My Sentence

I live to see my hard work paying off, to smile, to create, to love, to rebel against perfection, and to succeed in all of the above and so much more.

The Giver- Perfect world ad

My advertisement pamphlet for my perfect world "Chrislandia" is of a tri-fold format with an opening on the front cover and details on each three pages of the inside. The front page is an introduction to entice the audience and draw in consumers. The first page inside the packet briefly outlines the structure of my perfect world which includes: True democratic government which supports a governing council in office for two years at a time, a multiple party system where any party has a fair chance of election, free health care for all, the economy is based on trade and not monetary units, and free education for everyone. The second page lists what the consumer can gain by living in this community such as true political voting power, security, clean and healthy living, a secure economy with all essential resources and you get to keep all essential freedoms and liberties. The final page touches on the responsibilities of the individual in the community which are that you must attend at least 3 political assemblies of your choice per month as well as any party meeting, you must apply for a community position to be your job which you get to choose from a list of available positions.

Putting the "S" in Action (Ch 2)

This ad, found on page 100 of The Contemporary Reader: Tenth Edition is making quite a bold statement. The ad is an attempt to sell Sketchers footwear using the infamous "sex appeal" tactic. It incorporates bold, bright colors to catch the eye and a suggestive "catch phrase" to be memorable.

The audience this ad is targeting are young adult males, working at their basic desire for sexual encounters. The ad implies that the man in the image has become irresistible to the woman because of the pair of Sketchers he's wearing; if you wear Sketchers, women will want you.

I should assume that this ad could be quite successful when shown to the right man. It is certainly eye catching with the heavy sex content and eye catching color scheme. This ad does not appeal to me; I find it absolutely absurd and unbelievable. Most other shoe advertisements use popular sports and athletes to market, however sex appeal is also quite common.

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The End (The Giver)

It never fails; almost any decent book will say "The End" before explaining what the heck just happened. Therefore, if you want to know what just happened, or what will happen- well you're out of luck, but you could probably find yourself an indecent book that will spell out its own conclusion. So, at the culmination of this book, all the heavy lifting falls on the shoulders of the reader: you. This thought provoking book which you were so absorbed in and dependent on has ceased to give away the answers. That's right, you've been cut off. Now you need to get your brain off the figurative couch, put your imagination to use and try to infer your own fulfillment! Well that's exactly what Lois Lowry will do to you upon conclusion of her novel The Giver. Maybe you like ending a narrative in such a manner or maybe you just don't have the imaginary capacity for it. Maybe story leading up makes the tricky ending worth while. Well, that's your call. In either case, however, it begs the question: what just happened? So sorry to let you down after having read all of the above text, but I just don't know- and even if I did know, I wouldn't be telling you. Now then, if you care so much, then as of this moment you are cordially invited to pick it up yourself and put your own imagination to the test. Once again, that was The Giver by Lois Lowry, to be purchased at your local book store. Good luck.

The Giver: Real World Reflections

One of the biggest conflicts in The Giver, a novel by Lois Lowry, is one which revolves around the theme of "free will". This seems to be something that many people take for granted, and some even appear to be giving it away happily.Why would someone give up something so precious? For security, of course. The security of their physical person or others', their property, their belief system and numerous other things. This is exactly what has been done in Jonas' community. The Elders of the community make the decisions for everyone else (after a consultation with the rule book of course). Well, it may be shocking to hear such a comparison, but many Americans are choosing to do something very similar with the casting of their political vote, though it is true that still many are not. The real life debate, or at least the one that is stirring up the most dust, is whether or not the use of contraception should be legal. It all comes down to with how much liberty one wishes to exercise their free will, and what they are willing to give up for security. Is choice really as frightening as Jonas says it is on page 98? Is choice truly something we need to protect people from, or is it something we need to protect from people? Or better yet, how would you feel, knowing that your grandchild might grow up to ask, just as Jonas did in chapter 13, "what if they were allowed to choose"? (98)?

John Cloud and the Media for Men

As the media depicts him, the perfect man is shirtless. Always. He doesn't have an ounce of fat on his body. His hair seems messy and effortlessly sexy, clearly without the use of hair gel or any other such products. He isn't grotesquely buff, though he's muscularly toned with the definition of every abdominal and pectoral muscle easily discernible. His jaw is firm set and his skin is flawlessly clear.
In his essay "Never Too Buff", John Cloud explains how men have self image issues in much the same way that many women are thought to because of images just like this one. And who can blame them, really? The overload of media images of "perfect" men is a never ending reminder that our society expects men to achieve such an unrealistic and nearly unobtainable look. How is a man supposed to meet the cultural standards of beauty? Through obsessive workouts and steroid usage as Cloud warns? I say not at all. Be who you want to be, inside and out; men and women alike. We are more than the media says we should be.
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