blog 15

Sarah Silverman is the most commonly misunderstood comedian because like Sam Anderson wrote in Irony Maidenshe “doesn’t insulate herself with fictional characters.” Dave Chappelle and “Borat” are fictional in a more obvious kind of way. In Chappelle’s video about “Native Americans” the situation in which he describes himself is clearly fictional, and as opposed to Silverman he exposes the stereotype in a completely different light. In other words, instead of making a stereotypical joke about a certain group he completely changes what the audience thinks he is going to say into a different subject. Silverman on the other hand, is more blunt and crude in the way she expresses her jokes. Just like Chappelle and Silverman, “it’s very important to understand that Sacha Baron Cohen doesn’t feel the way that Borat feels, and that is why it is comedy.” They are just people that are “[holding] up a mirror to American society.” They are all fake characters who are playing a typical ignorant member of society and this is exactly how mega-bigotry works, it “makes you face the things you don’t want to face and the easiest way to face it is through humor.” The audience has to know that these subjects are actual social problems and the only thing that these comedians are trying to do is show how society reacts to them. They are acting and it is not for real although it can easily be mistaken.

blog 14

In highschool i took AP english my junior year, we had to write an extensive research paper comparing Albert Camus' "The Stranger" with Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." We spent months preparing this essay, it was a comparative essay though, not an exploratory although we did not have to come to an actual conclusion just like it is done in an exploratory essay. We had to do many drafts, and every two weeks we would have a classmate revise our work. Sometimes i even had to revise my paper because after asking a classmate to read it, was not as easily conveying my message as i intended it too. There other strategies though that I have not tried in making my essay more effective. One of these is talking to other writers and getting an idea on what they intend to do with their essays. Call it a lack of trust, but I’m not really eager to try the advice of others if their not teachers. Still I do acknowledge that it could be a very effective form of redrafting a paper and should try it sometime.

blog 13

Christopher Leigh's essay was very clear, concise and organized He brings our attention with an example of a well known act of violence, the Columbine shooting, and how it should not go by unnoticed. He supports his argument by stating how school should not be worrying about the punishment, but rather the actions needed to further prevent such events, such as counseling services. Christopher believes that profiling should only occur when violence has already occurred in the school in question. His research, whether or not to profile students, did not indicate a clear conclusion on whether or not schools should actively profile their students. The writer's essay was ordered because he answered the questions that the reader already has going through his or her mind when they are reading the essay. The essay is organized and flows from point to point in an orderly fashion resulting in an excellent exploratory essay. I like exploratory essays more than a rhetorical analysis because it does not answer a question directly, but rather furthers our thinking and encourages the reader to engage in the writing and come up with their own conclusion. Christopher did not reach a traditional conclusion and this intrigued me so much I actually thought about it more than I actually thought I would, rather than just ignore it in favor of doing something more enjoyable.

blog 12

I was born in Mexico City, my whole family is Mexican. I came to Miami when I was 12 and i was so happy to finally leave that crowded city. I go back maybe 3 times a year to visit my family and friends, and it isn't until now that i begin to realize the horrible situation that my fellow Mexicans are suffering. Poverty is a huge issue in that city, it is slowly growing and there are no opportunities for achieving a better life. Children have to leave their schools because they have to work in the streets in order for them to have enough money to eat that night. In almost every stop light you will see a group of children dressed as clowns trying to perform a worthy spectacle in those 2 minutes that the cars are stopped; they later hurry to collect what people are willing to give them. It is genuinely heart breaking to see the exasperated desperation of these poor children that should not have to be working. Mexico City is one of the biggest cities in the world; imagine how many red lights there are. Corruption is a major component to this devastating issue; not only by the government but by society itself. The parents of these hardworking children are known to take all their money away at the end of the day so they can indulge in their drugs or alcohol. This is why many of these kids decide to abandon their homes (if they can even be considered homes) and live underground. There are huge communities of children living under the sewers; this becomes the tomb of many of them due to the unsanitary conditions and the lack of nutrition. In desperate times, the leader of their communities have to steal paint thinner or even highly toxic glue for them to inhale so the hunger wont seem that penetrating. Mexico does not have the means to offer help to the children, it has been a growing problem and it seem that people have gotten used to it. I have not gotten used to see hunger in my country. When I was 13 and I went back for Christmas I remember that a nine year old girl was came knocking on our door, you could barely see her skin for most of it was covered in dirt. Her eyes were humid and she offered to clean our backyard in exchange of food. My mom took her in and we all ate at the table, she then went to my room to take a shower and I gave her some clean clothes. She seemed skeptical to the whole situation and remembered to keep her distance, but when my mom brought out my dolls we both forgot that this uncomfortable situation was happening and spent hours playing until nighttime came and she said she had to go back to her mom. I never saw her again and it breaks my heart to know that the next day maybe she did have to clean a backyard in exchange of food.

blog 11

Conclusion
This song was a huge success when it was released and it is now a legendary masterpiece that will be forever remembered as Queen’s greatest creation. It has been linked to Freddy Mercury’s homosexuality, to his realization that he had A.I.D.S, to his relationship with his mother, and of course many have interpreted it in many different ways just like I did now. The music by itself can tell a different story, but just like Freddy Mercury said in an interview with a radio broadcaster after countless times of being asked what Bohemian Rhapsody talks about “It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them.” Regardless of what the real meaning is, what is clear is that it made a huge social impact and it continues to puzzle and amaze generations now.

revised conclusion
The music by itself can tell a different story, but just like Freddy Mercury said in an interview with a radio broadcaster after countless times of being asked what Bohemian Rhapsody talks about “It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them.” The main character of the song can be a parallel image of Freddy Mercury himself, or he can just be a meaningless man telling a story of desperation and acceptance. Mercury experienced a difficult war with himself and his public in approving his sexuality but as fans can agree it wasn’t his sexual orientation that defined him as an artist, it was his unquestionable talent and passion for music that made Bohemian Rhapsody remain in history as a masterpiece.

The main character is a young man that is suffering an internal conflict of existentialism. He has murdered a man and later attempts to commit suicide in order to alleviate his conscious. The first stanza of the song begins with melodramatic melody. The vocals resemble a fantasy, as if he were in a dream. The setting of the first part of the song is undefined, but he is laying down on the floor in the verge of dying; “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” he asks this rhetorical question to depict his attitude of confusion and delirium, he begins to doubt the reality of his situation which up to this point the audience still does not know. He continues explaining that he is “caught in a landside,” landslide can be interpreted in two different ways but both interconnecting with the main theme of the song. It can mean that gravity is pushing him down on a slope to misery or even to hell (foreshadowing the trial), it can also mean “a majority of votes for one side” which is also foreshadowing the trial where the demons want his soul to be punished. He claims that there is “no escape from reality,” stating that he wants to escape means that he feels trapped in reality which is the harsh truth and how he has to face consequences. He then shifts from having a rhetorical conversation into referring to a specific you, which later the audience finds out that he is speaking to his mother. He tells her to “open your eyes, look up to the skies and see; I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy” this is the first statement where the character contradicts himself for he refers himself as a “poor boy” but when he asks for no sympathy it just emphasizes that he has done something shameful. He justifies his statement by saying that he is “easy come, easy go; little high, little low. Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me” this perfectly exemplifies his existentialist attitude; this character is often compared to Albert Camus’s “The stranger” because of this.
There is a shift of tone form the first stanza to the second; the conversation is now directed to his mother specifically. “Mama, just killed a man,” he says this in a very apologetic tone, this is where he confesses what in the first stanza had him caught in a landslide. “Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead” he describes how he committed the murder; this causes the audience to realize that the character has gone from being a victim (poor boy) to a murderer. He continues to address his mother, “Mama, life had just begun, but now I’ve gone and thrown it all away,” he can be talking about how he threw his own life away or the life of the man he just killed. His mother is a symbol for the character’s need of acceptance, a mother is supposed to give unconditional love; she can also be a symbol for being his main source of guilt. The singer begins to build the intensity of his voice in the last few words of this sentence and the music begins to slightly change. This moves the mood from being calm and depressing to a more passionate sense of remorse. “Mama, ooh, didn’t mean to make you cry,” he knows that “mama” is suffering for his attempt to kill himself (which up to this point the audience still does not know) and by the fact that he has committed murder; this is why he tells her “If I’m not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.” This is the first time that he hints his suicide. By saying “if” the audience doubts whether or not he will commit suicide. The fact that he repeats that “nothing really matters” links back to his existentialism and how his life is not important to him either.
The intensity of his voice calms down once more as the third stanza begins. The mood returns to being apologetic but this time there is a hint of tragedy in his voice. “Too late, my time has come,” this is a declaration that he is about to die, the fatality of this sentence contributes to the beginning of the climax. He continues to describe how it “Sends shiver down my spine, body’s aching all the time,” the sleepless nights caused by guilt could be the reason why his body hurt, and the shivers are a common thing when a person is about to do something tragic (in this case, suicide). “Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go, got to leave you all behind and face the truth;” his punishment is the “truth” that he refers to in this last sentence. He refers to his mother one last time but there is a shift in his voice, there is a tone of desperation in where he says “Mama, ooh, I don’t want to die, I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.” This is a major contradiction, he tells her that he does not want to die and yet he has attempted to commit suicide and is about to die. The audience begins to see how the character is not stable and how he is confused as to what he wants.
As Mercury sings the rising line "I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all," the band builds in intensity, leading up to a guitar solo by May that serves as the bridge from ballad to opera, it can also be the bridge from the living (reality) to the dead (fantasy). The music is an interpretation of his soul’s journey up to purgatory where the demons and saints will fight for his soul. “I see a little silhouette of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango,” the saints are introduced in this stanza. They see the main character for the first time and call him Scaramouche. Scaramouche is a theatrical character from the Italian form of theatre called “Comedia de’ll arte,” it was invented by Tiberio Fiorelli and the character is known for his cowardice. Fandango is a Spanish dance, all this implies is t hat they are mocking t he seriousness of the situation. The demons are introduced next, they enter the scene with “Thunder bolts of lighting, very, very fright’ning me,” the main character I has now been presented with the two sides that will be fighting for his soul. “(Galileo.) Galileo. (Galileo.) Galileo, (Galileo.) Figaro,” the battle between the saints and the demons has begun; the Galileos that are in parenthesis are said by the saints and then are answered by the demons. Galileo is a historical figure that is known for his astronomical and mathematical discoveries. (?) Figaro is another chracter form a “comedia de’ll arte” he is from the opera “Le Barbier de Séville;” this character is known for being a clever liar, moral and yet unscrupulous, good humored, brave but above all cynical, just like the main character has proven to be. Then the dialogue shifts from the demons and saints to the main character, he justifies himself by saying once more “Magnifico. I’m just poor boy nobody loves me.” This time however, he adds the phrase “nobody loves me” which can be linked to his existentialism and to his mother. The saints respond to this statement by defending him “He’s just a poor boy from a poor family, spare him his life from this monstrosity,” the “monstrosity” that they refer is his soul being possessed by the demons and living his life in hell for eternity. The character then interferes and pleads for his freedom, “easy come, easy go; will you let me go?” this moment is crucial to the characters’ development, he has shifted from the “nothing really matters” attitude to wanting his freedom and life. He tries to put the situation into his perspective and point of view by saying “easy come, easy go.” Freddy Mercury descends from a Muslim family, this could explain why he chose to allude to one of the gods of the religion; “Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.” These are the demons fighting to keep his soul, Bismillah means to “feel sympathy or pity” it can also mean “in the name of god.”


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First of all, i haven't finished the essay. I don't have an introduction or conclusion, this is because still didn't know where i was going with the essay. I made a mistake in dissecting the song line by line and analyzing every specific stanza. What i have to do to revise my paper is to first find my thesis statement, I have to find the argument that I'm going to make throughout the whole essay and then i have to incorporate the different factors of the song. Not only the lyrics but how do they affect the public now and h ow did they affect them in 1975 when this song was released. It is also important to talk more about the music and how it integrates with telling the story. The essay now seems very technical there is no flow with the words or sentences, i have to change it from being just lyrics analysis to a complete song analysis. Some ways of doing this is my looking at my other classmates essays and seeing how the structure should be, it is also important for me to do more research on the history of the song so i know how it affected the public and the reaction that it got in 1975.

The first setting of my story in my opinion could be in a battlefield, the protagonist has just murdered a man in war. This is important because he is addressing his mother but he is not with her, he is having somewhat of a rhetorical conversation. The tone is very melancholic and depressing, the atmosphere is dull and weary. When he kills himself the setting changes and from being in a place where reality is present, the story shifts to a more fantasy-like setting. He goes to purgatory where there is a trial to see whether his soul should live or if the demons should take him back to hell. The atmosphere changes to more of an intense discussion between the saints and demons, the music is much more upbeat and opera-like feeding even more to the fantasy feel of the song. Towards the end of the song the setting sifts back to the battlefield again, this is like if the song made a full circle even though there is no resolution, the song ends with the boy stating that "nothing really matters." I don't think necessarily that the time changes because everything happens in the present except the murder of the man that triggered this whole conflict.
the main character is obviously the boy that goes through this dramatic conflict and the rest of the characters influence him greatly into committing the decision that he does. The man that he killed drives him to commit suicide, and i also think the mother had somewhat of a role in this too because since he apologizes she can be a symbol for his guilt and maybe for the rest of society. When he is in trial the saints are trying to save his soul but the demons want him to go to hell, they play the most important role in deciding how the main character reacts. After an intense argument between the demons and saints he finally breaks free leaving everything behind him and deciding that he is worth a lot more than he originally thought he was("I'm just a poor boy") this is where the character makes a transformation caused by the other characters in the story, but a few moments later he is back in reality laying on the floor where he just attempted to commit suicide saying that nothing really matters to him.