Daniel Jangwon Yang: Gotta Dance

Gotta Dance

“Gotta Dance”, a short story written by Jackson Jodie Daviss, is about a born dancer, Katie. She is a born dancer. She has uncontrollable passion to express herself in dancing while her family doesn’t like her to dance. Due to this reason, she leaves home and comes across many people during her wandering. She responds to them with love and care. Katie is a caring person.

Katie is a caring person. She easily feels sympathy for people whom she meets. She doesn’t pass by the people whom she feels sympathy for. For instance, she offers a meal to a young gaunt man at the restaurant. She couldn’t ignore that, when he eats up the soup and asks for more bread without a main dish. There is another example showing her traits. She leaves coins for the street kids after her performance in front of the theater. Actually, she could expect some coins from the audience in the case. However she empties her purse for the kids instead of collecting the money. She loves and cares for people, whenever she meets people deserving her sympathy.

Katie meets many people since she leaves home. She feels sympathy for people such as a young gaunt man at the restaurant and street boys begging for coins in the crowds in front of the theater. She also feels sympathy for a boy in a bus from her heart, expressing that she hates him. She acts most of the time when she feels sympathy. This action can’t be performed, unless she is a really loving and caring person.

Faiz Mirza Mohammad: Country and City

What are the advantages of living in the city and in the country?

Some people prefer to live in the city while others live in the country. There are some advantages of living in the city as well as living in the country. People who live in the city have more opportunities to find a job, get better education and more access to technology. On the other hand, the country is cleaner, more peaceful, and it is much cheaper to live there. Different people choose different place to live; It depends on their personalities.
City has a wide access to technology. People can use the internet anywhere they want, cell phones work at any location. There are more opportunities to find a job because there are many companies which need a lot of employees. There is much better education and lots of schools all around the city. In addition, there is no problem with transportation since schools provide students with school buses.
Compared to the city, the country is much cleaner because there are fewer roads, no big buildings and highways. It’s quieter because people who live in the country are not in rush like people who live in the city. The cost of living is much lower because mostly people who live in the country have farm animals from which they get some products like milk, eggs and meat. In addition, people have their own gardens where they grow vegetables and fruit.
Living in the city has some positive aspects such as: access to technology, more job opportunities and improved education.
However, the country attracts people because of clean environment, peacefulness and low cost of living.

Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman – Tariq Batto
The play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, (1949, Viking penguin, Inc., New York) is about the people who dream for the future to become rich and famous. The main character Willy, being a salesman, wanted to be rich and famous, but ironically, his dream had fallen apart. The reason for his downfall is the myth of the American Dream, and his personal weakness.

The play, The Death of a Salesman, talks about the events which took place in Willy’s Lowman’s house and in various places in New York and Boston. The main characters in the play are the father Willy, the mother Linda, and the two sons Biff and Happy. Other characters include: Charley and his son Bernard the neighbors, and Howard Wagner the owner the owner of Wagner’s company. Willy lives in the countryside in Brooklyn in a house he built; financed with a mortgage which is almost paid off. Willy is sixty three-year-old, works as a traveling salesman. His wife Linda is a realistic housewife who always wanted to spread peace and wisdom in the house when she communicates with her husband and her sons. The son Biff, the lazy bum as his father always labeled him, was thirty four-year-old, had no fixed job after the high school and later. His father raised him on the myth of the American Dream to become a rich and important person, but he is frustrated with himself and the hopes of being value and successful. Happy the second son, was thirty two-year-old, had a steady job in New York, and his ambitions is to become an important executive. Charley, Willy’s neighbor, is a successful man, and always Willy is jealous of him and his success.

Bernard, Charley’s son, was Biff’s classmate; he was smart, continued his education and became a lawyer in the Supreme Court. Howard Wagner is the boss of the company where Willy works as a traveling salesman for a long time, from the days of Howard’s father. The mythical American Dream of Willy was being rich and well known in his life, and people respect him even after his death; as it happened with the eighty four-year-old salesman, he became rich and after his death, hundreds of salesman and buyers attended his funeral ceremony. Willy wanted to work in a non-traveling job; he went to Howard Wagner his boss, asking him to find a new job in New York, but Howard refused his demand; instead, he fired him. Willy was disappointed too much he decided to commit suicide which was his third attempt, and he done it to redeem himself for his sins and the sins of his son Biff, who was unable to achieve his potential with the American Dream. In his funeral, only his family and charley were in the ceremony.

At that period of the time, people lived in the myth on the American Dream, in which, Willy began to dream which led to his downfall. Fame and fortune he successes to a certain limit in building his house outside New York, in an open place not surrounded by buildings, and acquiring a range of modern appliances. Furthermore, he took his business as salesman; he believed that his job would, make him famous and rich. He assumed being well-like will lead to success. Among the illusion of Willy, he told his sons Biff and Happy a secret, that same day he will have his own business. He will be bigger than uncle charley, “because charley is not liked. He’s liked he’s not well liked” (30). In addition, Willy liked to realize his hopes by imitation of the successful people, such as the eighty four-year-old salesman Dave Singleman who Willy met in Parker house. Besides, Willy found that his man reached his glories not only in his life, but also after his death when hundreds of salesman and buyers attended his funeral ceremony.

The other factor which contributed to his downfall is the weakness of his personality; for example, he was jealous of his neighbors Charley and his son Bernard. Charley was a successful man in his work; on the other hand, Bernard who was Biff’s classmate was a cleaver boy, he finished his education and became a lawyer in the Supreme Court, while Biff was lazy and he flunked math which deterred him from entering university. Moreover, Willey’s false pride let him to refuse insistently the job offers offered to him by Charley, despite his bad financial situation after he was fired from his job. Ironically his real personality, allowed his illusively to think that he would run his own business, and he will go north to providence, to meet the Mayor and had a coffee with him in the hotel lobby; then he went to Waterbury city to visit its famous clock, and finally he went to Boston.

Since the early 20th century, people of America have been dreaming to become the richest and the most powerful country in the world. This dream is realizing when they put themselves in the shoes of others. The write Arthur Miller in his play describes this dream through the character of Willy and his son Biff. When they were looking forward to achieving their illusions of rich and fame in the society. After he wrote his play, Arthur Miller was accused he was communist because the US in those years deemed every body who did not believe in its idea as a communist. Willy did not realize his hope and illusions when he took the job of a salesman which would permit him to achieve the glories of riches and fame; as he believed that his goal would be reached by imitating the old salesman Dave Singleman. Finally, Willy died without achieving the myth of the American Dream, and also failure is due to his weal personality.

Khaled Seaydoun: Death of a salesman

Arthur Miller in his play “the Death of a Salesman” aimed to discuss what is known as the American Dream. The writer seems to focus on the failure of the American Dream. Willy Loman and his family, his wife Linda and his two sons Happy and Biff, are the main characters of the play. They represent an example of a family that failed to turn that American Dream into reality. The remaining characters are relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. We can find Ben, Willy’s brother, their neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard, His boss Howard, and few secondary characters. Most of the characters are successful in their life due to different reasons, mainly hard work, determination, and luck sometimes. The play focuses on the main reasons for which Willy’s family failed to realize the American Dream. In fact, we can find many reasons related to social conditions, materialistic behavior, and an exerting overall situation. Willy’s downfall took place for some reasons.

First of all, he has some wrong beliefs about the American Dream. Willy thinks that just appearance traits are enough to assure success. He thinks that being physically strong and handsome are essential and sufficient traits to be successful. For example, he thought that many Universities will run behind his son Biff and admit him just because he was a good sport player. Although he was not admitted by the university because he failed the Math test, Willy did not get rid of that illusion. Another example is when Willy was always stressing on the fact that his son Biff should not have to worry because he is handsome to get that job. While his sons have blown up every job they had ever been working at, Willy was still considering that his sons can enjoy a successful business only if they could just manage to acquire the appropriate start-up capital.

Second, Willy has high expectations about people and life. He never admitted low profile jobs or moderate career targets. When he used to talk with his sons about their future job, he was stressing always on having very successful businesses. The examples he used to give to them were about the most successful and well known businesses like Lehman Brothers. Another example is concerning the people he chose as prototypes of success for himself and his sons. He was always giving examples about people who were able to make huge amount of monies or those famous players. In addition, Willy had kind of illusions about his relationship with people. He mixes personal and business interests. For example, when Howard denied his request for an office job, he just tried to put kind of emotional pressure on him when he reminded him about his father and their relations. Furthermore, when Charley offered him a job that he was badly in need of he refused. This refusal was purely for personal reasons, for the offer was for a comfortable and well paid job. His jealousy of Charley and his son Bernard were the main reasons behind rejecting the job offer.

Third, another major reason for Willy’s downfall is that he was greedy and unrealistic. Although he is considered to have an acceptable personal financial standing, he was not satisfied with that. For example, he almost has his mortgage totally paid, but he never looked for that as a positive point. Instead, he argued about being surrounded by high rise apartment buildings, which could be considered as a positive factor that may lead to the increase of his property value. As another example, he had his car in a period of time when few people had their cars, yet he looked to his car as scrap. In addition, he had his refrigerator, but he argued why he did not buy a better trade mark. Furthermore, Willy was untruthful towards himself, his sons, and his friends. For example, Willy deeply knows both his potential and that of his sons; however, he continues planning for unrealistic projects. While both Happy and Biff were declaring their failure in the several jobs they had, Willy was still suggesting huge and sophisticated projects for his sons to realize. Another example is when he told Charley that although he was borrowing some money, this was because he did not want his wife Linda to know that he withdrawn from the saving account that did not exist in reality.

In conclusion, the Death of a Salesman is a realistic play, which has dealt with the American Dream from different perspectives. Although this dream is realizable for some people, definitely it is not for all of them. While America is not an easy fortune for everybody, people who have the appropriate characteristics could make it. Willy failed to achieve that dream for many reasons, mainly because he had wrong beliefs about that dream, he had unrealistic expectations about people and circumstances, and he was untruthful and greedy. I think that any person has the right to dream and to find the niche on earth to achieve his dreams. However, to be able to achieve our dreams or to cope with failure, we should be truthful, realistic, determined and adaptable. In addition, we should know ourselves deeply and try to plan for our life plan accordingly.

NADEZDA FADEEVA: Work

There are many ways in the world to earn money. The best way to do it is to find not only the field which one is good but also the way which is right for you. I know many people who would like to set up their own businesses, and there are lots of benefits for them. Nevertheless, I prefer to work for others for some reasons.

First of all, working for others gives me more freedom. I can choose any direction I want. Moreover, if I recognize that I do not want to do it anymore, I can both change occupation and quit without big losses. My new working area depends on what I enjoy and not on the consumers’ demands strongly. Finally, I can take a long-term rest, if I feel I need it. I will be able neither worry nor care how the business is going while I am absent.

Furthermore working for others is safer. I cannot be sure in advance whether my business will go through economic crises or not. If I work in somebody’s big company, I have more chance to keep the job. Therefore, I will keep my income too. Moreover, stable financial position in the live directly affects anybody’s health. There are enough responsibilities and stressful situations in the life to add it by yourself.

And eventually I do not need initial investment. If I am going to work for others, I do not need starting capital. I cannot only spend all earned money right away whenever I want, but also do not apprehend whether I find investors or not. And, of cause, I do not need analytic capability to figure out what will be successful in real economic condition because my creativity does not work at this direction, it would be impossible for me to predict future pitfalls.

So, I am sure that earning money by working for others is the only right way for me. First of all, because it gives me more freedom to change occupation according to my mood. Second, I do not want to be responsible for all people whom I hire, because it would be sad for me to look at their eyes if I should lay them off in crises time. Third, it is almost impossible for me to accumulate my analytic capability and saving opportunity to gather even initial investment. Finally, I prefer to trust my life stability to somebody who is more educated for it. In conclusion, working for others satisfies my requirement and is convenient to my capabilities.

Tariq Batto: Modern Technology

During the last century, the technology was sophisticated through which the human being travelled to the Moon. Many approaches were pursued by researchers to achieve their goals. The two main pole countries (U.S.A and the previous U.S.S.R.) performed a lot of researches. In addition, gadgets, such as computers, cell-phone, vehicles for transportation, and other devices, are blessing, but some times they are curses. Modern technology prompts people to explore the world well, and it brings people together easily.

Modern technology has helped us to explore the world and other galaxies have taken place during the last five decades. For example, exploring the space and other planets by sending unmanned or manned space-craft or spaceships to identify the atmosphere or to be landed on the surface of planets. For instance the U.S. has a project to explore Mars. In 1960’s, the U.S.S.R sent a manned spaceship landed on the surface of the Moon and came back home safely. Other new technology was the invention of apparatuses and equipments to be used for predicting the weather which are very important to obtain information which are essential for the air and sea navigations, on the other hand, such apparatuses are also of value to predict disasters such as hurricanes, volcanoes. The sophisticated technology leads to the invention of atomic energy, which is very useful in many aspects, for instance, the production of electricity, for medical purposes in investigations and diagnosis diseases, or the treatment of certain cases such as cancer. All these uses of atomic energy are for peaceful applications.

Modern technology is also a blessing tool to bring people together, for example, people can communicate easily between them when they use the modern gadgets such as cell-phone, computers. Cell-phone is valuable, firstly, people speak between them all over the world; besides, mobiles could be used from any place not like the ordinary telephone. Secondly, the cell-phone is sort of entertainment ones can amuse himself. Thirdly, cell-phone could be used as a mini computer. Through the internet by using computers, people are chatting together instead of using the telephone. Moreover internet nowadays is very essential in out life, because people can contact the world to follow the researches and the progression in any field. The invention and manufacturing of planes, trains, cars, enabled people to be closer. These inventions were very developed during the he last hundred years. Air planes transport people form on continent to another during a numerous hours, while people before spent months in ships to reach their destinations. Trains and cars nowadays are the most vehicles used to transport people inside or outside the cities. People use trains and buses to reach their work places especially in large cities, others employ their cars to travel on vacations to spend an interesting period of time with their families. Finally, new technology evokes people to investigate the earth and other galaxies by inventing many inventions which allowed them to reach their successes, and also to facilitate people’s transportation to be closer than before.

Inventions from the first ancient human being till now were always in progress especially during the last century. Modern technology helped people to discover other planets in addition to our earth. In future, we will use a lot of new technologies to understand and explore the space. Modern technology could be blessing or curse. In my opinion it’s a mixed blessing, especially if it is used in a proper way for the humanity.

Tariq Batto: The Kite Runner

Tariq Batto – The Kite Runner.

The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini (San Francisco, Riverhead, 2003) is said to be the first novel written in English by an afghan writer. The story talks about the situation in Afghanistan from the late 1970’s to 1981, during the Soviet Union, the afghan community in Fremont, San Francisco, and finally the events, in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. The writer describes the tragedy, sufferance in Afghanistan, and ethnic differentiation between the afghan people during the last decades. The character of Hassan reveals the pain and suffering of the Afghanistan citizens.

The Kit Runner is a novel of strained family relationships between a son and Baba, his father, and between two brothers Amir and Hassan (Hassan was illegitimate half brother from his mother Sanabur and Baba). How they deal with guilt, forgiveness, and redemption. Amir is the main character in the story, Hassan was his friend / servant, a Hazaras living together in the same house. Baba was a successful businessman, well known as an anti-communist. On the other hand, Amir was very jealous of Hassan, because Baba admired Hassan more. Rahim Khan, Baba’s business partner he was real friend to Baba and Amir. Kite Running, in which children attempt to cut down each others kite strings. Amir won the local tournaments, Hassan shouted: “for you a thousand time times over … (86), ran for a mile to retrieve the kite. Assef a Pashtun teenager boy with his two friends attempt to take the kite from Hassan, who refused to give them the kite, finally he was assaulted sexually by Assef. Amir searched for Hassan, and hided when he heard Assef’s voice. He witnessed the rape but he was scared to help him. After words, Hassan and Amir kept a distance from each ither for some time. Amir forced Hassan to leave the house by framing him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. After the Russians invades Afghanistan, Amir and Baba escaped to Pakistan, and then to the USA. Later Baba died from lung cancer, Amir married an Afghan girl Soraya, they couldn’t have children. Amir received a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness, asking him to come to Pakistan, and told him: “come, there is a way to be good again” … (247). He also told Amir that Hassan and his wife were killed by Taliban, and their son Sohrab was put in am orphanage in Kabul. Lastly Rahim Khan told Amir that he called him to Pakistan for going to Kabul to recuperate Sohrab, and put him in a save orphanage in Pakistan. Finally, Amir went to Kabul and brought Sohrab with him to the USA. At the end of the novel, Amire flew the kite again with Sohrab, saying to Sorhab the same phrase Hassan said to Amir in the Past: “for you a thousand times over” … (476).

The Kite Runner illustrates the ethnic discrimination in Afghanistan, between Hazaras and Pashtun. The former are not educated, their children didn’t go to school; as a good example Hassan who was illitrae. While the Latter ,os of them were weel informed either by sending their children to the Mulla, or to schools as Amir when his father sent him to the Mulla, before going to school. Also there is a difference between the social status, for instance, the Hazaras were poor, the Pashtuns people called Hazaras mice-eating, flat-nosed, load carrying donkeys, and Amir heard some kids in his neighborhood those names to Hassan. From Hazaras history, the Hassan people tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns quelled them with extreme violence, many people were killed or driven from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. Further more, the Pashtuns were the majority and were Sunni Muslims, where as the Hasara were uneducated, most of their jobs were as servants or farmers serving the Pashtun people.

The Afghan people felt pain and distress during the last decades. In July 1973, a military coup took place to dismiss the King Zahir Shah who was on vacation. It was still a frightening time for the people of Kabul who always heard about the violent public disorders, and shooting in the streets. For six years, Mohammad Daovud Khan was the president and prime minister of Afghanistan. Then on April, 1978, he was violently over thorn by the people’s democratic party of Afghanistan, which was a communist party and held close relationship with the Soviet Union. In this coup Mohammad Daoud Khan was killed with his family, the country was governed by this party, which started to change many political and social laws in Afghanistan, including abolishing religious and traditional customs. These changes incensed many of afghan who believed and adhered to the traditional and religious laws. The Mujahedins (men engaged in war in the side of Islam) challenged the government to ask the help of the Soviet Union which occupied later Afghanistan in 1979. The occupation lasted a decade, during which the Afghan people suffered vigorously from the Russian Army. For example, Baba faced an event during his escaping with Amir from Kabul to Pakistan at the boarders. He lost his temper with a Russian solder when the solder asked a women traveling in the same truck, to take off her shawl. This behavior is not accepted among the Afghan people, and it is a shame and against the Islamic culture. After the withdrawal of Soviet Union troops form Taliban (Islamic mujahedins) converted Afghanistan into extreme Islamic state. They applied the Islamic rules on the people with exaggeration. Their cruel behaviors were against the real Islam. Hassan and his wife were victims of Taliban officials when Hassan refused to quit the house of Baba, where he lived with Rahim Khan. Taliban, being Sunni massacred Shiites including the Hazara people. They enacted laws of which those banning music and dance, restricting women’s rights. The most tragic plays were the frequent execution in Ghazi Stadium Theater. The Taliban used fear and violence to control the people of Afghanistan.

Khalid Hosseini, in this novel wanted to point the suffering of the afghan people during the last thirty years through the character of Hassan, who suffered a lot from his birth day till his murder with his wife in by in the hands of Taliban. If one reads between the lines, he/she can conclude that the novel contains a lot of melancholy moments and one can not ignore the propaganda that was injected between the story, a negative propaganda which sent through a message, to show the rape and violence in Afghanistan, which degrade the Afghan people. This message can propel people into thinking that Afghanistan is a country of wretchedness and filthiness. In my opinion there is a great exaggeration in describing the events in Afghanistan and the discrimination between the Hazaras and Pashtun. The propaganda which was infused in the novel might reveal the pro-American personality of writer to justify the invasion of the US to Afghanistan in September 2002.