Amir and his father have a very strained relationship even though the two of them are similar in many different ways. Amir tries his hardest to impress his father and when he acts opposite to how his father would want him to act he tries very hard to keep that hidden from his father as he does not want to ruin any chance he has of winning his father’s affections. In a similar way, Baba hides the mistakes he has made from Amir so that his impeccable reputation is not shattered in Amir’s mind. When Hassan is raped by Assef and Amir watches but does not intervene, he knows that if his father ever found out that he would never be able to win his fathers affections after such a horrible incident. His father made a mistake, 13 years before, that was just as awful as the mistake his son made years later. Baba is Hassan’s father. Baba had slept with Ali’s wife, who is like a brother to him, and he never told anyone. Baba and Amir both betrayed their loyalty and trust to those who they were raised to consider as brothers. Although Amir does not find out about Baba’s mistake until years later, it does help to lessen some of his guilt to know that just like his father did, he can move on past his mistake and become a better man. Baba made up for his mistake by taking Ali and Hassan in, giving them a place to sleep as well as providing them with food and clothes. Amir decides that he can make up for his mistake by taking in Hassan’s orphaned child and giving him a safe place to stay in America. My father and I also have a very strained relationship even though the two of us are also similar in a lot of ways. I keep a lot of stuff from my dad that would ruin my image in his mind and I know that he keeps stuff from me that would ruin my image of him. When my parents divorced and my dad got a girlfriend, he kept that information from me as long as possible because he knew that it would ruin my image of him as a loving husband to my mom. Similar to this, when I hit the ditch and wrecked my car, I tried to keep it from my father for as long as possible so that i did not wreck his sweet image of me either.
HeLa Questions
1) Is she still alive?
Although her cells are being used and are still alive, I don’t think that this means that Henrietta is still alive. I don’t think that her cells count as her as a human being. Those cells don’t have emotions or memories of Henrietta’s existence, so although they are still living that does not mean that she is still alive.
2) What is life?
Life is everything in between the day we were born to the day we die. Although we are technically alive when we are conceived, we are not our own separate being. We have to be able to act independently in order for it to be considered living.
3) Who owns life?
We each own our own life. We get to decide how to spend our lives and what to do with them. No one knows when our life is going to end or how it is going to end.
4) Who decides who manipulates life?
The government has decided who gets to manipulates life. Doctors, surgeons, anyone else smart enough to get a doctorate or graduate from medical school and execute life-dependent treatment manipulate life.
5) Is the replication of human cells appropriate?
The replication of human cells is more than appropriate, it is a necessary measure in order to guarantee further advancements in science and medicine. We rely on cells to test out new drugs and procedures so that we don’t have to test on animals or humans. The replication of cells is more appropriate than the replication of humans or animals and yet we still try to replicate humans and animals.
6) What is the responsibility of science?
Science is responsible for the advancements in technology and medicine.
Importance of Art (Metafiction)
Metafiction is a literary device used to draw attention to a work status as an artifact. It poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. Metafiction plays an important role in my life as a grade twelve student, or to any other student, who studies English as well as anyone who has an interest in or teaches English. For individuals who do not fall into any of those categories, I don’t think art is important to them or is significant in their lives other than maybe as decoration. When I am outside the classroom, I don’t look at a picture and think of questions as to how that picture is ironic or how it is a self-reflection of myself. Although I don’t find art significant outside of the classroom in my own life, that does not mean it is the same for others. Some people find art as a way to express themselves rather than expressing themselves vocally. Others find it fascinating and like to analyze pieces of art, finding the meaning behind the art and relating it to their own personal situations. The role that metafiction plays in life depends entirely on the individual. It could have a huge impact on their life or it could play a minor role, all depending on the individuals interest in art.
Paradox
Man of La Mancha
Don Quixote- “Facts are the enemy of truth.”
This paradox leads us to believe that truth and facts are similar. Mainly in the sense that both have to be believed by all. In order for something to be true or factual, it has to be generally agreed upon that it is so by the majority of people. Unlike a truth, facts can be measured. Can a truth be measured? If it can be measured, than how do you measure a truth? A fact, such as the correct answer to a math problem, can be figured out by solving the problem. Can a truth be solved in a similar way? A fact is something that is known whereas a truth is more of a belief. If someone lies the only way to measure the truth is by judging how much you trust the person to be telling the truth. Although if the truth is related to a fact, then our belief in facts over truth can cloud our judgement of what is true and what is not true. “Facts are the enemy of truth” is contradictory because for the most part facts and truth are almost the same thing. The answer to a math problem is not only true, it is factual. The truth that someone is telling is not only the truth it is also a fact. They are so interconnected that it is near impossible for facts to be the enemy of truth.
Kite Runner Sentences
Quote:
“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.” (Pg. 1, Ch. 1)
My sentence:
“He became who he is today at the start of grade 10, on a humid sunless day in the spring of 2012.”
Quote:
“Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands.” (Pg. 12, Ch. 3)
My sentence:
“Rumor has it she once fought an alligator in New Orleans with no weapons.”
Quote:
“In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that.” (Pg. 25, Ch. 4)
My Sentence:
“After all, I was a woman and he was a man, I was lesser and he was more, and nothing was ever going to make us equal.”
Quote:
“The sky was seamless and blue, the snow so white my eyes burn.” (Pg. 48, Ch. 6)
My Sentence:
“The ocean was waveless and green, the sand so hot my feet hurt.”
Kite Runner Response
In the Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses a narrative style with lots of dialogue, actions and events to tell Amir’s story. I enjoy the way the Hosseini writes. More specifically the way that he describes events and the relationships between characters. Amir and Hassan’s friendship is mainly one-sided and it’s not conventional in the least. The boys grew up together, fed from the same breast and spoke their first words together. Their first words became important to their personalities later in life. Hassan’s first word was “Amir” and Amir’s first word was “Baba”. Hassan dedicates himself to making Amir happy while Amir has an intense desire to impress his father, regardless of the impacts it might have on others lives. The scene where Hassan is being raped and degraded is so well descripted that I almost understand the emotions that must have overcome Amir and Hassan. Amir never admits to being Hassan’s friend, but that does not make it right for Amir towatch as Hassan is being degraded by Assef. If Amir’s main goal is to make his father proud than what is a better way than to stand up for Hassan? If Baba and Ali had been in that situation then Baba would not have hesistated in saving Ali from being defiled. This makes me wonder if Amir’s true goal is to impress his father by following his fathers footsteps or to impress his father while creating his own path. The symbol of a kite is very prominent in the first section of this novel. The kite, flying in the air, to me represents freedom while the cutting and fighting of the kites represents how easily that freedom can be severed. This relates to Hassan and how his “freedom” was easily severed by Assef. It also ends up having a lot to do with Amir and his regret over the choice he made and how easily that choice destroyed his friendship with Hassan. I think the author does a very good job of telling Amir’s story. He uses very detailed events that occured in Amir’s life to explain the emotions that were felt and the changes that resulted because of those events and emotions. This is a very effective piece of literature because it is not all about good, happy things. It discusses the bad, unhappy things that we are all too familiar with in reality.
Biology MC Questions
Mitosis-
Where does mitosis take place?
a) sex cells
b) somatic (body) cells
c) autosomes
d) your toes
What is the correct sequence in which Mitosis occurs?
a) prophase, anaphase, telophase, cytokinesis, interphase, metaphase
b) metaphase, prophase, anaphase, telophase, cytokinesis, interphase
c) interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, cytokinesis
d) interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, cytokinesis, telophase
Meiosis-
Abnormal meiosis can result in _______
a) 8 babies
b) gametes lacking or having too many chromosomes
c) nondisjunction disorders
d) both b and c
Meiosis occurs in _______
a) testis and ovaries
b) somatic cells
c) ovaries
d) testis
Non-disjunction-
A trisomy in chromosome 21 is referred to as…
a) Turner syndrome
b) Down syndrome
c) Patau syndrome
d) Edwards syndrome
Select the statement which is not true regarding Patau Syndrome:
a) cleft lip
b) heart defects
c) trisomy 13
d) infertile
Cloning & Telomeres-
What is cloning?
a) reproduction
b) variation of traits
c) asexual reproduction
d) identical DNA
Which is true about telomeres?
a) cap at the end of chromosomes
b) linked to cancer cells
c) molecular “clock” for aging
d) all of the above
Basis of Heredity-
Which scientist proposed the theory of pangenesis?
a) Gregor Mendel
b) Albert Einstein
c) Antony van Leeuwenhoek
d) Aristotle
True breeding can be exhibited by:
a) AA
b) aa
c) Aa
d) AA or aa
Monohybrid/Test Crosses-
If Stacey is homozygous dominant (AA) and Devon is heterozygous (Aa), what are their chances of having a child that is homozygous recessive?
a) 0%
b) 50%
c) 25%
d) 100%
When both parents are heterozygous the ratio is always….
a) 3:1
b) 1:2:1
c) 1:1:1:1
d) 1:1:2
Thought Paper – Is the replication of human cells appropriate?
The replication of human cells, to further advance and develop science, is appropriate. If they did not have cloned cells to test on, scientists would have to test on live patients and their cells, which could result in some health problems not to mention heated moral debates. Cells are living, but they are incapable of feeling emotion or knowing that they are being replicated. Copying cells will not hurt anyone. Humans produce cells everyday to make up for older cells that need to be replaced. Therefore, if a scientist takes a few cells from us, they will be produced again by our bodies naturally. The replication of human cells is not only appropriate, but also a necessary measure in order to advance scientists in discoveries in the medical field.
Vocabulary
Antithesis-
a contrast or opposition between two things:
“the antithesis between occult and rational mentalities”
Foil-
prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding:
“a brave policewoman foiled the armed robbery”
Caricature-
make or give a comically or grotesquely exaggerated representation of (someone or something):
“he was caricatured on the cover of TV Guide”
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