Alone Again (Naturally)
This is the first of this week’s two posts. I have decided to relate them to 1984 since that is going to be our focus in class for the next few weeks. Remember, if you don’t like these two topics you can always post something in the Creative Writing Workshop.
Throughout much of what we have read so far, Winston is afraid. His main fear is that he might be alone in his belief that an unchangeable past exists. He is also horrified that he might be wrong. This feeling of being the only one to see things a certain way is never very comfortable.
So, you have two options for this post:
a. Write about a time when you believed something that you feared no one else believed. Did your aloneness make you doubt yourself?
b. Discuss a movie you have seen or a book you have read in which the main character is alone in his or her view of things–at least at first.
To get you started, I’ll share an example of each.
a. Well, I always knew that I wanted to teach when I got out of college, but getting a job wasn’t as easy as I thought. Turns out English teachers are a dime a dozen, and I kept running into that old Catch-22–The principals wanted teachers with experience, but I couldn’t get experience without getting a job. Well, the only job I could find was as a substitute in a very very small town who, let’s just say, weren’t very friendly to people who weren’t from there. So, I only lasted there for about a month. Desperate for a job, I took the only thing I could find at the moment–a job as a used car salesman (a gig which only endured for 1 horrible week). Now, I’ve always considered myself an honest person who has quite a bit of integrity, so I doubted my ability to succeed in this career given the common stereotypes of used car salesmen. Turns out the stereotypes were so…TRUE!!!! These were some of the most dishonest, slimy, immoral people I had ever met. (Note: I mean no insult if your parent’s are employed as car salesmen…I’m strictly talking about the ones I worked with). It was right after 9/11 and no one was buying cars, but for some reason the owners had every single person working 12 hour days that entire week. I guess they thought half of Nashville was going to just miraculously wake up one morning and say “I think I’ll go buy a car today!”. So, whenever one person showed up, you would have all 30 vultures on the lot preying on them. I just wasn’t equipped for that line of work. I did sale one car that week, but almost lost my life in the process. I had another salesman literally threaten my life because he thought I had “poached” on his client. That day was my wife’s birthday and I was supposed to take her out to dinner, but I ended up being stuck at the car lot until well after 10. pm. On the bright side, I got a call that same night about an available teaching position. Needless to say, that was my last day there. I didn’t even go back to get my paycheck for that one week because I really had no desire to see those people ever again. I had been miserable for my whole time working there because I felt like the only honest, decent person on the whole lot. If I had any fear as a result of my aloneness, it was that this job was going to make me dishonest and corrupt like all of them.
b. OK, an example of a lonely character. Something you may not know about me is that I love graphic novels (Don’t you DARE call them comic books!). One of my favorites is one called Y: The Last Man. In this series, there is a worldwide plague that kills off every single man with the exception of one–Yorick Brown. He spends the whole series as the only man in world full of groups of women who are either trying to kill him, capture him, or mate with him. While some of you male students may think it would be an ideal world (not to mention the only way some of you could get a date–just kidding!), I assure you that the book does not present it this way.
I have chosen b.
One of the most obvious movies where someone is alone is “I Am Legend”. It is about a scientist named Robert Neville that is the only survivor after an airborne virus hits New York and turns everyone into mutant-vampires. It is a pretty good movie. He has one companion, and that is his dog, Sam. She sticks by him most of the movie. But then, near the end of the movie, he finds out that there is a colony of survivors in another state. He doesn’t believe it until the very end, where something happens that I will not say! It is worth watching once.
ILoveMrHudson
P.S they are making a prequel to “I Am Legend”. It is going to be superior!
I have chosen a.
This still happens today. I often feel that I am the only one who takes school seriously. I feel as if I am the only one who actually does their homework at home. Sometimes I feel like I should just let it go, and not worry about school. I feel like I should maybe skip homework sometimes and shouldn’t study. I know I shouldn’t do this, but I don’t want to be the only one not on the bandwagon.
Also, I understand I didn’t really relate this to what I believed, but I believe that school is very important, while most people still believe that it is like prison.
–lionzoo5
I chose topic A.
my instance is i belive it is wrong to hit your dog as punishment while teaching them the outside is the restrrom area, while the rest of my family and friends think it is right so your dog learns a lesson. i think this is cruel and that there are plenty of other ways to teach your dog to use the restroom outside.
regardless of everyone else’s opinion, i still believe it is wrong to physically punish your dog.
-yolanda4spanish
ILoveMrHudson4
that movie is really good, and is perfect for this post. I would like to congratulate you on picking pretty much the best movie ever made for this.
(theres going to be a prequel?)
–Onealfox#4
To: ILoveMrHudson4
I remember seeing “I Am Legend” too and man did it scare me at some points. It would scare me too if I was the only human around or possibly in the world since no one would be there to tell me otherwise. I would think that if they had a choice, Winston and Robert Neville would want to switch places just to get or get away from something horrible, but I think Winston is just as endangered in Oceania as Robert Neville is in “I Am Legend” with all the mutant monsters trying to get him. I think this movie was a great example for this topic.
-Ying&Yang4
Topic B:
Another movie in which someone is very alone is 28 days later. The main character wakes up in a hospital alone and walks outside into the city. there is no one there until later he finally sees people. However, these people are not exactly people, they are zombies. He eventually fins some people but for a while he is alone and very scared and freaks out. If I was in his situation I would do the same.
I chose A.
There was this girl that I really liked. Everyone was talking about how she was a tramp or watever the word would be to describe a person of that nature. I knew that she wasn’t like that, but pretty much every person was saying that she was. For a minute, I started to think the same thing because she was the only one saying that she wasn’t like that. A few months later I found out that she really was like that and I felt really stupid
i chose b.
the book ANTHEM by Ayn Rand is a great example of a lonely character.
even though there are other people around, he is different from them because he has his own views about things.
every one else followed the rules, but he didnt.
he went off in an underground haven and thought about things.
then, he went off into the woods by himself.
so he was all alone.
so yeahh.
-lacbff4
-yolanda4spanish
omg! i totally agree!
i would never hit a dog or cat(on purpose).
thats so sad!
when i see someone kick their pets i just wanna say to them…
how would you feel if i kicked you when u do something bad?!?
yeah, exactly!
-lacbff4
There was one time in my life where i feared being left alone in my house all by myself. I felt that i was a scaredy cat because i was so terrified of something that most kids would dream of happening. I was afraid that someone was going to break into the house, the house was going to catch on fire, and i know it sounds silly, but i was even afraid of being attacked by ghosts. Of course i was younger, so it was natural for me to be afraid of things like that. So when it came to the time that i had to stay home alone, i was very scared. But, i got over it when i saw the advantages of being home alone. Now, being home alone doesn’t bother me anymore.
dgurl935
Oh yeah, by the way i chose A
ILoveMrHudson4
I felt that the movie that you chose for the topic B, was a great choice. I never seen the movie before, but by the looks of the comments, it sounds like a great movie to see. All I know about the movie is that it’s about a man and his dog being the survivors of something tragic. I hope to see it one day!!
My mistake, i just left that comment about ILoveMrHudson4
dgurl935
Ok, this may seem kind of weird but I just thought of it. I believe that if food falls on the floor, you shouldn’t eat it. No matter what. Whether its the cleanest or dirtiest floor in the world, that’s just wrong. People talk about the “3 second rule” but germs can get on surfaces in way less than three seconds. If you drop a cookie into a puddle of bacteria infested water, as soon as you drop it, the germs will stick to it. The reason I thought about this was because I saw a kid drop some skittles on a carpeted room and he just ate them like nothing was wrong.
polkadotz5
Lionzoo-
I completely agree. Sometimes people make fun of me for completing my work throrughly and blowing them off to do something school-related. For example, on the book questions like in 1984 and Of Mice and Men, i always had complete thorough answers that took up like 5 or more lines. Other people would have like 5-10 words. You can call me what you want, but at least I still make good grades.
polkadotz5
One time I tried to prove that their was a left angle. I feel like an idiot telling yall this. No matter what I tried it just didn’t work. I thought everybody else was stupid for not coming up with it first. It never did work out so I just gave up. I feel like a moron. I shouldn’t of tried that.
Rampage4
ILoveMrHudson
Dude, “I Am Legend” is a perfect example. when the dog died he was even more lonely. I think our movie is going to be way better. Will Smith doesn’t have jack on us. Ours is way cooler.
Rampage4
cAST aWay is perfect example because he is all alone with his vollleyball boyfriend and he has no one to talk to ……aw
lovebiscuit4
to lacbff4 …… i think your totally righ bout that book he is is very loely good choice!!!!!!!!!!! and i chose topic A but forgot to say that lovebiscuit 4 :”!@#$%
I chose B
In the book Tithe by Holly Black there’s this girl and fairies have been attacking her but no one believes her because she’s the only one who can see them. Everyone thinks shes lying and attention starved. Her best friend thought she was full of it and didnt pay attention when she tried to warn her. Then the fairies end up killing her best friend. It’s one of my favorite books.
Lionzoo5-
I have the same problem. My friend keeps inviting me to do stuff on weekdays but when I say I have homework to do she calls me a loser and grade obsessed. I just wanna make good grades so I can get in a good college. Sometimes I think Im the only one of my friends who actually thinks about the future past senior year.
to yolanda4spanish-
i know what you mean. when i first got my dog, i didnt know how to teach her to do anything. my parents told me i had to hit her when she does something wrong, but i couldn’t. i never did hit her and i am not planing to. By the way, she did learn eventually.
i pick a
For summer reading before freshmen year, i pick Ender’s Game. The story is set in like the future and mankind barely lived threw two wars with an alien race. the story follows Ender Wiggin as he go threw battle school. he was so smart that the government didn’t allowed him to get close to any one,so he made no friends threw most of the story.he thought that the alien race wasn’t that bad, but he never told anybody. in the end, he destroy the alien race, except for an egg.he spent the rest of his life trying to find a place for it to be born and live.
Tinman4
lionzoo5- Good for you for taking school seriously! I definitly can empathize with what you are feeling. I most always do my work and then all the people that didn’t come to me asking to copy my answers or get help on an assignment. Just keep in mind that you are better off in the long run for disciplining yourself and doing you homework/studying. Like you said, school is very important. Keep up the good work and know you aren’t really the only one who studies and does their assignments!
~flipflops4me
I used to date this guy, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was kind of a drug addict. I mean, it seems really obvious now, but I never believed anyone when they told me that he did drugs. He got in trouble for drugs and still told me he didn’t do them, so I trusted him. I may have been an idiot, but my best friend (also his best friend) told me all about what they do. I’m not dating him anymore.
Luba5
I definitely can agree with lionzoo5!!!!
At times I feel the same way.It’s like sometimes no one cares about their grades,as if they don’t matter. It’s like being alone in the whole school sometimes. It can sometimes be very tempting to just let go and go with the flow, but we know that’s not right.
So just remember it will all pay off in the future, that’s what I use as motivation to keep myself going!
=]
–run4ever
Lionzoo5
I agree that it sometimes feels that way for me too. It does sometimes feel like Im the only one im the only one that takes school seriously. Although, its good you havent let those people influence you or your good habits. Sometimes though it is I that shrugs off school work like it aint nothing. But yeah good work keep it up.
Tacobell5
I’ll take B for 700, Pat!
haha
Okays, so. The book I choose is Burned by Ellen Hopkins.
[and im also giving up on punctuation and capitalization today]
the main character is a mormon teenager named pattyn. she’s raised in a very religious but very abusive home. then she starts questioning her life. things about who God really is, a woman’s role in the household, sex, love and a bunch of other stuff. her abusive, alcoholic dad catches her in a relationship and sends her away for the summer to stay with her aunt in nevada to “get her salvation and redemption back”. pattyn meets a guy in nevada that shows her that love is acceptance and opens her eyes to the truth that not all guys and men are sexually abusive and ranting drunks. but no matter how hard she tries, she cant ever forget how horribly her dad treated her.
I remember last year when i was reading this book and my heart was almost broken for a completely fictional character. it was hilarious bc i felt so sorry for her. but i was super happy when she actually found someone who truly loved her no matter what she’d been through. i dont remember all of the hairy little details of the book but it was absolutely fantastic.
a quote from the book:
“I felt angry.
frustrated.
I felt I didn’t belong, not in my church, not in my home, not
in my skin.”
great book.
-vanillaface5
Topic b:
In the movie “National Treasure” a treasure hunter named Ben is looking for what he believes to be the greatest treasure in the world. the tradition of look for this treasure has been passed down through his family, but his father has already given up on it. Ben has to keep the bad guys from getting a hold of the treasure, but he can’t find anyone that belives him. Some people are going along with him just so that they can protect other things. for instance, abigail only goes along with him because she feels as if it is her duty to protect the declaration of independence. In the end he proves everyone else wrong when he does find the treasure.
DearIlovemrhudson4,
I love I am legend. It was really sad. i cried when his dog died. I hope that never happens to the world. I really want to watch that movie now.
ilovepolarbears4
to lionzoo5:
yea, i agree, a lot of people nowadays don’t take school seriously at all. Believe it or not, but there are still some people around that do all their homework on time on all that jazz. I’m one of them… sometimes. haha. There are times when i just put it off till the class period before it’s due. But i would NEVER do that for Mr.Hudson’s class…
Anyways, just keep up your good work. who knows? 10 years from now you might be the next Bill Gates!
-twilight5
ex.- A:
all my life i’ve believe that i’m a natural blonde. i always had blone tints in my hair and when i was young my hair was BLONDE ..very pretty too lol
so whenever someone says, “omg you’re such a blonde!” i’ll be like, “yeah so? i am a blonde.” and then they would look at me like i’m crazy.
“you don’t believe me?”
“heck no!”
“why nottt?? i didddd”
“pft, yeah sure ok.”
SAME ARGUMENT EVERY TIME.
they gang up on me every time. “no you don’t and didn’t have blonde hair. chillax”
sorry can’t chillax here. no one believes me.
after every argument i start to think to myself, ‘did i really have blonde hair? maybe it was my imagination….’
it’s still like that till this day….
:/
-Sakura4
to ILoveMrHudson4
i watched that movie too! it was freaky!
i couldn’t imagine being alone like that ever
i’d probably kill myself.
–Sakura4
hmmm… (B) now, most of us have seen planet of the apes, or at least one version, so that is the story/movie that I pick. he is all alone being captured trying to live free but the apes take them as slaves. later he is united with more people, but then agian, in the new version,, he goes back to earth and finds that earth is now the same way.
marshmellowman5
lionzoo5, i know what you mean, even though im one of the ones not doing my work on time, im getting better, and my grades are going up. I kinda like it, but im still so used to being lazy…
marshmellowman5
that sucks 5Coolkidd. you have to be really unlucky for them to ACTUALLY be like that. usually its just other jealous girls saying that because they have nothing better to do haha