Spellbound

2. Do homonyms get you down? Pick some that you commonly mix up and come up with a creative way to remember how to tell them apart in the future. 

I commonly mix up many homonyms. It is very difficult to differentiate them because they have the same spelling AND the same pronunciation. The only "creative" way I can think of is to make a little game in your head playing with these homonyms. The game would be like this.

          Example:

1. When I was going up the mountain I saw a gigantic ________.

2. Please kids, ________ with be. I am really tired.

The word or homonym that we need to use "bear". On the line you will need to write the word "bear" and in parenthesis you need to put which definition if this word are you using to complete the sentence. The first one would be bear the animal. The other one would be the bear to carry. After doing this with other homonyms like: train, bow, miss, type, lean, lap, etc. You will have a clearer idea.

*The only way you can tell homonyms apart is by the context of the sentence or the text. This is the only source because if spelling and pronunciation are the same, then the context clues are the ones that will let you determine which of the two meanings is best for that specific sentence.


5. Should we still spelling bees? Why? Why not?

I think that we should have spelling bees but only in languages like English and French for example because they are languages that have a really hard spelling. Spelling bees are a fun, competitive and effective way to learn the spelling of words. There are mysteries in these languages because you have words that have letters that do not sound the way they are supposed to and also letters that don't sound at all. But they are there.

          Example: 

English: enough, though, through, tough, etc.

French: yeux, rois, noix, aime, frais, anglais, deux, etc.

*Spelling beed can improve also your writing because after you practice all of these words in a spelling bee (or numerous spelling bees) you will hardly make a spelling mistake in your life. Languages like Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German for example wouldn't be so effective to a spelling bee because all the words in these languages is pronounced at it is written.

Rhetorical Devices - Ads

Pathos (πάθος): Honestly, I could not find a better example of the rhetorical device pathos. Pathos means appealing to the emotions of the audience. I believe this one is the perfect example of this rhetorical device because the face of this little girl appeals to your emotions (at least it appealed to mine) by the way half of her face is severely destroyed. But you can see that that half of her face is made out of metal. It's a bit confusing at first but when you read the caption: "In town, car accidents don't just happen to cars. Slow down". You can understand know. The real message of this advertisement is for people to drive slowly because you can not only damage the well being of your car and the other person's car. But the lives of the people inside of those cars.

Ethos (ήθος): Not the one that I personally liked the most, but it is definitely a perfect example of the rhetorical device ethos. Ethos is used to appeal to credibility, and honestly, the best way to do that is using the modern "authority" to promote what you think is best. In this advertisement we can see a really pretty blonde (some people say that it's Taylor Swift but I'm not sure) promoting milk. When you see this advertisement it makes you want to drink milk. Many people say in their minds things like: "If she drinks that milk, why should I?!" even girls would say "If I drink that milk I'll be as pretty as her? Let's try! Also, the details of the glass breaking can indicate that the milk is so god that not even the glass can hold it.

Logos (λόγος): This last advertisement was one of the best I have seen so far regarding tobacco abuse. I don't know what part of this ad calls my attention the most. More importantly, this cannot be a better example of logos. It applies to logos primarily in two parts. The big and obvious one is the fact in small font that says: "About 106,000 people in the UK die each year because of smoking". This supports the ideas of logos because it is using actual facts to support their idea. The lesser way is the big title that says: "Smoking kills" because it is a more broad fact, but it has been proven that smoking kills. The thing that I like is the relationship that the creator found between the way that people hold cigarettes and making the shadow a gun. This sends a strong message, I will never smoke in my life!

"Portrait of the Girl Blogger" Response

          This second article about Malala was really impacting. Even though I am very attached to the Islamic culture, I didn't have a lot of background knowledge about Pakistan. Especially that the Talibans had spread from Afghanistan all the way to the Swat Valley. She now lives under the rule of the Talibans, who have changed the laws of the country for worse (just like they did in Afghanistan). The main idea of BBC writing two articles about Malala is to show the world that there is people like her who stand up for what they believe is right with no fear of what may happen (just like in "Persepolis").

          She starts writing a blog through the BBC Urdu about her life and what happens to people like her in Pakistan at the age of 11. At first, she talks about her daily life, and how she feels coming back from school every single day and listening to people threatening others. Most of all, men threatening women.  But, right before leaving for her winter break; Malala faces a difficult situation because she doesn’t know if she’ll ever go to school again. As she and her family predicted; the Taliban demands for education to not be offered to women. At that moment, in her blog, she writes about what these people do, and the decision they have taken that has affected the future of the population of the Swat Vally (including herself). She's considered the first girl to stand up and have a voice about her situation in the region.

         She took a bold step by doing something she knew was right: fighting for the education of Pakistani women. When she started writing more; she reveals actions that the Talibans are taking, she becomes world-wide known and receives many emails, and interviews. In one of those she tells the BBC that when she grows up she will be the head of a political party (of her own creation) that has a vision statement of: education for Pakistani men and women. I believe that with the amount of bravery that she has, not only will she be able to tell her story to everybody in the world, but create this political party that she wants to create to make education equal in her country (Human Right #26: everybody has the right of Education). As I said in my previous post; let her be an example for everyone of us. I was impressed by this girl’s actions, taking into account that nobody that I know would have the attitude and the determination to do what this girl has done and hopefully: continue doing.

          Everyone who gets to know and understand her story will be impressed and completely honored to have people like her on our planet that want to change it for good. As I reached the end of the article, I read something that has emotionally shocking.

          “Malala is now recovering in hospital after being shot in the head and neck by a Taliban militant on Tuesday.”-BBC News.]

          Malala's bullet penetrated her skull entering the left hemisphere of her brain. Almost lacerating her caudate nucleas and stopping in the middle of her temporal lobe. All of these parts of the brain are crucial for life. Fortunately non of these were severely injured and the doctors were able to fix them. Hopefully her recovery goes good and fast for her to start blogging again. Nevertheless, I hope she can still do it because injuries like her's leave permanent negative neurological ramifications.

"Pakistani Activist Shot" Response

          This article apart from being interesting, shows a story of a reality that has happened. Malala Yousafzai makes me think a lot of Marji Satrapi. That's right; the main Character in "Persepolis". Why? Well, because She is the kind of child that is aware of her country's situation. She blogged about the Taliban regime. Just like Satrapi complained all the time (publicly) about the Islamic regime. All around the Middle East there must be little girls like these: complaining and protesting for the good of their own nation. 

          What I really liked about the article itself is that it divides itself in little paragraphs (each one explaining one specific thing). Also, it does not go in chronological order. Which in this case is good because to create good journalism, you first begin with the major event (for example: "Malala Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school in Mingora, the region's main town). I here you don't know why or how they killed her. But you get caught in the title and the first sentence of the article, that makes you read the entire thing because if you don't; curiosity is going to kill you alive. 

          Then the article goes on and tells you the story one by one. First they talk about the Taliban's admitting they killed her, then why they did what they did. Later one it says how they killed her and explained all about the crime scene. This, makes you want to read the next paragraph (always). In the second section of the article they explain all about Malala's blogging life. I have never heard a story involving such a brave person. When I read this part I was completely perplexed because I can't believe that she actually began blogging about the Taliban regime at 11, and most importantly that she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Award. 

          Malala Yousafzai is a true inspiration for all young people that live in the oppression of fanaticism and extremism. I really hope she lives to continue leaving us her legacy. I also hope that the people that killed her are severely punished because according to the Islamic Law. It is against Allah's will to kill a virgin. 

Persepolis: "The Dowry"

I have to say, this was an awesome ending for this awesome book. In the first part of the book we can see “Islamic discipline" as shown when the teachers at Marji’s school forbid the use of bracelets. Also in frame 3 in page 143 the teacher threatens her. All of these aspects of discipline are very common in the Islamic culture because not only the man is the supreme authority but fir young women, older women are their authority when men aren’t around. But Marji has had a tough life in the last years so she wasn’t letting her authority treat her bad. This reminds me of one of my best friends that she had the same attitude that Marji had when she was passing through a moment of injustice. When she hit the principal and threw her to the floor I almost died of laughter imagining that happening here at CNG what that would have been like for the audience around them. 

The third page of this chapter (page 145) reminded me of my parents when they got a complain from one of my teachers a long time ago and they were not mad at me at all. In fact, they told to not worry about it, just like Marji’s parents on this page when they got the complaint from her religion teacher at her new school for the comment she shared in class. The comment was the following: "My uncle was imprisoned by the Shah’s regime, but it was the Islamic regime the ordered the execution. You say that we don’t have political prisoners anymore. But we’ve gone from 3000 prisoners under the Shah to 300,000 under your regime. How dare you lie to us like that?” Personally I think she is completely right. But of course moms are the ones that a problem for everything. Like Marji’s mom in frames 3-9 in page 145. 

When her parents want to send her to Austria because they think she is safer there and that she can get a better education. I personally think she shouldn’t go because the future of her country of her country lies within girls like her. Girls that are not afraid if saying what they think, and that spend their time worrying about their country’s status and future. In the end, she does go (which disappoints me a little). But one thing that really made the end of this book excellent was the sentence that she says: “It would have been better to just go”. But her facial expression in the last illustration shows her real emotion that is wanting to stay. 

Persepolis: "The Passport"

This chapter was really touching because the injustice of the Iranian society of that time is portrayed strongly. The part that was very interesting is when Taher says he sent his son to Holland because, if you close read this, is really harmful for him because he loves his son. But, he does it for his son’s own well-being. His depression leads him to smoke, and his smoking leads him to his third heart attack. This is kind of sad because because of his sadness he caused his own heart attack. When he did something to save his son, something bad happened to him. With every good thing, something bad comes along with it. 

When he is at the hospital needing urgently open-heart surgery that needs to be done in London, a wave of rage and fury comes to be when I read the part that says the don’t want to give him a passport to travel to London, and get his surgery. Specifically, frame #7 in page 121 when the man says: “If God wills it”. I was so mad when he said that because I knew that they didn’t want to give him his passport and they were using religion to cover the truth. Also, something that I considered really wrong was when Dr. Fathi brought Taher’s family to a room filled with injured soldiers to make Taher’s wife feel sorry for them. In my opinion, that is just morally wrong. 

When they meet Khosro, person that makes the fake passports is a moment of salvation for Taher because if he could get him a passport, he could travel through the closed frontiers (the frontiers of Iran were closed for three years: 1980 - 1983). Another example of the society that seeks the leftists and want to kill them is when Niloufar is introduced. This communist girl that is hiding from the revolutionaries that want to kill her. She’s living in Khosro’s basement because that is the only place where she is safe. 

Last but not least. The sadness I felt when I read the last page of this chapter. When Taher dies because he wasn’t able to travel and get his surgery. The worst part of that, was that his real passport made by the government arrived the day that he died. Really life is the most mysterious thing that there is. 

Persepolis: "The Sheep"

I have to admit, Anoosh really has some good stories! The arrival of Anoosh really shakes things up in the book because he reveals a lot of things that are fundamental for the understanding of the story. We can see that the war between Iraq and Iran is beginning, and Marji is really worried about it. I can sense that Eby doesn’t want to face the truth. We can see his anger and stress in the last frames of page 62 when he gets mad at his daughter because of the news she brought (of course being news that initially came from the radio). He was mad because 99.99% of the people voted for the Islamic Revolution. 

Right now, I made a connection of what is happening in Venezuela with Hugo Chavez. Many people (including me) think that he manipulated the elections and made up the numbers that appeared in the results. We won by 10% advantage over Henrique Capriles Radonski; that would obviously make people suspect that he pushed up his numbers to get to 10% advantage exactly. That sounds fishy, just like the revolutionaries that according to Eby; they manipulated the votes.

Another connection I made to South America was related to pages 63 and 64 that shows Marji’s friends leaving to the United States because they don’t want to be inside Iran when things get ugly. That’s what many people did here in Colombia when FARC was on it’s peak of power. Many people left Colombia to Europe and the United States during those years. There has never been a time where so many people left Colombia. It was for the same reason, people didn’t want to be here when the times were rough. I also feel sorry for her because the boy that she liked left Iran. 

Frame #7 in page 65 reminds me a lot of the period called “La Violencia” in Colombia that was when the conservatives and the liberals fought for many years by killing each other, and creating new forms of torture. Mohsen was drowned in his own bathtub and his sister was executed right in the scene (frame 3 in page 66). Conservatives and liberals killed themselves one by one. Just like how the revolutionaries are killing the people that disagree with them. For them to survive, they need to cross the frontiers undercover. Many liberals escaped to Ecuador and Peru just like Siamak and his family. 

Persepolis: "Persepolis"

I connected a lot with the outside world while reading this chapter. Thus far in the book we know that Marji’s family was heavily harmed by the Shah’s father, and the Shah himself. She wants to know about her grandfather, but her grandmother doesn’t want to tell her and changes subject all the time. One example of this is frame 4 at the bottom of page 28. In this frame you can see the she is desperate to know about his grandpa and says mentally that her grandma is changing the subject to not talk about it. But we do get that her family was left in poverty by the Shah. In this part of the book I connected to my country of the many women they show in the news that tell their stories of how the guerilla (FARC) took everything from them and left them in extreme poverty. It was (and is) very difficult for them to talk about it and they tried to change the subject; just like Marji’s grandma.

When Marji is very worried about her dad I remembered one day my mom told me a story. This was when the guerilla was very present in the region were she lived. She was still a child. My grandfather was a cow rancher, and the FARC wanted to kidnap all of the wealthy cow ranchers of the region. She told me that every time her dad didn’t arrive at the time that he was supposed to, she thought he was kidnapped or even dead. In frame 4 in page 30 she specifically says: “I thought that my father was dead, that they shot him”. But when he comes back we can see why he took that long. He is a photographer that was collecting visual evidence of all the catastrophes that were happening. 

When I got to the part of the martyr; I made a connection to the every day life here in Colombia. Here people do not like communists, let’s say that if you’re communist; you should go somewhere else. Just like royalists in Iran at that time. The widow of the martyr was questioned on frame 6 in page 34. And with the context of the book, I can infer that the question wasn’t asked with much politeness, but with a tone expressing an accusation. Here in Colombia you might be asked the question: “Are you communist?!” with the same tone every now and then if the listen to you saying leftist things. It has happened to many people I know. 

Persepolis: "The Veil"

  I am very attached to the Muslim culture. I have many Muslim friends and I know a little arabic (I’m planning to learn arabic). So I know pretty well what was happening in this chapter.As I read the first chapter of the book many thoughts crossed my mind. “The Veil” is a tricky chapter to understand because it gives the introduction to the story, but it foreshadows the major events of the book. The main character, Marji, is introduced in a very special way. She narrates the chapter and the entire book in a very fluent and understandable way; which makes the book nice to read. For example, in the first page (first four frames) she shows the class photo were only small part of her body is shown. In this part of the book I felt that she wasn’t showing herself with her friends because she is a very independent and smart little girl. The very first frame is the one that shows Marji’s image (but her alone) when she was 10 years old. 

 I have some background knowledge about the Iranian Islamic Revolution. When the girls in Marji’s school are forced to wear the veil on their heads to cover their hair was a moment of enforced change. Islam was enforced in the society violently. At first the girls thought wearing the veil was a joke. An example of this is frame #5 in page 3 where the girls are playing and fooling around with their veils. Later on in the chapter you can see that women wearing the veil was really important. So important, that women that were caught without it had to pay a fine, in extreme cases; jail. 

Anyways, I think that the veil is the visual representation of the lack of freedom and choice that Iranians and especially the women are facing during the time of the Islamic Revolution. In page 3 you can notice that Marji’s mother needed to hide her identity because she fought against the people of the Revolution. Marji is a very special little girl and also very intelligent for her age because she is completely aware of what’s happening in the political world; she kind if reminds me of my sister. It really surprises me that she wants to be a prophet because despite the fact that the society is being ruled violently she wants to change it in a peaceful way. 

Gilgamesh Tablet XI

Tablet XI of this book may be one of the largest ones in the entire book. Again, every large tablet has those vocabulary words that we are not so sure about their meaning. The words that I found reading this tablet I think should be described to be able to understand the text even more and especially because when you end up having that many words in one single tablet y may be confusing. And even more important because this is the tablet that is closer to the conclusion of this book. The words that I didn't understand were:


Reed: the great stalk of any of various tall grasses, especially the ones growing in marshy places. 

Obliteration: the act of being obliterated.

Asphalt: any of various dark-colored, solid, bituminous substances, native in various areas of the earth composed mainly of hydrocarbon mixtures.

Cubits: an ancient linear unit based on the length of the forearm, from elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually from 17 to 21 inches.

Bitumen: any various natural substances, as asphalt, maltha, or gilsonite, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons.

Caulk: to fill or close seams or cervices of a tank or window in order to make it watertight or airtight.

Capsizing: to turn bottom up. 

Welter: to roll, toss, or heave, as waves or the sea.

Calamity: a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or a serious injury.

Engulfs: to swallow up in or as in a gulf.

Wept: simple past tense and past participle of the verb "weep". 

Libation: a pouring out of wine or other liquid in honor of a deity.

Cedar: any of several Old World, coniferous trees of the genus Cedrus, having wide and spreading branches.

Ornately: elaborately or sumptuously adorned, often excessively or showily.  

Transgressed: to violate a law, command, moral code.

Kneel: to go down or rest on the knees or a single knee.

Dwelling: a building or a place of shelter to live in; place of residence.

Perilous: involving or full of grave risk or peril.

Garments: any article of clothing.

Gilgamesh Tablets VIII, IX, X

What happened to me reading this part of the book was pretty funny because I made a straight connection to a book I read when I was in seventh grade. The book is called "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll. 

The exact part that I made a connection to this book in was in page 51 (tablet 9) when Gilgamesh explains and describes every league he traveled. He described the way he felt physically and emotionally and also the physical description of the place where he was at that specific moment. In "Through the Looking Glass" Alice is in Wonderland and she meets the Red Queen and she challenges  Alice to move through the eight different "regions" of Wonderland. Taking into consideration that Wonderland is marked like a giant chessboard (which has eight rows). Each chapter is about one of the squares that Alice passes through and in each one she explains and describes how she felt physically and emotionally as well as the place and the events themselves. 

Obviously the length of the writing is completely different because in "Gilgamesh" it's two lines and in "Through the Looking Glass" it is at least 30 pages. But either way the way that Gilgamesh described the situation was very similar to the way Alice described her situation in Wonderland. 

Gilgamesh's Question: "What Happens When We Die"

Yeah, I know. You may be asking yourself: why on earth is a picture of the color black on this post? Well, there are many reasons to it.

I am a non-believer (atheist) or whatever you want to call it. We are very realist and scientific people, therefore our idea (or maybe just mine and my family's) of what happens after we die is nothing. I know what you are thinking. You must be saying: nothing?! This dude is the most pessimist human being I have ever met. Well yeah. maybe it is pessimist but it's realist too.

I don't believe in heaven or hell. Neither in re-encarnation. Neither in a magical perfect world that is adjusted magically for us and just for us. No, for us it is not that simple. Actually, from all the studies we have made there is no posible explanation of paradise. But we do understand why people want to believe in paradise. If you are all the time thinking that when you die, the world isn't over for you; that there is this magical place that is perfect in every single way possible. You think of death as a marvelous thing. It can vary depending on the person's beliefs. But for us it is just the end, stop, no more, finish line. When your heart stops beating, you brain starts to die and your body starts decomposing it is over. And we believe that is just what happens. The human body just stops, forever.

I mean no disrespect to any faith or religion by this post that expresses my opinion of the moment of death.

Gilgamesh Tablets VI & VII

There were 27 vocabulary words that I dud not understand but I do think they should be defined for a better understanding of this section of the book. The majority of these are nouns and adjective that help us understand the context of the story.


Chariot: a light, two-wheeled vehicle for one person, usually drawn by two horses and driven from a standing position.

Doe: the female of the deer, antelope, rabbit and certain other animals.

Ewes: a female sheep, especially when fully mature.

Slain: past participle of the verb "slay".

Calamity: a great misfortune of disaster.

Bewildering: something that is extremely confusing.

Contrivances: something contrived; a device, especially a mechanical one.

Snaffled: usually something that is jointed in the middle and without a curb, with a large ring at each end to which a rein and cheek strap are attached.

Hobbled: to walk lamely

Mangy: having, caused by, or like a mange.

Reeds: a straight stalk of any of various tall grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites and Arundo, growing in marshy places.

Baffled: to confuse, bewilder or perplexed.

Garnered: to gather or deposit in or as if in a granary or other storage place.

Thrashed: to beat soundly in punishment; flog.

Reeking: a strong, unpleasant smell.

Butcher: a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.

Tore: simple past tense of tear.

Haunched: the fleshy part of the body about the hip.

Festoon: a string or chain of flowers, foliage, or ribbons suspended in a curve between two points.

Votaries: a person who is bound by solemn religious vows, as a monk or a nun.

Errand: a short or quick trip to accomplish a specific purpose, as to buy something, deliver a package, or convey a message, often for someone else.

Obliterate: to remove or destroy all traces of something; do away with; destroy completely.

Beseeching: to implore urgently.

Harlot: another word for a whore or prostitute.

Revile: to assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language; address or speak abusively.

Woe: grievous distress, affliction, or trouble.

Capsized: to turn bottom up; overturn.

Gilgamesh Tablets IV & V

First if all, since this is clearly happening in Mesopotamia because all the gods and supernatural figures that are being mentioned in the story are all gods from ancient Sumer and Mesopotamia. That takes me back to the year 2007 in my family trip to Africa.

We visited the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and our situation was similar to the ones that Enkidu and Gilgamesh are passing through at the moment. They are in a desert traveling 50 leagues a day with one food break and they needed to dig a hole to be able to drink water. Our experience was obviously not like that in terms of resources and travel length but we did go through something similar. We spent three days in that desert stopping in different tent places they had ready for us. It was a safari in the desert because not only we wanted to see the desert itself but the animals in it as well. Unfortunately we didn't see any lions but we did see a lot of wild deer (like the Oryx for example).

The intense heat and the walking distances were all part of the experience and when I read the first pages of this section (where the voyage of these two characters is explained) I remembered our trip to the Kalahari instantly because it is really similar. The only thing that wasn't that similar was the praying to the Mesopotamian Gods, or any gods at all.

Gilgamesh Tablets I, II & III

As I read the first three tablets of "The Tale of Gilgamesh" I connected these pages of the book to many stories of ancient Greece because of the temple prostitute. In ancient greek temples, prostitutes would be "living" in the temples for men to go and have fun in the presence of the since love was the creation of a god (Aphrodite) which is also the goddess of sexual intercourse and beauty. I remembered the story of Medusa. The story is majorly about when Poseidon had intercourse with Medusa (before she was a "snaked hair" gorgon) in the temple of his niece Athena (goddess of wisdom and war) and out of anger Athena cursed her to be the ugliest creature in Greece. So ugly and horrible that people would turn into stone if made direct eye contact with her.

Also, these first pages of the book reminded me to the Disney movie of "The Emperor's New Groove" which is the story of the Emperor of the Inca empire in Peru. The reason why this connects is because he was the supreme of the greatest city of the empire. City that was so great and marvelous everybody wanted to go there; just like Uruk in the book. Also that Gilgamesh is the supreme leader in the book; just like Kuzco in the movie.

Ishmael Questions

1. What does Quinn imply about the "Takers"?

          Quinn is implying that the "Takers" are the ones that always are benefited. He is comparing the people that take opportunities for the best and also the people that take risks for good. That's why he makes this comparison. He is specifically saying that in the majority of the cases the "Takers" are rewarded of benefited by life due to the risks that they have taken.

2. How has the relationship between Ishmael and the protagonist changed?

          In the beginning, the protagonist (we don't know his name yet) was kind of rough because in my opinion the pessimistic protagonist was jealous of Ishmael because of his human qualities and the vision he had about life. The protagonist was able to get and understand the gorilla (Ishmael) even without verbally communicating. Later on he had some empathy for him and the relationship got less rough.

3. Make two inferences regarding the "Leavers". 

          The "Leavers" are the ones that always play the safe way; take few risks and those risks being ridiculously safe. I also infer that he is making this comparison because the protagonist himself may be a "Leaver" because he is living a horrible life due to the fact that he is afraid of failing without even trying to meet his goal.

4. Define "Mother Culture". 

          I think the "Mother Culture" is the culture that you first belong to. To be more specific, for a person that has lived in various places of the world has many culture. And he/she feels identified with all the cultures he belongs to or use to belong to. But our Mother Culture is the first culture and by that it is the strongest. I think he uses this term because of the gorilla. His Mother Culture is being a primate (but inside he is more than that) we wants to be something he is not for the good of the world but his Mother Culture or in this case "his reality" is keeping him from it.

5. Do you agree with Ishmael? 

          As a matter of fact, I do. All of the views of life of this gorilla are really heart-touching. He wants the best for the world. Also, he makes realistic implications of life that makes us wake up and realize that the world could be a lot better if people weren't captives of ridiculous stories.

Photo And Inferences

Inference #1: The position in which these two individuals stand represent a position of power that they have over a group of people. I am inferring that seeing Augusto Pinochet (Chile) and Fidel Castro (Cuba) together may mean that they are in a special celebration.

Inference #2: Since these two dictators belong to two different political ideologies I infer that they are standing together because of some type of peace agreement or something that must prevent these very two different countries (at that time) from getting into some kind of fight.

Inference #3: I also infer that maybe it is not only them but other world leaders too. Since you can see that there is an audience behind them. In many events where world leaders have to come together in a specific place they must stand and make some kind of gesture (tradition). But I also infer that since there is a rightist and a leftist extremists sitting together that's why the took this specific shot.