@sophia
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Lesson 10 Exam:
“People protest about the cruelty of keeping animals in captivity, but they seem happy enough to eat meat, keep pets and visit zoos. All animals should be free!”
Freedom is a complicated concept. All of us have diversified definitions of freedom based on our very own identities and experiences. It is hard to determine whether we should apply our own perceptions to scenarios that do not require our direct participation, and matters often turn polemic when it comes to beings other than humans, that is to say animals. What is being free? Should animals be free? There is a general consensus among us that keeping animals in captivity like zoos is cruel, yet eating meat, keeping pets and visiting zoos are also a customary part of our lives.
As human beings, we desire freedom on both the mental and physical aspects. Keeping human beings in captivity indeed violates our rights and freedom. But even so, if captivity could provide us refuge, some may shudder and reexamine their original belief. Humans see themselves as the superior of all other beings on Earth, and animals are regarded as being less intelligent and incapable of critical, creative and in-depth thinking. Thus, if there is even a goal, the goal for animals would be to survive and die naturally. And if the process of survival could be more pleasing and less painful or possibly longer, animals would probably more than willingly accept it. If so, since animals do not have their definition of freedom as they could not develop one, the difference between a zoo and the wilderness is just in expanse. If freedom applies to animals’ basic needs, would it be more free to live in a larger space or to have a more enjoyable process of survival with ample food and safety guaranteed. Animals that have a lower position in the food change must learn to adapt to obtain greater benefits and survive, to the animals, the law of nature is what determines their gains and losses, and they must abide the law to be free. They learn to live with humans and make the most of what they could take. If the wild itself is cruel, what cruelty does living in a laboratory bring?
The law of nature is the supreme source of judgement. In response to what might seems to be a contradictory action of humans, while humans eat meat to survive, so does other animals. Pets are domesticated, their existence proves that they themselves are willing and dependent on the presence of humans. And not only that the freedom of animals is likely not contravened by zoos, zoos are also used to protect endangered species. What is freedom when one does not even have the most basic and necessary power to survive?
The query towards humans’ actions transgressing animals’ freedom itself is based on our own definitions for freedom. The ones that speak for the animals could never actually express animals’ actual thoughts. The idea itself is absurd in a way, yet it also manifest how us as humans occupies the leading position on Earth, as it is us who question and advocate for the right of the ones that could not speak. There is no definite answer to this dilemma as long as we hold this position and the victims of this issue could not speak for their own thoughts.
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Lesson 5 Exam
The author creates Florence’s thoughts and feelings by alluding to the environment and situation that surrounds her, and centering the passage around the theme of faith through the usage of language and literary devices.
The very first sentence start with the comparison of her feelings to a cheerful surrounding. While Florence is suffering from “the wildness of her sorrow, shame and terror”, she hurries through “the sunshine of a bright morning”. By straightforwardly introducing Florence’s feelings and having Florence meandering in a joyful environment, the author immediately establishes the sense of loss in faith for Florence as her originally desperate thoughts become even more evident with the comparison to her surroundings, further building her segregation from everyone else and her extreme helplessness. In addition, Florence’s change in feeling is illustrated through her interaction with the people around her. While it is frightening for Florence to blend into the world that she has already lost faith in, the people around her help her in recalling herself and make her realizes the necessity of greater composure. The author successfully creates a change in Florence’s thoughts through depicting a scene of people interacting with her, thus making her thoughts and feelings reasonable and relatable.
In addition to the author’s utilization of the environment that envelops Florence, Florence’s thoughts and feelings are further developed through usage of language and literary devices .For instance, the author attempts to create Florence’s thoughts and feelings by using nouns like “agitation”, “loss”, “sorrow”. These nouns give the reader a general yet specific direction of what the author is aiming to portray of Florence. From the amount of nouns, the reader could interpret the complicity and hesitation that Florence is facing. Furthermore, the author describes Florence as, “Wringing her hands and weeping bitterly, insensible to everything but the deep wound in her breast, stunned by the loss of all she loved, left like the sole survivor on a lonely shore from the wreck of a great vessel……”. The author compares Florence with a sole survivor on a lonely shore from the wreck of a great vessel, accurately illustrating her situation and despair through illustrative language. The wreck of a great vessel is of her home that she runs away from, it is broken and demolished n her perspective but she could still sense the presence of its relic from her memory that she is avoiding and her intense feelings. The author’s usage of “sole survivor”shows how Florence already marks herself as separated from her home, as she sees herself as the only survivor. The streets of London is compared to “lonely shore” as while Florence is away from the place that she loses faith in, she is yet in another place that makes her feel bewildered, a place that could not be called home.
In conclusion, the author uses features and elements from the environment around Florence to make her feelings apparent and distinguishable as her feelings and thoughts are disparate from the atmosphere she is within. The attempt to create Florence’s thoughts and feelings is further achieved through the author’s usage of language and literary devices, making Florence’s thoughts and feelings more eminent and readily for readers to resonate with.
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