The Man without a face

"How does Norstadt arrive at the moral certainty that he can trust McLeod despite the fear and doubt that is raised in him by the rumors? Why is it so important for McLeod that Norstadt not "cheat" on the problem of using his freedom to decide on his own whether the rumors are true?"

In the movie, I think he overall believed in their friendship and he did not care about with others thought of McLeod.  This is proved when he lied to McLeod about telling his mom he was coming to him for tutoring. He really wanted to keep coming to him for help despite the fact that his mom and the rest of the people in town disliked him. This movie is a lot like the world today. So many people judge other’s from how they look and they don’t try to get to know them.  I think this applies to this movie because the people in the town judge him by his face and they believe every rumor they hear about him. No one tried to reach out to McLeod and actually have a conversation with him excerpt Norstadt. Also I believe that Norstadt’s family had a role in his trust in McLeod.  His family seemed like they hated him and he felt like he wasn’t really part of the family. In the movie he even said he lives with all smart females and that he is the retard of the family. For this feeling he had about himself, I think caused him to search for help and ultimately find McLeod.  And when he formed a friendship with him, he began to love him more than his family. He said in the movie that he is the only person he can come to talk to about things in his life. So, this is why Norstadt trusted McLeod despite the rumors he heard.

It was important to McLeod that Norstadt to not “cheat” on the problem of using his freedom to decide on his own whether the rumors are true for many reasons. I think he felt like he shouldn’t be like the others in the town and not judge him on what he’s heard but the friendship they had.  Also since McLeod taught him, he wanted Norstadt to trust his abilities and what he has learned from him. Norstadt asked him on the beach if the rumors were true that he molested one of his pupils and McLeod did not answer because he wanted him to think for himself and not for him to give him the answer or cheat as he said it. It is kind of similar to the beginning of the movie when McLeod asked Norstadt to write an essay when he begins tutoring lessons to him. When he reads the essay, he knew he plagiarized it so he makes him wright it over again. This scene was very reminiscent of the one on the beach because McLeod knew Norstadt could figure out himself rather than cheat his way out of it. Overall, what I got out of  this movie is a great theme of tolerance toward others, and to have confidence in myself. I think this because of the way that Norstadt was accepting of McLeod when no one in town gave him a chance. Also I think McLeod showed tolerance toward Norstadt because he always believed in him even when he didn’t believe in himself.

What does it mean to know?

What it means to know something can mean many things. It can mean that you learn certain things in our lives that stick with us. Most of these things come from what we learned from our parents. So in other words what we know is what we have learned. I believe this because when we know something, and we become accustomed to thinking about it we learn it. Then it becomes second nature to us and we will be able to teach someone else what we have learned. Also to know something can mean we can understand very well and gain knowledge others cannot. So in other words someone who comprehends will always be a couple thoughts ahead of someone that isn't. Also to know something can mean that we learn things by ourselves from our own experiences. For example, if you go  eat out at a restaurant you never been to and you like it, you will remember and "know" where it is a want to come back. You will remember and know where it is because it was your experience going out and eating at that restaurant. In conclusion, I believe to know something is from being learned, or an experience.

"Cathedral" Short Story Blog Post 7

Brief Summary: So, this story has three characters which are the narrator, his wife, and his wife's blind free. Basically the blind man's wife had died and he is going to meet with the narrator's wife at her house and the narrator is reluctant to have the blind man over.

1. The narrator is not looking forward to the visit of the blind man because he resents the relationship he has with his wife and he disturbs him.
2. I think it is possible to read the wife's experience of the blind man touching her face as to being able to be "seen" by him because she believed that he could see her anyway through her emotionally and when he touched her she felt it even more. I think her writing poetry after that experience related to her desire to be seen because she believed that she wasn't truly being "seen" in her marriage like she was when she talks with the blind man. 3. And I think this had to do with her attempted suicide culminated from feeling lonely in her marriage and separated because of her ability to not be able to "see'. I think receiving another's friend means that you are able to accept new things and accept other people and be friends.
4. Although he could not see her physically, I think Robert could see Beulah emotionally in the same way he could see the narrator's wife. What it means to see and to be seen are two different things.  The story has a great theme of this concept. A blind man goes into a narrow minded house and opens his eyes. Before the blind man came the narrator could only see selfishly even though he can physically see. In other words he could only be seen because he was blinded by his own mentality, and Robert made him be able to see in a different way.
5. I think the characters smoke pot because the author wanted to showcase the positive and negative possibilities of smoking weed. Negative because of the effects of the drugs but positive because from smoking together, they were able to form a bond that led to them drawing the cathedral together.
6. What the churches reveal about what the culture thinks about God, is like a cathedral which promotes accepting new people and new ideas.
7.  The narrator has difficulty describing a cathedral because he is not religious. What he sees when his eyes are closed at the end of the story is a deeper understanding of himself and his life, and he realizes he doesn't need to open his eyes to "see" it.

The Experience of "Freedom" Extra Credit Blog Post:

An experience when I feel free is whenever I listen to music. I don't know what it is about but when I listen to music I feel like it inspires me and makes me feel like I am able to accomplish anything. Also, music can stick with you throughout the day and make you sing it in our heads. And I think this contributes to me being inspired by the music and helps me become "free". So, in my opinion the experience of "freedom" is achieved through the music you listen to and your ability to act like your power is unlimited.

Wonder: Blog post 6

To me wonder is the ability of thinking and looking at something in an amusing way because when I look at something and I like it, I am amused and I want to know more about it. For example if I am six years old and I look at a memorial like the Martin Luther King Memorial in D.C, I would wonder about the meaning of it and its possibilities. Since I'm six years old I might not understand what the monument stood for and I might just think it was just a cool looking statue. So, in other words since I would be younger my imagination would be more wider because I have not learned  things yet. And when we get older, our imagination and wonder becomes less because we are more acquitted with reality. I believe "Concepts create idols, only wonder knows" means that people cant create imagery, and that you have to wonder to actually know. I think this is true because people that try to fake imagining things won't have the ability to wonder.