Tyranny, Injustice and Self-Determination

Tyranny: Being ruled by a ruler who is cruel and abuses his power.
Injustice: Acting in an unfair and wrong way.
Self-Determination: Acting and choosing what to do without someone others influence or impact.

Tyranny, injustice and self-determination are things that are represented in the book Animal Farm. Tyranny is shown by the pigs, who abuse their power. In chapter three, page 25 they order that the apples are only to be eaten by pigs and the pigs the the cow's milk, "... Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve out health." This the pigs say to explain why they get the apples and milk, of course this is not the truth. Injustice can also be represented with the previous example, the pigs get all the apples and the milk, but the other farm animals don't get any. Also, the pigs don't work on the fields at all, they only give commands to the other animals, but they still get as much of the crops as they want, this is unfair and wrong. Self-determination is shown in the first and second chapters where the farm animals plan the rebellion and when the rebellion actually happens. They want to rule themselves and be free from Mr. Jones, so they drive him out, this is an example of self-determination. As you can see, the farm animals have experienced tyranny, injustice, and self-determination.

WW1 Poem- Survive Another Day

Survive Another Day

Blood, death, gas,

Running out to the trenches

The smell of sweat, fear and death does not pass

BOOM

We were dropping dead at all edges, like dried leafs falling from a tree

Glancing around, making sure that we don’t miss bomb blast or gun shot.

Fear, weapons, destruction,

Gun shots came from every direction,

And cries for help from everywhere,

The weapons are monsters, waiting to tear us apart

Soldiers were hiding and fighting,

Doing their best to survive another day.

Alliances, hopes, dreams

Britain, France, Russia- the Triple Allies,

Germany, Austro-Hungary, Italy- the Central Power Alliance,

We all were fighting for the same reasons,

Shattered dreams, and hope.

The sound of the whistle that marks the start

SSSSSSSSSS

It wasn’t the first time we heard it, there was no time to think

Running as fast as the speed of light, knowing that our time is running out,

We tried to cross the battle field

Shouts, cries, death

But we weren’t giving up, not giving up,

Only our pride stood in the way,

But we weren’t giving up, never.

Pictures from:

http://www.chemical-corps.org/history/images/GasAttack-%20WWI%20(538x406).jpg

http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin07/imag0696.jpg

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Images/0377.jpg

http://www.aeragon.com/00/01/WwiBattlefield-420.jpg

http://www.besmark.com/ww1battl.gif

Compulsory Military Service?

In Germany, 9 months of compulsory military service are mandatory. First of all, this is needed for if we didn't make this mandatory, no one would join and our military would be too small. So, if a country declared war against us, we would not be ready. Also, you would learn certain self defense techniques which would help you if you were ever to be stalked, raped, or anything like that. Lastly, it would also help your physical fitness and your education. If you go to military you have to exercise, which would keep you fit, also, learning all the things about war and fighting helps you understand those things. As you can see, compulsory military service is needed because it expandes the military, teches you self defense, keeps you fit and helps your education.

picture from: http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/graphics/nw_german_army_sk_01.jpg

Great Powers Game Reflection

The main visual elements in this cartoon are men, from different countries, handing each other treaties that are or will be signed to form alliances. Then there is also some people in the middle who are the great powers, then there is the medium strong countries, and then there is countries that aren't even part of the circle of allies. This political cartoon is about forming alliances.
The Cartoonist's opinion about this issue is that if you have allies, you are well of and about to get rich, but if you do not have allies, you are weak and poor, and not about to become a great power. The countries(people) outside the circle are crying and poor looking, this is evidence some in the cartoon that supports my opinion on how the cartoonist feels. The cartoonist could have emphasized the alliance treaties and made it even more clear that the countries in the circle are shunning the outside countries, for whatever reason.
This cartoon relates to the Great Powers Game because in the game we formed alliances and discussed with our allies who we should attack and stay away from and also who we should bring to our side, and confide in.

Great Powers Game Debrief

My empire was Germany. Building my empire was quite frustrating at times but we were one of the great powers, so we had a small advantage. Our empire was quite strong compared to most of the countries, but there were stronger countries that could have easily overtaken Germany. In the long run, it was probably more important to buy armies. It was more important because if someone declared war against you, you need your armies to win and if you do have enough to win, you can get the defeated countries armies, navies, industries, and colonies. Then you would be stronger and you probably wouldn't be attacked the next year(round) because you are so strong, that year you can use to buy more colonies and industries so you become rich.
We did well with forming alliances and winning wars, we also bought colonies, industries, navies, and armies thoughtfully. The thing I would have done differently is deciding who to be allies with and when to join a war or not. We had successful and unsuccessful allies, this helped us choose whether to help a country or not and learn how much information to share with your allies. Overall, my alliances were helpful, though one of our allies declared war against us, Germany, which in the end did not hurt us, but the attacking country. So, I wouldn't say that all of our alliances could be trusted. The three things I learned are that conflict and war is hurtful to your own country as well as others, you can't rely on your allies, and that you have to think before declaring a war, and then maybe loosing everything.

Image Location: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/files/2008/01/pp_uk_06.jpg

Second Quarter Reflection and Goals for Third Quarter

In the second quarter of school we had to make three goals. My first goals was to get a good grade on my first 5 paragraph long research paper, this goal I achieved. My second goal was to improve my writing skills, to use more vivid and strong verbs. This goal I did not complete, though I did improve a bit, I still need to work on this skill. Lastly, my third goal was to improve my grammatical skills, like punctuation and vocabulary, this skill I did improve. As you can see, I met two of my goals but still need to work on one of them.
My third quarter goals are to improve my writing skills, improve my geography skills, and to improve my vocabulary (vivid verbs, etc.). These goals I will work on at home and in class.