The Deep: Why is Everyone Greedy???

     I am currently reading the book The Deep, by Peter Benchley, and even though i'm not that far into it a lot has happened and a lot of ideas have came into my mind. The Deep is about  vacationing couple David Sanders and Gail Berke who recover a number of artifacts, including an ampule of amber-colored liquid and a medallion bearing the image of a woman and the letters "O.P.N.S.C" and a date, 1714. Sanders and Berke seek the advice of lighthouse-keeper Romer Treece on the origin of the medallion, who identifies the item as Spanish and takes an interest in the young couple. The ampule is noticed by the man who had rented diving equipment to Sanders and Berke, which in turn attracts the attention of Henri Cloche, a local drug kingpin for whom the shop owner works, who wants to buy the ampule with no luck and then begins to terrorize the couple with Haitian black magic. The ampule contains medicinal morphine from the Goliath, a ship that sank during World War 2 with a cargo of munitions and medical supplies. The wreck of the Goliath is considered dangerous and is posted as off-limits to divers due to the danger of explosions. Treece concludes that a recent storm has exposed her cargo of morphine and unearthed a much older wreck containing Spanish treasure. Everyone in this book is greedy and that made me wonder, why does everyone have to be greedy?
  

     Why are people greedy? According to the dictionary, greed is "intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth, power, or food." People are greedy because they want wealth, power, or food. In The Deep, Henri Cloche and Romer Treece are greedy for the treasures that David Sanders and Gail Berke found. They all want the treasure to be rich and famous. So this makes me ask another question; why does everyone want to have wealth and power? I would say that people want wealth and power to be happy. Does money buy happiness? Money can't buy you true love. People might argue that you can "buy" a really hot person to be your spouse, but it's not really true love. Love makes you happy. Money can't buy you perfect health, and it won't protect your family from all of the bad things in life, like death and robbery. I personally believe that the only way money can buy happiness is if you spend your money on other people. Spending money on yourself does not make you happier, but spending money on others, no matter how it is spent or how much, could improve your mood. This was said by Michael Norton, an associate professor at Harvard Business School. 

     This book also made me ask myself the question; what is happiness? Happiness came up several times already in this book. The first is when David and Gail go on their honeymoon. They seemed to be happy, but I was wondering what exactly is happiness and what makes them happy. Also, in the book lots of the characters are greedy. I realized that people are greedy because they want to be happy. Is there such thing as happiness? What makes us happy? Does everyone achieve happiness? According to the dictionary, the definition of happiness is "the state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy." So happiness has to do with emotions. I personally believe that this definition is the definition of pleasure, not happiness, but I do believe in happiness, Pleasure is just having a good feeling. I personally believe that happiness is attaining something that you have worked hard for. It is also having a peace of mind, being stress free, and guilt free. When you are doing something fun like scuba diving, it is just pleasure. When you get a lot of money from a treasure that you stole from someone, like some characters in this book are trying to do, it is just pleasure. So what the characters in this book are trying is failing. I personally believe that everyone can attain happiness, because everyone tries to achieve something. 

     In conclusion, The Deep made me think about greed and happiness. Some questions that I asked were; is there such thing as happiness? What makes us happy?  Why does everyone want to have wealth and power? Does everyone achieve happiness? People are greedy because they want to be happy, even though they aren't really happy. They are just getting pleasure. I can't wait to read on and see what the characters do about the treasure.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox: Ethical Issues

     I am currently in the middle of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson, and a lot of ethical dilemmas have shown up. Sometime in the near future, Jenna Fox, 17, awakens from an 18-month-long coma following a devastating accident, her memory nearly blank. She attempts reorientation by watching videos of her childhood, "recorded beyond reason" by worshipful parents, but mysteries proliferate. I know that this story is in the near future because they have really advanced technology. She really tries to get her old life back. She goes to school and makes friends. She also finds out more about why she moved and it becomes mysterious to her. As this is going on, many ethical dilemmas are popping up. The reason why I think that there are many ethical dilemmas is because there is more technology in the future. One ethical dilemma that I found was with the Federal Science Ethics Board. 
    
      In this book, the Federal Science Ethics Board runs the ethics office and do all of the research and they do a lot of medical procedures. They bring up a couple of ethical dilemmas. One of them is that the shut down whole hospitals if they don't file all of the forms and if they don't report every procedure. This might be good to the FSEB but I personally believe that this is not morally right. Shouldn't every area have a hospital so that the people who are sick or injured can get to a hospital fast, and have a higher chance of surviving? In addition, this rule also has an upside. This will get the hospitals to work faster and have everything on record just in case if they need it. The FSEB needs to be the central control over hospitals. I personally think that it is not right for the FSEB to do what they are doing. Having hospitals are an extremely important thing, and everyone has the right to have one near them. It's just like why there should be more hospitals in less populated places, because when someone needs to go to the hospital, they have to travel far, and it increases their chances of dying or getting hurt more. 


     Another ethical dilemma that occurs because of the FSEB is with Blue Goo. As Ally describes it, "it's artificially oxygenated and loaded with neurochips. They're smaller than the human cell and communicate with each other pretty much the same way neurons do, except faster. And they learn. Once you've loaded them with some basic information, they pass on information to other neurochips and begin to specialize..." They are basically new cells, and there is controversy over it. One way they do it is with point values. Everyone gets a lifetime maximum of 100 points. An example is that a heart is 35 points. I personally feel that this is very fair. It doesn't matter how rich or important you are. Everyone's in the same boat. And medical resources and costs are kept under control. Shouldn't everyone have the right to have for good healthcare? I feel that this is a very good idea, and we should use it when we have the right technology. Many people are poor and die because they don't have good healthcare and they don't have the money for something like a heart transplant. This sound like a good idea, but personally think that there are some flaws with it. What happens when someone needs more than 100 points? I'm not sure if you can pay for it, but i'm pretty sure that u can't exceed 100 even if you have the money. I don't think that is right because if you are in a tragic accident and you are rich, you can't survive and get more Blue Goo. 


     In conclusion, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson, has many ethical dilemmas, and some of them are good ideas that we should us in the real life when we have the technology. An example of a good idea is with Blue Goo. Everyone gets a lifetime maximum of 100 points. I personally feel that this is very fair. It doesn't matter how rich or important you are. Everyone's in the same boat. And medical resources and costs are kept under control. Also, there is this other ethical issue with the FSEB and them closing down hospitals. I don't think that that is the right thing to do. In class a couple of weeks ago we watched the movie John Q, and it was an amazing movie. The main character's son had a heart problem, and they needed a heart transplant and they were poor so the main character had to take desperate measures to get his son a heart transplant, and that includes holding the whole hospital hostage. I think that if they have a system like they did in this book with the points, it would be better for his son, and the main character wouldn't have to hold the whole hospital hostage.     

The Adoration of Jenna Fox: Protagonist

     I have just started the book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson, and a lot has happened so far.  Sometime in the near future, Jenna Fox, 17, awakens from an 18-month-long coma following a devastating accident, her memory nearly blank. She attempts reorientation by watching videos of her childhood, "recorded beyond reason" by worshipful parents, but mysteries proliferate. Jenna can recite passages from Thoreau yet can't remember having any friends. Asking her mom is one of the things that she will never ask her mother; "Did I have any friends?" The reason why Jenna Fox thinks that she never had friends is because she was sick for over a year and yet she received not a single card, letter, balloon, or bouquet of flowers. In this blog, I will go deeper into Jenna Fox.


     Even though I have just started The Adoration of Jenna Fox,  a lot can be known about the characters. The protagonist of this book is Jenna Fox. One thing that I noticed about Jenna Fox is that she isn't so worried about her health. When she was talking about how she can't eat but is only dependent on the doctors. She trusts the doctors and trusts people. Also, she is also out of the zone. If i woke up from an 18 month coma, I would be so worried and try to learn everything and try to get into everyone's business to see what I missed. With Jenna Fox, on the other hand, she is just all alone thinking. Every couple of pages, there is something about her thinking. That is all she is doing, and I wouldn't be doing that if I were her. I also think that she thinks about life more mentally and soulful than physical life. The reason why I think she acted like this is because of the coma. She was all in her mind when she was in a coma for 18 months. I think this is what Jenna thinks, and what is the overall theme of the book so far: your soul is the only thing you need to have a wonderful and happy life. Your soul is the only thing that matters in the end. You can get through anything if you have someone who loves you. 


     Also, I noticed that Jenna is really thinking hard on this idea that it isn't her in the home videos. I know that she had brain damage due to what has happened in the accident, but she would recognize herself in the home videos. The thing that is really important that no one has told Jenna  is; what happened before she went into a coma? Jenna Fox has been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to the surface. The question is, are the memories really hers? Another question that remains mysterious to me is why won't anyone in her family talk about her accident? These questions are also racing through her head, and she is becoming more curious. But I noticed that she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. The situation that Jenna is in is a really hard situation, and I feel bad for her. Personally, I would ask all the questions, because the mystery could get worse overtime. 


     In conclusion, even though I have just started The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a lot has happened and I already know a lot about Jenna Fox, the protagonist. I know a lot of traits of her, including that she trust people, and that she is a very curious person, but doesn't ask the questions. Also, I noticed that she has a lot of questions that she wants to ask, but she is too scared to do so. Finally, I know something mysterious is going on, and that a twist in the story is going to happen. I can't wait to read on and find out the answer to the mystery. 

Catching Fire: Archetypes

     I am currently nearing the end of Catching Fire, by Suzanna Collins, and a lot has changed. Catching Fire takes place in the future where there is a land called Panem and it is split up into the Capital and 12 districts. The Capital controls all of the districts and they are very unfair. Years ago, the districts rebelled against the Capital and they were attacked and bombed by the Capital. After Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games, districts started rebelling because Katniss played a trick on the Capital when both Peeta and her survived. The thing that is even worse is that for the 75th Hunger Games they are doing a "special" twist, the winners are playing again. Things have changed, because before Katniss didn't want to take part in the rebellion, but now, she is trying to fight back.   During the training display to the Gamemakers the pair show their defiance of the Capitol and returning to the Games, Peeta painting Rue's death and Katniss hanging a dummy and labeling it "Seneca Crane" in reference to the executed previous Gamemaker. This is when they start to rebel against the Capital and fight back. When they get in the arena, the Games takes place on a beach and jungle terrain, with a dome shaped force field enclosing the tributes and the Cornucopia located on a small island in the middle of a miniature sea. The arena is set up to resemble an analog clock with one lethal event occurring every hour on a twelve hour cycle. They are many different characters and forces in this book, and in this blog  I will talk about all the archetypes. 

   

     The hero in this book is definitely Katniss. Throughout both books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, she displayed courage, self-sacrifice, and is not perfect. First of all, in the first book, The Hunger Games, she displayed courage and self-sacrifice when she volunteered to be the tribute in the Hunger Games in place of her sister, Prim. Another way she has displayed courage and self-sacrifice in the first book is when she volunteers to go in the "death-trap" to get Peeta his medicine for his wound. She was so close to dying, but the other tribute from Rue's district saved her. In the second book, she displayed courage and self-sacrifice when she made a hanging dummy and labeled it "Seneca Crane". She took an act of rebellion towards the Capital. Another way she displayed courage was on the victory tour. She didn't care what the Capital and her mentors told her to do. She said what she thought was right. That takes courage because the Capital can give revenge. She isn't perfect because her plans when she is in the arena aren't all right. She also doesn't make the best choices. One bad choice was hanging the dummy. That gave her a rate of 0 to the audience. The other bad choice was when she helped the people trying to escape to District 13. She was caught on camera, so they now electrocute the fence, and she really injured herself trying to get over the fence. 

 

     The mentor in this book is Haymitch. Even though Haymitch is an alcoholic, his intentions are good. He does assist and guide Katniss, he does symbolize wisdom, knowledge, and experience. He has been in the Hunger Games before, so he helps him both times that they were both in the arena. He may seem like a bad guy because he is an alcoholic, but he actually gives Katniss good advice that saves a lot of lives. Like every time Katniss does an act of rebellion against the Capital, he tells her what to do, and he just wants to please the Capital, which is very important. He assists her through her hard times before the games, and at her house. He is always there for her. He symbolizes experience because he knows all of the tricks of the Capital and has been in the Hunger Games before. He symbolizes wisdom and knowledge because he gives good advice for what Katniss should do. 

   

     The shadow in this story is definitely the Capital. I say that because the Capital is just so gruesome and so mean. They destroy all of the people in the other districts' lives. They act like life is all good, and they try to cover up all the bad things that they have done by being fancy and having nice food. They show that you can't cover garbage with gold. They resemble everything that is fake and that has no heart. They try to gain the most power, and even the best from the districts can't overpower the Capital because they compete again, like Peeta and Katniss had to do. 

     The shapeshifter in this story is probably Peeta. He is always uncertain towards his true feelings for Katniss and the world around him. He also always changes his mind on how to act towards the Capital. At first on the Victory Tour he is saying trash about the Capital and helping stir up the rebellion. At another time he thinks Katniss is crazy for what she says in front of the Capital. He also is uncertain if he really wants to marry Katniss or not even though he loves her. He represents uncertainty.   

     In conclusion, these are the archetypes in this story, Catching Fire. Each of the archetypes plays their own role in the war against the Capital, and in the whole plot of the story. Peeta is the shapeshifter, the shadow is the Capital, the mentor is Haymitch, and the hero is definitely Katniss. I am so close to finishing this book, so I can't wait to what happens at the end. I wonder is any of these archetypes will do something that their type doesn't usually do.