Michael's Blog

For my post I decided to create a playlist for Macbeth himself, based on his characteristics in Macbeth. I started with  #1 Coming Undone -  Korn This song is all about a man's descent into madness, with lyrics like "Guess the black thoughts have come to get me" I thought about Macbeth and how quickly he fell apart after the murder of Banquo. Macbeth would listen to this because it might help him confront his own crazy hallucinations and visions. #2 Superstition - Stevie Wonder This one is sort of a gimme. "Superstition" makes lots of references to bad luck and how when the "thirteen month old baby, broke the looking glass" that there is no real way to get out from under your fate and the supernatural forces on Macbeth's life. He knows this song applies to him, because "when you believe in things you don't understand then you suffer" #3 I Want (Skr Skr) - Madeintyo   This song is about all Macbeth wants. He ...

People who aren't evil take the first step into evil because people are mean I guess. Human evil is so complicated that in m y opinion it can only be broken down to its simplest pieces. I think it is first important to give the definitio n of evil, which is "profoundly immoral and malevolent ". This definition gives us an idea of how bad it is, "profoundly" so. As in, not letting somebody in in traffic probably couldn't be considered evil. Human steps towards evil usually start in a desire, probably something that they don't have and want really badly. Examples of these things could be money, fame, sex, power, or a variety of other things. Power, money, and fame in Macbeth's case are what sent him down the path towards evil. Macbeth had plenty of these before murdering Duncan but still decided his hunger for these things was insatiable. An example more realistic to us in a similar fashion would be an attempt on the life of a US President. Even though...

The central idea of this chapter of Jane Eyre is hypocrisy. Mr. Brockhurst is calling girls out for having their hair done in braids or top knots, having too many pieces of clothing, and eating bread and cheese as if it was an indulgence. He then brings his own wife and daughters into the school who are wearing exquisite clothes and arrive in a fancy carriage. Brockhurst accuses the girls of being unchristian because they had simple necessities or pleasures. The headmaster of the school, Miss Temple, seems to care for the girls and wants them to be able to thrive and enjoy their childhoods. The phrase that seems to sum up this passage the best is "Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children's mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls!" This seems to be a sarcastic remark from the author, showing that just providing for kids is turning them into little heathens. This...

(Tipalet, published in 1969) I picked this ad for the lusty connotations of all pieces of it. Between the caption, "Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere." and the depiction of the woman there is a clear appeal to a male audience. First off, we see an attractive woman wearing a low cut top leaning into the man's face, making intense eye contact, as he exhales smoke from his cigarette. The sexual connotations of both the white smoke across the woman's face and the caption are obvious. The heterosexual male desire for female attention is used here to give a man who sees this ad the idea that if you smoke Tipalet cigarettes, women will be more attracted to you. These ads would be primarily targeted at a male audience but could also make women think that a certain brand would make her more attractive to a man. The big picture of this ad is the objectification of humans. In advertisements, sex sells, so if an attractive man or woman is shown enjoying...

The meaning I find in my name is something I have always been interested in. My name, Michael Eamon Palko, is something passed down through family. Michael is my father's name, my grandfather's name, my great-grandfather's name, and my godfather's name. It holds a significance because in my family lineage I am the last Palko male. I think passing my name on to a child is something important to me, both first and last. It's a representation that all my ancestors have survived thus far and that I will do the same. My middle name, Eamon, is the connection to my Irish heritage, Eamon being the first name of the Irish president, Eamon de Valera, who was the Irish President during the Irish civil war. Because my last name is Eastern European which is my father's side of the family, my parents chose to give me an Irish middle name to give me a connection to my mother's side of the family. My name is very important to me, and while it doesn't define me, it does ...

This photo by Wing Huie posted on his website,  www.wingyounghuie.com , is a photo of two young boys sitting next to each other. One is white, one is black. They are leaning up against a tree with their bikes sitting next to them, looking a little worn out, but smiling. The kids look happy, the feeling you get as a kid being around friends. This photo looks a little older, considering both the cars in the background and the clothing on the kids. This could also be an indication of the socioeconomic status of the kids, and the neighborhood they're in. Just because the things look a little older, doesn't mean that they are necessarily in the past. It's definitely a possibility that they are just hand-me-downs from siblings or relatives.  I n the photo that I chose, Huie presents the concept of "othering" through the use of two boys of two different races. He makes us feel nostalgic for our own childhoods riding around as kids on our bikes and being around friends....