The process of tracing and annotating two pages (three in my case) was a rigorous process for me. The tracing Pages assignment was a very unorthodox for me; the traditional 5 structure thesis statement was not followed and that the whole writing process had to be revamped. I felt that the writing process for me was not to present a thesis statement and present evidence supporting that statement but to undergo a process of “discovering” your thesis statement. I definitely understood both books better after this assignment, but the tracing and annotating process was more time consuming for me. The thesis statement shows that the general story outlines portray the mothers as antagonists but both authors show rare moments of care and concern exhibited by both mothers for their children. The link to the assignment is given here.
Choosing the right images, for me, was a bit complicated as there were limited photos of flying monsters representing evil. I used the preview mac app to reduce the size of the second image with the winged beast to make it fit into the upper middle part of the image of the man looking up to the sky. I want the second image to be within the line of sight of the man from the first image. The final image may not be perfect as the differences in background colors are profoundly visible. I feel all of us as individuals have to navigate life with distinct moral compasses and that is what I want the final image to show. The final image shows a man looking up to the winged beast in the sky. The beast symbolizes the evil within our hearts and the man represents humanity that has to keep its distance from the monster and stay on the “right path” which is different for every single person.
CS 170 – Intro to Computer Science. Expressing a dry subject in images was unconventional to me. I believe Computer Science and advanced coding concepts is substantially more complex to be able to be expressed in images. In my Sunday sketch, I decided to show the basic concept of the Java Virtual Machine.
I drew a computer with a large monitor begging to be fed with codes adding a comedic side to my sketch, but I did find it taxing, explaining visually further concepts of coding due to the level of complexity involved, though, learning visually did help me in understanding the basic concept of converting high-level languages to binary code. I found out that thinking visually helps in certain parts or subjects but not in problem solving or mathematical concepts. I found the process of constructing my own Sunday sketch difficult as, in my opinion, Comp Sci doesn’t mesh well with visual thinking even in graphics.
Funny and scary, intimidating yet goofy, clowns are something I hold mixed feelings about. I’ve always thought clowns to have a daunting vibe. Yes, they induce laughter, yes they personify buffoonery, but their large jumpsuits and big shoes make it hard for me to stay engaged in their performances. I only see big shoes and jumpsuits when I look at objects, particularly glasses.
If I view my glasses vertically, the image of a clown with big boots always comes to mind. The lenses represent the boots and the sides represent a part of the jumpsuits. I darkly shaded the upper area around the lenses to make the boots distinct. I continued to make the lower part of the jumpsuit with the sides, deliberately making the legs longer and the upper body shorter to add a clumsy look (unnerving for me). A few stimulating shapes were added to the jumpsuit to not make it look bland. I purposely made the gloves with a mickey mouse style and decided to go with a Danny DeVito hairstyle, with an arrow stuck in his hair. A distinct face paint design was added that would make most people uncomfortable and possibly empathize with my opinions on clown appearances. The link to the assignment is here.
The process of writing the literacy narrative seemed unconventional to me. I’ve never had to include images in my writing. The freewriting exercises felt a bit strange. I’ve never undergone the process of writing in a limited amount of time about anything that comes to mind. Though by the time I finished writing my narrative, I realized that I was a critic of sorts. Throughout high school, I became more selective about fantasy novels in particular.
I want fantasy novels to at least have the theme of moral ambiguity, and extensive character development is a requirement for me. While writing the narrative I felt like I limited reading to only novels and fiction, but at the same time I had to understand my rhetorical situation and to write keeping in mind the constraints listed, so, I focused on the aspects of reading novels. I chose two images to incorporate into my writing. The first image is a representation of dark fantasy while the second image shows the dark and gloomy world of A Song of Ice and Fire.
The most interesting sentence: “Moral ambiguity, meticulous character development and the overcomplication of the struggle between good and evil made the series unique. I felt that we like Martin’s characters are forced to navigate the world with different definitions of morality. Martin showed that as in Game of Thrones you have to be a snake to “climb the ladder” in the real world. There is no good or bad”.
Kingslayer, Oathbreaker, a man without honor would usually be the words spoken behind the back of the knight, Ser Jaime Lannister, as he rode through the streets of King’s Landing with an apathetic vibe. Under the veil of sarcasm, condescendence, negligence, and cynicism lay a complex man with a crude sense of morality and justice that ignores oaths and personal honor. My Avatar features Jaime Lannister, who in my opinion is one of George R. R. Martin’s most complex creations. The reason for me choosing Jaime Lannister as my avatar would be the amount of character development he has gone through. Most characters from A Song of Ice and Fire book series and the tv show Game of Thrones would fall onto the extreme ends of the morality spectrum but Jaime is the only character that falls right in the middle of it. Interestingly, in his mind, Jaime believes his actions are justified and in the best interests of his family, yet when House Lannister’s actions are devoid of basic morality Jaime finds himself in a constant state of conflict and is forced to question his loyalty.
That’s not to say that Jaime is without his faults. He’s crippled a boy, beat his cousin to death, and has forsaken several vows; but at the same time, he prevented the destruction of King’s landing, took over Riverrun without a single loss of life, and rode north to fight the army of the dead. Half the population of King’s Landing owes him a great debt when Jaime stabbed the “Mad King” in the back just before he gave the order of burning the whole city to the ground. Unfortunately, the knight would have to live with the label “Oathbreaker” for the rest of his life. I find the character Jaime to be the perfect embodiment of utilitarianism and nihilism and what it means to be human.
“The things I do for love…” ― Jaime Lannister (George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones).
“So many vows…they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It’s too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or the other.” ― Jaime Lannister (George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings).
Choosing and designing my avatar was a fairly simple process for me. I used the photo editing application PicMonkey to edit and crop the photo. I selected a specific theme, text, and borders. I chose a greyish theme for the background to bring out a gloomy effect with Jaime deliberately being situated directly into it, forced to navigate the rudimentary world of Game of Thrones with a vulnerable moral compass.
