Sam Muscella
Mrs. Burnett
AP English
25 December 2015

December Monthly Blog: Slaughterhouse 5

Expanding on the fourth Socratic Seminar question, I believe that the visions of the Tralfamadores that Billy sees are from his post traumatic stress from the war. The visions are his way of coping with his war memories. If he can imagine an alien race that look, think, and act crazily and abnormally, he can avoid the horrific memories that he has of his time in the war.
Billy's PTSD caused him to stand out in society, they thought that because he had visions of the aliens that he was insane. In a way, Billy's visions helped him cope with his memories. Throughout the book there are many flashbacks to Billy's memories. This is a common symptom of PTSD, while the book seems like it takes place during the war, if you take into account that Billy could have had PTSD, it makes more sense that the setting is during the Vietnam war and that he has flashbacks of his time fighting in the war. According to Kim Ann Zimmermann, a Live Science Contributor, PTSD can occur after an event that may cause stress or fear. Not all PTSD cases are from soldiers, anyone can develop this disorder. About 60% of men and 50% of women in the United States experience one or more traumatic events in their lives, this increases the chance of developing PTSD, though only about 5% of men and 10% of women actually have PTSD, which amounts to about 7.7 million Americans. Dr. Paul Schulz, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Mischer Neuroscience Institute said, "Similar syndromes were called things like 'shell shock' in past wars. As a result of changes in definitions, and the very recent recognition of PTSD, it is difficult to determine whether PTSD is getting more common or [if] we are simply recognizing it more often."  Common symptoms include, re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyperarousal symptoms (the feeling of being on edge or stressed). There are medications that can help with the disorder, but the best treatment is counseling, telling the person that they are safe so that their memories can turn from something that they are scared of to something that eventually stops causing them stress. The symptoms in that article are things that Billy goes through. He recounts his memories repeatedly, he avoids people at his party and goes up to his room until he feels normal, the reason he avoids the people at the party is because he hears a song that reminds him of one of his bad memories and he starts to freak out. Also, according to the article's author, depression can cause PTSD to worsen. Billy will randomly break into tears during his life, he seems sad for no reason which could be caused by depression. I think that PTSD is a real issue in society. My mom has a friend who's husband is diagnosed with it and their family life has gotten worse because of his disorder. I believe that even though it can be bad, if the diagnosed person is helped in the correct way, then they can get over having PTSD. It is a disorder that is unavoidable, everyone has memories that cause them fear, stress, and anxiety. It takes a strong willed individual to look past these memories and move on, I believe that this is one way that is very helpful in overcoming PTSD. A person with the disorder needs people to help them realize that they can't be affected by their past memories, that they are safe and surrounded by supportive people.

November Monthly Blog: Things Fall Apart

Many cultures have different ways of living. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo's village believed in many different gods who resided in nature. The white men who moved to Africa midway through the book believed in Christianity and that there was only one God. They also believed that Okonkwo and his people's religion was barbaric and unnatural. From the article that I read, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism", I learned of the beliefs and moral codes in some societies. The Greeks burn the bodies of the dead on pillars so that their spirits can travel to the Underworld. The Callatians eat the bodies of their fathers. Eskimos often have more than one wife, kill their babies if they deem them unworthy, kill the elderly once they become too weak, and their idea of marriage is much different than ours. The beliefs of our own society are opposite of the Eskimos, we believe that marriage is between two people, the life of an individual is sacred, murder is frowned upon, and the elderly are viewed as wise and an important part of our society. The claims made by cultural relativists,
"1)Different societies have different moral codes.
 2)There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another.
 3)The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many.
 4)There is no "universal truth" in ethics; that is, there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples at all times.
 5)The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.
 6)It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the conduct of other peoples. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures.", are relevant in today's societies because many people judge other societies because they are different from their own. While these cultures are different in their beliefs, I feel that this is what makes them the most interesting. To hear about a tribe that eats the dead bodies of their fathers is crazy, but also something that makes me interested in learning more about their society, and how their beliefs differ from my beliefs, and from the beliefs of the people around me. Also, by learning about the different beliefs of each culture, it is easier for a person to understand another's viewpoints, and reasonings behind other people's actions and opinions. From reading this article, I have learned that judging other cultures is unrealistic because each culture has different beliefs in what is right and wrong, each culture is different and just because one society believes one thing and another society another, doesn't make either belief wrong.  

Grendel

This month, we read Beowulf and excerpts from Grendel. When I was reading Beowulf, it was very clear to me who the heroes and villains were. Beowulf, with his noble deeds and honor brought by defeating Grendel, was good and had a noble heart. While Grendel, who had a demonic look to him and killed many men, was clearly the villain. However, once we had read excerpts from Grendel, the lines between good and evil blurred a bit. In my mind, while reading Grendel, I saw a creature (Grendel) who was different from the humans. He was baffled by the humans and their wastefulness and just really wanted to make a friend. He also seemed less evil to me in the beginning. He did what he needed to survive and at one point tries to make friends with the humans. They reject him and I believe that was the turning point in Grendel's behaviors. It is my belief that Grendel wasn't truly evil until he was corrupted by a judgmental society that thought Grendel was evil because of his appearance. This aspect of society isn't just fiction, it's real and happens all of the time. People judge others without getting to know them first. It's very overused and cliche, but these words are true; don't judge a book by its cover. How is a person supposed to know what someone is like if they judge them based on their appearance. That's one of the reasons schools make kids wear uniforms. They feel that if everyone is wearing the same thing, no one will be judged and then any bullying will stop. I can relate to this because if I had judged many of my friends based on their outward appearances, I   may not have become close to any of them. Everyone is judgmental, and i believe that the first thought that comes to mind when you look at a person means nothing, it's what you think after that first thought that matters. That second thought is what determines if you are a good person at heart.