Chris Nguyen

The Mirror

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:55:16 -0400

The narrator faced his fear through physical strength. He confronted himself (his greatest fear) in the form of the mirror that reflects his image in a condensed state and completely smashed it apart with a bat. The bat reflects his inner fort and courage to willingly step over whatever is keeping him down, the mirror is of course his fear, and he himself is the medium that carries the strength one needs to confront their fears.

I’ve yet to bare any fear to anything as of now. However I can say that I was once very afraid of arachnids. That trepidation was short lived though, as right after I found this one particularly scary spider crawling on my keyboard, raw strength took over and my yellow, enormous hand fell down and obliterated the unfortunate invertebrae.

I was afraid of nothing when I entered high school; I’m afraid of nothing now that I’m graduating from high school.

After looking at myself in the mirror, I’m truly afraid that my ambitious inner-self will take over my life and take away everything that I very much value.

Invisible Strays

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:44:14 -0400

If the short presentation Mr. Arnold gave aims to sway and possibly change our current perspectives -the existing paradigms and principles- towards life then I can guarantee the degree of his success extended to me. During the course of the lecture, I directed my full attention towards the words that was spoken through his lips. There was no doubt in my mind that he was one of the smartest individuals I’ve met in my life. While the motifs, and connotations from the book “Invisible Man” by Ralph Emmerson he enthusiastically shared with us were already discovered by me after reading the exempt prior to his class, I praise his public speaking skill and the way he expresses the messages outlined in the novel so passionately to us that eventually led me to crave for more. Shortly after the last bell rung, I rushed immediately to the closest Barnes & Nobles (not something I frequently do, in fact, this might be the first time), purchased the Invisible Man and ended up spending the next forty hours or so completely absorbed in Emmerson’s award-winning masterpiece.

My education journey has always been regarded by many as a twisting, winding path. I’ve learned immeasurable amount of things and garnered experiences in life only a wanderer who’s been to all six continents can claim, or so I thought. However, after seeing Mr. Arnold up there I will have to come back to the basics, reinvent the definition of knowledge and continue my journey with more excitement than I’ve ever bared.

Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 1 & 2

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:26:44 -0400

Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 1 & 2

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 4

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:09:22 -0400

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 4

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 3

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:08:28 -0400

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 3

Play It As It Lays - by Joan Didion

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:07:46 -0400

Play It As It Lays - by Joan Didion

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1 Part III

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:06:37 -0400

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1 Part III

Hamlet: Act 3 Scene 1 Part II

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:05:00 -0400

Hamlet: Act 3 Scene 1 Part II

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:04:47 -0400

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1

Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 2

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:03:57 -0400

Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 2

This I Believe Revision

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:03:06 -0400

This I Believe Revision

This I Believe Revision 2

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:02:30 -0400

This I Believe Revision 2

Our Lives Are Ephemeral 2

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:01:19 -0400

Our Lives Are Ephemeral 2

Our Lives Are Ephemeral

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:59:57 -0400

Our Lives Are Ephemeral

The Clock is Ticking, Into the Second Week

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:01:33 -0400

My essay based on the frame of Dalia Sofer’s “Our Lives Are Ephemeral” projects my inner voice, something which I find quite challenging to express verbally. It does indeed capture the massive capacity of ideas I hold within my train of thoughts, waiting to be raveled out.

Based on the feedback I’ve received from Mr. Z & my peers, my choice of words is overwhelming for them as readers, and they genuinely urged me to simplify and tone down some sentences to make it an easier read.

One problem I often encounter whenever I write is the lack of refining my work. I find the idea a nuisance, even though it is completely essential especially to my writing. The peer revision provided by Chloe Abbondante and Alec Watson composed half of my finished essay.

I believe in every person’s writing, you can see who they truly are: educated, flexible, responsible, well-mannered, upset, unease, tensed, you can see them all. Through reading others’ work, notably Stephanie Dang, I opened myself up to the perspective of another fellow writer; in this case one completely different and independent from my own.

Resetting the Clock, the First Week

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:36:00 -0400

This I Believe

I am a child of great expectations – by definition, not the pseudo self-conscious type, but of aristocratic roots. I was raised to become the highest among the elites: Eat to study, sleep to study, and live to study. Waking up every day in the 1990s under the empty, hollow roof in Viet Nam eventually twisted my grasp on reality; it was an ethereal dream that I lived in. Ironically, the tenacious desire to live up to my parent’s wishes drove me away from what I long to achieve. For any of us, happiness is the ultimate attainment from the terrestrial realm.

There is no surprise what we are willing to do in order to achieve this state of emotion. Dreams are achieved, technology is ever-changing, money is being made, and objects of value are bought. These people, us including, live everyday to await the spark that change their lives. We, as if bounded by blood, yearn for a beauty that exceeds what we already possess, whether it be a tangible substance like a Bugatti Veyron or an intangible perception like a sense of certainty, it doesn’t matter. All these ideas share a closer relationship than we can imagine. The majority of us follows the redundant rhythm defined by “society” and operates through this accent of sound: alarm sounds, shower up, breakfast, work, lunch, dinner, sleep, alarm sounds, and it goes on forever…

It is unfortunate that the roads to serenity are present in the millions, but there is only one that leads to the right destination. Dreams are achieved by the cost of others; the bigger the dream, the more people’s dreams are likely to be crushed. Technology falls behind; what seems to be better in fact does more harm to circumstances beyond us. Money loses its values; even earthly objects decay away after we discard its worth.

Everybody considers the road that they’re treading on is the right one. After all, would you be willing to say the pursuit of happiness you undertook all your life is for naught? The fear of admitting one’s flub is too great for many to bear. As a young child, and maybe even now nearly at the age of adulthood, I’m still too often walking on the wrong road, chasing the same dreams. Perhaps it is the lingering vanity under the rhythm that I have worked on so hard to detach myself from; or maybe this fool of notion has been carved so deep into my principles it becomes exponentially harder to vanquish as time goes on.

Whatever excuses we have to render ourselves incapable of shifting our paradigms, it is always there. It is so difficult to realize your mistakes but once you do, the process of getting back on track becomes effortless. Our fragile minds work in ways that one single definition is unattainable. A kid’s appreciation of his toy depends not on the toy itself, but his predicament. Gratitude for oneself is most prominent after the rediscovery of one’s true principals.

Our Lives Are Ephemeral

Child of revolution - alas, not of the flower power variety, but of turban power.We all want to prove we exist. Much is driven by this desire. Comfort comes through the signature on the dotted line, foolish but affecting codas to soon-to-be forgotten lives. Of course permanence is an illusion. Existential nihilism, I decided, was not for me. I find beauty in life’s ephemera, though like most people I am afraid of loss and endings. Camus concludes that the struggle itself toward summits is enough to fill a man’s heart.

Above are my annotations from Dalia Sofer’s essay “Our Lives Are Ephemeral”. It came as a very interesting read for me as her overview of the purposes of life expressed in this short read is somewhat similar to mine; even though an extremely simplistic idea, it is also an extraterrestrial one. Why is it that we exist? Why do we want to prove that we do, and not just appreciate the fact that our existence is marked down in the history book? What actions are we willing to take in order to prove our existence? Through Sofer’s diction and the relationship between the words she chose in the essay I can faintly translate her feeling of hollowness within this world. Caught between human nature’s impulse to prove their existence whilst struggling to stay away from permanence-the single way in which individuals can tell the world that they do exist- she so despises.

The Second Weekly Reflection

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:42:19 -0400

I’d have to say The Average Joes is anything but average. We have four completely different people in our group, and while I had my doubts if we could work together at the beginning of the semester, everything is going perfectly smooth. The best strength of our group lies in our ability to communicate with each other. It usually starts with Catie opening with what we should do as a group everyday, and even though the weekly planner is there, we always strive to push beyond what is being written and productively use our time to have the most work done. After Catie would always come with me and Chloe as we tend to have a lot more to discuss with the group when the frames are laid out, sharing our ideas to Kelly who always diligently take note of absolutely everything.

The only noticeable weakness admittedly would have to be me. During the first few weeks, I personally had a lot of work outside the class to tend to and as a result I didn’t dedicate the time needed to do my job as a team of four. I did apologize to everyone of them and it seems like within the near future, I would be able to participate with the group a lot more often than now.

1984 is indeed an interesting read. When I read a book, I tend to take value in its title. What is being said? What does 1984 have to do with this book? Is it the year 1984, or a number of connotative meaning?

George Orwell, 1984:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Unfortunately, rather than taking the significance of the actual number, Orwell picked it to symbolize the future that is not so utterly far away from the actual year he had written the book in 1949. The quote above does answer most of my question, but continues to keep me entertained and continue with the reading. In this world created by Big Brother, everything is the opposite of what it should be like: the government’s authority is unwavering, finding peace means going to war, being strong means to be unaware of anything, to completely be subdued in an inhuman state.

Why did George Orwell decided to write this novel under the perspective of the protagonist Winston Smith? What characteristics does Winston Smith carry that makes him the subject in a dystopian world ruled by the sovereign dictator? I’m very excited to find the answer to this question.

George Orwell, 1984: We shall meet in the place where there is...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:50:35 -0400

George Orwell, 1984:

We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness. O’Brien

Unfortunately, when I first read this quote at the beginning of the novel, I could not comprehend the significance of what George Orwell wanted to point out to his reader coming from O’Brien’s words to Winston Smith. After finishing the novel, I finally retraced my memory back into Page 25 and immediately understand the depth of 1984.

While I knew that the quote foreshadows the rendezvous between O’Brien and Winston, I also thought that this rendezvous goes in favor of Winston and that O’Brien is another rebel who seeks the same ideal world with the main protagonist. On the contrary, what occurs later does in fact go the complete opposite way of what I predicted; the place where “there is no darkness” as referred by O’Brien is his ideal place of light. Winston’s radical thoughts are being vanquished by days of draining tortures by the Thought Police, rendering him completely unable to cite the slightest thought of rebellion against Big Brother. What a turn of events.

George Orwell's Dystopia & U.S.A Today

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:36:52 -0400

An article from Prison Planet & a counter-article from CNN made me dig within my mind about the controversial topic of privacy in today’s modern society. However, I would have to disagree with both the arguments made by these journalists.

Both papers talk about an opinion that the author makes on the situation of the American government, and how it is compared to Big Brother’s world in an extremely polarized way. Instead of categorizing U.S.A today in either end of a stick, I would draw it along somewhere in the middle of the line.

Human society cannot function when freedom is abused. What is the purpose of a government if they cannot intervene with any aspects of the community? On the other hand, excess authority and control can lead to corruption, which has evidently been the case for many nations both in the past and the present.

It is no luck that America flourishes as the most militarily and economically stable nation in the world; both the people and the government work in unison to create what is currently present, and in order to do so, I do believe that to some extent, secrecy and privacy is a probable sacrifice.

The Telescreen

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:36:44 -0400

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.

George Orwell, 1984

The telescreen being described in the first part of the novel symbolizes Orwell’s pessimistic view of what the future holds. It is the tangible object that signifies the absolute control the government would have over the people within a few decades.

While in today’s society the word telescreen will not be included in the Oxford’s Dictionary, we do have something that describes the omnipotent device that will “keep track” of every individual’s movements and actions, the camera.

One particular event flares into my mind as this topic is brought up. During a Friday when we were updating our Tumblr blogs in the Fountain Valley High library, a fellow classmate Taylor Dimicelli angered Mr. Ziebarth by posting a witty comment on Twitter that states her disagreement in believing that the government have the technological advance to watch our every movements. Mr. Ziebarth responded by posting up a picture that roughly outlines the screens of all the thirty-so computers that were being used in the library within one monitor. After seeing that picture, Taylor quickly removed her comment and never doubted that statement again.

Cameras and surveillance are present everywhere in public places. Some might be at obvious locations, but the rest are carefully placed out of vision. It may not be long before they are moved into our homes, removing any sense of freedom or privacy one always take for granted in today’s society.