the war. Its reference to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the remembrance poppy becoming one of the worlds most recognised memorial symbols for soldiers who have died in conflict.

Specs and Slims: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

Specs and Slims: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

Subject Matter:

The poem is about an airman that knows that he is going to die, however he is not scared and he is embracing it because he knows that it is his fate.

Purpose:

The purpose of this poem is to show how the author loves flying and that they would do it wherever because it is what they love, even if they have to do it in a warzone. Also that he is not afraid of death because he will be doing what he loves.

Emotion:

The emotion is a bit sad, as you know that he is going to die, but as you keep reading you realize that he has accepted it and he is okay with it and this makes you feel quite peaceful.

Craftsmanship:

The poet does this by creating an atmosphere where death is not feared but it is expected and inevitable and people just accept it.

Structure:

The poem is just in one large stanza.

Language:

The language in the poem is in older English, but it goes with the theme of the poem as it was written in a world war. The language also helps guide the emotion of the poem, as the language is not overly sad and it is more peaceful and calming.

Imagery:

There is an example of a metaphor in the line “My county is Kiltartan Cross,” this give a stronger connection to the word as you are saying that it is something.

The word fate has been used as a euphemism in the line “I KNOW that I shall meet my fate”, in this fate is used instead of the word death to give it a nicer meaning, but in a way that will still know what the poet is referring to.

Movement:

There is a sound feature where the word tumult is used in the line “Drove to this tumult in the clouds;” this word is used to explain the sound of the rapid shooting that was going on in the air. It gives you a sense of movement as you can imagine the shots being fired to the rhythm that the poem is being read at.

Sound:

There is an example of alliteration in the line “I balanced all, brought all to mind”, this gives the effect of a rhythm when you are reading or saying the poem.

The poem also rhymes every second line, which gives you a rhythm as you read a long, which makes it a lot more enjoyable to read.

Summary:

This poem is very impacting as it is quite different from other war poems which show the element of death being scary or feared, however within this poem death is embraced as the poet knows that it is inevitable and that if he dies doing what he loves then it will be okay. This also occurs with the mood of the poem as it is quite sad at the beginning, but as people adjust to the fact that death is going to happen either way the poem becomes quite peaceful and calming. 

Specs and Slims: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

Specs and Slims: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

Subject Matter:

The poem is about an airman that knows that he is going to die, however he is not scared and he is embracing it because he knows that it is his fate.

Purpose:

The purpose of this poem is to show how the author loves flying and that they would do it wherever because it is what they love, even if they have to do it in a warzone. Also that he is not afraid of death because he will be doing what he loves.

Emotion:

The emotion is a bit sad, as you know that he is going to die, but as you keep reading you realize that he has accepted it and he is okay with it and this makes you feel quite peaceful.

Craftsmanship:

The poet does this by creating an atmosphere where death is not feared but it is expected and inevitable and people just accept it.

Structure:

The poem is just in one large stanza.

Language:

The language in the poem is in older English, but it goes with the theme of the poem as it was written in a world war. The language also helps guide the emotion of the poem, as the language is not overly sad and it is more peaceful and calming.

Imagery:

There is an example of a metaphor in the line “My county is Kiltartan Cross,” this give a stronger connection to the word as you are saying that it is something.

The word fate has been used as a euphemism in the line “I KNOW that I shall meet my fate”, in this fate is used instead of the word death to give it a nicer meaning, but in a way that will still know what the poet is referring to.

Movement:

There is a sound feature where the word tumult is used in the line “Drove to this tumult in the clouds;” this word is used to explain the sound of the rapid shooting that was going on in the air. It gives you a sense of movement as you can imagine the shots being fired to the rhythm that the poem is being read at.

Sound:

There is an example of alliteration in the line “I balanced all, brought all to mind”, this gives the effect of a rhythm when you are reading or saying the poem.

The poem also rhymes every second line, which gives you a rhythm as you read a long, which makes it a lot more enjoyable to read.

Summary:

This poem is very impacting as it is quite different from other war poems which show the element of death being scary or feared, however within this poem death is embraced as the poet knows that it is inevitable and that if he dies doing what he loves then it will be okay. This also occurs with the mood of the poem as it is quite sad at the beginning, but as people adjust to the fact that death is going to happen either way the poem becomes quite peaceful and calming.