Noah's English 11H Blog

Ibn Tufayl offers two physically and ideologically competing accounts for Hayy's creation. The first parallels the birth of Moses: an infant cast away into a river to sail the waters. This is supposed to draw a religious connection to Hayy's birth. The second account of creation is that of nature: a spontaneous generation into the world alone on the island. The former emphasizes religion while the latter puts a spotlight on the power of nature. I think Ibn Tufayl is engaging the reader to determine the source of knowledge. Moses and religious doctrine posit that knowledge comes from god—god is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, so god will guide and educate you. Whereas the naturally spontaneous account of creation emphasizes how nature is what educates humankind. We are experimentally educated beings—i.e. we react to empirical circumstances based on similar feelings we have experienced in the past. Therefore, the entity that will educate Hayy is nature—he will learn from ...

What most interested me was the different materials used throughout history and geography, as well as the different book forms there are. Of the books we saw, texts were written on stone, papyrus, parchment, and, finally, modern paper. And there were scrolls, accordion folds, codex, and modern books. I wonder to what level the book material and type influenced the survival of different texts. A lot of our perception of the past is based on the texts we have from different regions and time periods. However, that perception may be off-balance based on how many and in what condition books were able to survive. We likely know more about some cultures rather than others because those cultures had better materials for writing things down. The librarians said that papyrus is particularly delicate and often only survives in fragmented pieces. That means that cultures and time periods that predominantly wrote in papyrus are likely underrepresented and barely understood due to a lack of texts wh...

It was interesting to see both how the assignment of a single line can so drastically change the meaning behind an entire play and how historians go about figuring out how to assign the line to a character. Depending on who says the line, it changes the meaning while also showing the deeper motivations behind the speaker. This shows how important the speaker is in a text. It is easy to forgo discussions on speaker in a play because line assignments make it very clear who is speaking. However, disagreement on this line shows how important it is to dive deep into the meaning of a certain character saying a specific line.  Either the lecture or one of the articles (I cannot remember which) mentioned that one way to assign the line to a character was to look at the structure and format of other plays during that time period. Generally, in Ancient Greek plays, dialogue was between two people. So, to have Antigone enter into dialogue that, until that point, was only between Creon and Ism...

I'm most interested right now in researching other contemporary books that are adaptations of Ancient Greek plays. It was captivating to see how similar and different modern society is from Ancient Greece. Shamsie was able to adapt the same story—and with it, the social qualms that plagued Greek society—and apply it to modern society. While the stories were set thousands of years apart, they were able to tell a parallel story with a parallel message behind it. Showing that even with thousands of years of social, political, and economic progress, the same issues of illegitimate power, discrimination, loyalty, integrity, and love exist. Just because two people exist in different places and times doesn't mean they can't be very similar—Aneeka and Antigone have very similar ideologies, values, and integrity, even though one grew up in modern Britain and the other in Ancient Greece.  I would like to see what other books offer similar inter-societal parallels. This is important b...

What stood out to me at the beginning of Antigone was the parallel fight between Ismene vs. Antigone and Isma vs. Aneeka. Ismene—like Isma—took the logical stance of conservative protection, opting to sacrifice a proper burial of her already dead brother for the safety of the two living sisters. Both Ismene and Isma sacrifice a level of their integrity for the larger picture, knowing they would like to fulfill their religious obligation to bury their brother as they are supposed to. But at the same time, knowing that adherence to their beliefs would be detrimental to their lives. They both choose to look towards the future and what their—and Antigone/Aneeka's—lives could hold if they do the socially expected outcome of not properly burying their brother. They choose to avoid conflict in the name of safety.  Whereas both Antigone and Aneeks cannot continue their lives if they sacrifice their integrity to abide by social pressures. Both of their lives are so dependent on faith and fa...

It was really interesting to see the format and purpose behind the viewing of these plays. The plays were supposed to pull a community together, where individuals of all social statuses could view the play and simultaneously question their own values and governments. The plays created a community around these influential plays where everyone would congregate and internally debate the themes. Rather than modern theaters, which effectively isolate individuals to experience performances alone, these plays were intended to be experienced and debated as communities. While part of the purpose was entertainment, more importantly, it engaged viewers to apply the controversial themes of leadership and government to their own systems. Questioning the inherent values their systems have instilled in them. The first half of Antigone brings into question the practical superiority of gods or kings. When the supposed values of gods conflict with the doctrines of kings, which reins superior. These are ...

My experience with Neatline was pretty convoluted, it's definitely an asset for geographic and timeline representations, but it will take a lot of practice to really master. Depending on the project, Neatline can visualize and portray ideas very well—e.g., in my group's practice project in class we showed the walk Eamonn took to deliver the M&M's to Aunty Naseem. An important aspect of the first part of Eamon's chapter was how long this walk was. It came up multiple times how dedicated, unnecessary, and almost silly it was to walk so far for something that easily could have been mailed. Not being familiar with British geography, I had little perspective on how long the walk actually was. Neatline was incredibly impactful in creating that context beyond the book to fully understand what Eamonn did to hand-deliver the M&M's. Visualization of this dedication indicates how much he cares about Isma and how eager he was to see Aneeka in real life. I won't be u...

Contemporary societies necessarily create a balance of justice and law—justice is proper treatment and law is the attempt for concrete rules of justice. Justice is intrinsically situational, personal to the individual and their unique situation. Notwithstanding, law must be universal—rules applied equally to everyone. Parvaiz fatally collides with this dichotomy, his motivation to leave Britain was manipulated and his approach of the British embassy was in sorrow. His actions are externally perceived as malicious, but Aneeka knew—deep down—that Parviaz was a good person. And that his situation should be treated specialized to him, and who he was—in the name of justice. However, in Karamat's black-and-white world of law, "men and women are punished with exile, bodies are kept from their families—their heads impaled on spikes, their corpses thrown into unmarked graves. All these things happen according to the law, but not according to justice. I am here to ask for justice. I app...

I am feeling a mix of anxious anticipation and excitement for doing research with scholarly sources. Anxious because I have never done this type of research before; in High School, the only research I did was either very finite in that it was either from a textbook or very lax where I simply had to find sources on google. In either case, the barrier of acceptable sources was very low. My High School did not have many resources for research, and few teachers had high expectations. I anticipate that there will be a big learning curve for me, as my method of research will be radically changed. On that note, I am excited because this type of research is definitely more extensive and profound. The depth of understanding and credibility will be vastly more significant than in previous research. Once I understand how to do scholarly research, it will be a practical and important skill for my future, as any analytical or research assignment that requires sources will be assisted by this type o...

"Home Fire" intrinsically challenges the reader to reevaluate their base interpretation of the book's main themes, e.g. betrayal, belonging, identity, motivation, and sacrifice. Shamsie is able to most successfully fulfill this through each section of the book coming from a different character's perspective. For example, through Isma's section, Parvaiz is painted as a deserter, one who abandoned his family for selfish reasons. While partially true, analysis of the entire context—i.e. understanding Parvaiz's perspective—shows a vastly more complex situation. Yes, Parvaiz abandoned the family, but not out of cynicism—rather because he saw a near future where Isma and Aneeka would leave him. His actions were a reaction to his situation. That is a deeper understanding of the situation that is only made possible through a section of the book being written from a different character's perspective. Shamsie likely chose Isma to begin the book because she offers th...