RESPONSETO THE ARGUMENT

Weng Yuchao ( Wesley)

Dr. Marquardt

ENG1430W10

2015.3.29

                    RESPONSETO THE ARGUMENT

Ivan wrote a really good argument to me, he gave me some useful suggestions about the tense I should use and some spelling errors. He also stated some reasons why “first blood” can not be a type of Cinderella story. I don’t agree with that. I insist that the film “First Blood” is a type of Cinderella story.

Ivan says that Cinderella change her social standard to a higher class, which Rambo in the film doesn’t. I argee with that. But Rambo doesn’t fit into the society at first, after the transition, Rambo gets rid of his problems and begins to live like a normal person. It’s also an improvement for Rambo, which is same as traditional Cinderella story.

What’s more, Ivan says the helpers in the traditional Cinderella story give Cinderella great help and have some magic powers, but the helper in the film “First Blood” doesn’t have, which I think are right. But in my opinion, helper is a person who helps the hero make the transition happens. Rambo’s former commander who is the helper in the film persuades Rambo give s up fighting with the police and lives like a normal citizen. Without his help, Rambo can’t make this transition happens by himself. So the film “first Blood” is a type of Cinderella story.

Response to "Faking it"

Weng Yuchao (Wesley)

Dr.Marquardt

ENG1430W10

2015.3.26

                                                Response to “Faking it”

  “faking it” is one chapter of the book “Manhood for Amateurs”, this chapter is about the humanities of a person as a father and husband. The man in this chapter is a person who fixes the towel racks. And he is a man who cares about his family so much. His work is actually a tough one. To support his family, he has to work hard and even take some towel rack back home. Writer used many words to describe his working scenes. There are some similarities between work and life.

 And writer said a man should keep himself up when difficulties come up. As a father, he wants to show what he actually has to his children. I can’t agree more with that, children usually would act like their father, father’s wrong behaviors may mislead the children. But writer is also strangling, because there are always somethings that you can tell your children the truth. He raised an example when he drove with his family through the storm. He didn’t tell children the truth. I think sometime it’s alright to cheat to children if it would not do harm to them. And when he decide to drive through the storm, he doubted himself for a while. But when he saw his family seat in the car and trust him for no reason. He became determined. This another part of manhood, man doesn’t want to his family his weakness.

Project 2.2

Weng Yuchao  (Wesley)

Dr. Marquardt

ENG 1430 W10

2015. 3. 23

   I just watch movie called First Blood, which is an old film showed in 1982. This film is about Rambo, who is a veteran survived in the Vietnam War. He can’t integrate into the society after suffering from that war. When he walked into a small town, a police officer thought he was a drifter. So the officer took him to the station and abused him. Rambo can’t stand anymore and escaped the station to the mountain. Then Rambo used the skills he learned in Vietnam to fight with police in the mountain. Then he got weapon from the police and came back to town to destroy. After that, Rambo's former commanding officer arrived and tried to persuade him to give up hurting people. After watching the whole film, I think this film is a Cinderella story. As a Cinderella story, I think the story should have a hero, he would be ill-treated at first, and he should get through a transition. What’s more, there should be many Villains to have conflicts with the hero. And the hero should have a helper who would stand out to give hero tools or opportunity to make the transition happen.

 AS a Cinderella story, I think there should be an obvious transition in the story. And this transition should have great effect on hero/heroine, hero or heroine would begin to change something about him/herself and make his or her situation better. In the traditional Cinderella story, with the help of some magic things, Cinderella changed herself and made her situation better, she became the queen and didn’t have to do labor work anymore. In the film First blood, Rambo was chasing by the police for some ridiculous reasons. Rambo didn’t want to kill them at first, but the police pushed him so hard that Rambo can’t stand anymore, he began to fight for his freedom and punished these injustice polices.

  What’s more, a Cinderella story should have a helper who stands out when the hero/heroine was in the most difficult situation, and gave hero/heroine a chance to transform and get rid of current dilemma. In the traditional Cinderella story, the helpe is an old lady, who is a witch. The old lady used her magic power to help Cinderella be more beautiful, and many small animals came to help too. And it’s the old lady and these animals that gave Cinderella a chance to go to the party and meet the prince, which lead to Cinderella’s transformation, Cinderella became a queen, and she won’t be ill-treated anymore. In the film First Blood, the helper is Rambo’s former commanding officer in Vietnam War. He knew Rambo very well, he knew it’s hard for Rambo to transform the character solider to a normal citizen. So he tried to clam Rambo down, and explain Rambo’s situation to the police. With the help of Rambo’s former commanding officer, Rambo got rid of the police and became a normal person.

  In addition, a Cinderella story should also have Villains that always against the hero/heroine. Villains usually are people, but not always, it can be environment or something. But villains are something or someone go against hero/heroine. In the traditional Cinderella story, the villain can be Cinderella’s owner, who made her do lot of labor. And other female slaves who always laughed at her can also be villain. These villains go against Cinderella and keep her away from her transformation. In the film first blood, the most obvious villain is the police officer who looked down upon Rambo and abused him in the jail for some ridicules reasons. What’s worse, the police officer called other polices to catch Rambo in the mountain and push him so hard. The Vietnam war can also be the villain, it’s this war that made Rambo be sensitive about the environment and can fit in the society.

Summary of “Rhodopis”

Rhodopis is a story about a female Greek slave, this story told readers how slave Rhodopis became Egyptian Pharaoh’s wife. Rhodopis is actually a name of a young beautiful Greek courtesan, and she got married with an Egyptian Pharaoh. The author of the story is actually unknown. After her story was first recorded by the Greek historian Strabo in the 1st century BC, this story was widely spread around the word. And is considered the earliest known variant of the "Cinderella" story.

Long ago in the land of Egypt, land of the green Nile, there lived a slave girl named Rhodopis. Rhodopis was born in Greece, who was sold to an Egyptian in a young age. One thing that makes her different from other slavery is that she is extremely beautiful. She has long golden curly hair and brown deep eyes. It’s hard for a man to move his eyes away from Rhodopis. Because she is so different from others that no one want to be her friends. Rhodopis was so lonely that she only can make friends with animals.

One evening she had more energy than usual, when the day was done even her master had fallen asleep under a tree near the river, Rhodopis went down to the river near her animals, danced and sang so lightly, and the old man woke from his sleep and listened to her singing. He admired her dancing, and felt that one so talented should not be without shoes. He ordered her a special pair of red slippers. After that the servant girls teased her even more, so jealous they were of her beautiful red slippers.

A little while after this, the Pharaoh held a big party in Memphis and all in the kingdom were invited. Rhodopis wanted to dance in the party as well, but any other female slaves went to the party that night, so she had to stay at home and did extra work. That night Rhodopis was so sad that she began to sing out aloud to express her sadness. Her voice attracted a hippo, that hippo wanted to get closer to her, but the the splashing of the water wet Rhodopis’s slippers. She took them off and put slippers under the sun to dry. At that time, a falcon flew down and snatched one of the slippers. However, Rhodopis was in awe because she knew it was the God Horus who had taken her shoes. And the left that slipper in the Pharaoh’s chariot. Pharaoh thought that was God Horus’s sign. So he kept the slipper. In order to find the owner of this slipper, Pharaoh asked all women in the kingdom to try to put on this slipper, the one who fit the slipper best is the women who he looked for.

Finally, people find out that no other women can fit in this slipper expect Rhodopis. Then the pharaoh married Rhodopis, and Rhodopis lived happily from then on.

This story was written in the 1st century BC, so there are some terms that readers may not totally understand. Such as “pharaoh”, pharaoh is a title of an ancient Egyptian king. “courtesan” is a prostitute, especially one associating with noblemen or men of wealth. And her name “Rhodopis” means one’s face like a rose, and other strange thing is that the slipper that master gave her is also red, there may exist some connections.