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| Title page of the original edition of A Tale of Two Cities, 1859. |
The year: 1775
The place: London and Paris (actually, the action opens on the road to Dover, England)
The mood: Enlightenment ideas (natural rights of man, the "noble savage," and scientific discovery) were challenging long-held beliefs.
The novel opens with one of the most famous lines in English literature: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Dickens then makes a series of comparisons. Here's the list we came up with in class:
best worst
wisdom foolishness
belief incredulity
Light Darkness
hope despair
everything nothing
Heaven "the other way"
What about today? Find a "best" and a "worst" of today, and explain why you chose this as your "superlative comparison."
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ReplyDeleteToday was a return, a return to the people and classmates of whom I am so connected with throughout the duration of this school year. Such an event inspires both great joy and celebration along with a healthy dosage of anguish, for now that we are assembled together once more, we are well... together. Again.
ReplyDeleteThe joy: Returning to school means reuniting with my friends and fellow classmates. These are people I have missed dearly over the break and coming back together with them will usher in many good times. Not only this, but everything is back to normal in my life, and to be quite honest, along with being a bit blunt, I enjoy my normal life.
The anguish: It is today, and thus it is yet another tomorrow since yesterday. Henceforth, I am one day closer to the day in which I will die. On a slightly more lively note, I am back with everybody again. This means that I have to put up with my friends and their silly little dramas in which all of the others seem to have an insatiable desire to be entangled with. These ridiculous farces are an endless series of interminable events that I must cope with on a daily basis.
I chose this subject because it's good to be back, despite my misanthropic attitude. Dealing with people is something that happens everyday, and with people comes idiocy.
The two opposite superlatives that I would use to describe today reflect our return to school after a well needed two week break. This morning I awoke to a feeling of anticipation as I was excited to be with my friends again. Additionally, though I enjoyed the break, by the end I was getting a bit bored, and I wanted to be productive again. As I entered the campus and pulled up to the upper school, my second superlative began to creep into my mind. It started as a faint tug on the edge of my consciousness, but grew quickly so that by the time I had opened the door and entered school again, all I could think was:
ReplyDelete"Damn. I'm back in this place again."
Dread had enveloped me as I realized that I had so willingly returned to a place of entrapment to the monotony of academia! And to think that not thirty seconds ago I was excited to be there! Well, the first day back wasn't all that bad, but I would rather still be on break...
Along with many of my classmates, today was bittersweet. On one hand, I was returning to school after a two-week, fun-filled break, not just a regular two-day weekend. This meant the stress of homework and tests would return and that I could no longer spend my days as I wished. But today had many positives as well. Returning to school meant reuniting with friends and hearing of where they'll be attending high school next year. Along with that, sports started up again and in general, I got back into the natural pattern of school life.
ReplyDeleteThis example perfectly embodies the quote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." As mentioned, the first day back at school is great to reunite with friends; however, with school comes stress.
As most people have already said, today had it's ups and downs. During vacation I was used to waking up around 10 and doing whatever I pleased. It was definitely hard waking up this morning much earlier and getting back into a school routine. Although there is only a few months left of school, the homework and test still remain. On the other hand, I did miss not seeing my friends over break, which helped motivate me while getting up this morning. it was also exciting to hear about everyone's vacation and see familiar faces again. I chose this comparison because even though I still have to get back into the routine of school work, it was great to see friends again.
ReplyDeleteStudents:
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't replied to this blog query yet, please be advised that the word "today" has several meanings. I meant to say, "in our times," or "nowadays" or "in this epoch" -- all of these can be also expressed as "today." However, most of you understood me to mean "today," Monday, March 26, 2012. It's more challenging to look outside your own life and school day to the machinery of society and politics and culture, but if you haven't yet replied, please try to do so, and answer Dickens' assessment of his own age with an assessment of your own.
The protests in the middle east that have been going on for about a year are an example of events that instill fear and yet inspire hope. For the longest time dictators ruled these regions. Democratic nations have always been against that but these dictators often did a better job than anyone of keeping muslim fundamentalist fanatics from gaining power. They did it for the wrong reasons but they suppresed terrorism all the same. In this new anarchy that has sprouted in the attempts to topple corrupt regimes, new evils may be created. Moammar Gadhafi was a part of a revolution in Libya in 1969 that toppled a government but the new one he created was even worse. hopefully, these revolutions will result in successful democracies but the danger is always present and in a moment of division and weakness a country often accepts cruel leaders that would otherwise have no support
ReplyDeleteLast night I could barely sleep. After going to bed around 1AM every night and waking up at 10 every morning, being on break was a great feeling. I was finally free from consistent homework every night and overall unwanted drama from school. So, trying as hard as I could to wake up at 6:45 this morning and make the bus was a troublesome task to fulfill after two weeks of break. The feeling of returning back to school and having to leave my extended family in Florida haunted me the whole time.
ReplyDeleteOnce I reached the tree-line driveway, I began to see all of my extremely-missed friends funnel into the Upper School. Soon enough my feelings changed from fearing this day to come to excited to see all of my friends. It was great to see familiar faces again and catch up about each other's two weeks away from school.
This day turned out differently than I expected. It was fun to reunite with my peers again and hear where they are going to school next year. Even though I still wish I was on break in the nice warm weather, it was definitely time for me to return back to reality.
Today was generally a pretty alright good day. I stayed home most of my break, and I was well rested. I overindulged during spring break by doing things like sleeping in, watching TV and generally being lazy, activities that normally go under the category of procrastination during the school week. Now that I'm back at school, It's hard to accept the fact that march break is over, and now teachers will start to assign work and don't expect you to slack off; that was the worst part of my day, the realization that schoolwork is here and here to stay for the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of my day was returning to my friends at school, and watching basketball at night.
McDonald's is the best! I love McDonald's. It is the best of times today because there is a McDonald's on basically every corner. No matter where you are, there is a McDonald's near by. It supplies delicious food to people in all areas. Also, unlike gourmet restaurants, it has incredible value meals, so people of all socioeconomic statuses can enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteIt is the worst of times for the same reason, there is a McDonald's on every corner. It is very affordable, and it's a quick meal. For these reasons, a lot of people eat McDonald's. This is contributing to obesity in America, and making us a very unhealthy country. The unhealthy food is cheap, quick, and delicious, but the health foods are very expensive, and sometimes hard to find.
Today the use of technology in education is a highly debated topic. So people argue that since our would is evolving, that students should get used to being around technology, as they will probably be with technology for the rest of their lives. The dissenting group argues that we should take more of a rustic approach and try not to use as much technology. There are pros and cons to both sides. Technology can prove to be invaluable due to the fact that it makes it so much easier access data, and complete tasks. It can also be a downside due to the fact that technology offers so much on the internet, it can easily distract people from their work. However, we soon have to face the fact that our world is becoming much more technologic oriented and soon there may not been any cause for a dissenting opinion, however, with all the pluses of technology we have to be careful not to become overwhelmed by it. Technology can bring out the best times in the education of young children world, but can also cause the worst.
ReplyDeleteThe world of today is defined by a key aspect: Technology. This is both a blessing and a curse, for it has destroyed the once standard way of life.
ReplyDeleteTechnology has allowed information to be spread astonishingly quickly. This is good because it allows people to stay in contact with each other astonishingly easily. However, with SmartPhones and things, people tend to spend more time looking down at their phones while texting someone than they do looking up at the friend right in front of them. Ironically, someone on his or her phone might be arranging another meeting that will occur in the same way as the ongoing one.
Technology has also disrupted some of the most natural phenomenons. For instance, do to industry, we are polluting our earth. This has a disastrous effect. Also, technology is saving many lives because of advanced medicine. However, more people are surviving illnesses that would have previously been fatal. This disrupts the Darwinian theory of Natural Selection, and thus will lead us to having a weaker and larger population. McDonalds and other such corporations are causing many to grow fat. Overall, we are becoming a race of overfed and papered saps.
Technology will probably be our civilizations undoing. Whatever. It's here to stay, we might as well enjoy it.
Civil Rights is an important issue in today’s society, because of conflicting beliefs between people. Often, there can be discrimination towards minority groups because of the group’s beliefs and ideas that conflict with others. An example of this is racism. America has progressed to eliminate racism and to give everyone the liberties they deserve, no matter their race. But the down side is that racism is still an issue today. Racism may appear in different ways, but it can still be a problem. The good side is that every day people are becoming more aware to the problem of racism and are taking action to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteJust like the year, 1789, the beginning of the book, our time also has the "best" and "worst." I believe that some of the best things of today is our new technology. Students in our school are able to use the internet to expand our learning. Calculators in math are used frequently and they help students find answers to the problems instantly. It is terrible to have to do a long division problem by hand, but with a calculator it can be done in seconds. The technology we are lucky to have today is very helpful in our everyday lives. Although technology is helpful it still is hurting the earth. The ozone layer is diminishing and what will happen to us when we don't have the resources we need. Even though solar power is becoming popular in technology like cars, the amount of drivers in a hybrid or solar power car is very low. This is one problem that the world can't seem to fix. Introducing new technology, like hybrid and solar powered cars, will slowly lower our carbon footprint. Overall, today and 1789 have many "best" and "worst" comparisons.
ReplyDeleteModern day society has the worst times and best of times. America for example, has taken a few steps forward over the years, and now seems to be taking a few back. Today there are still many issues amongst the country that have effected citizens everyday lives. Some examples include recession, jobs, racism, and even discrimination. While one could find great reasons how the country is improving, another could find many why we are not. One could also say we have come a long way, yet there are still difficulties that are present. While this country, unlike many others, is "free", "independent", and people have rights, it still has major flaws. The country is trying to find a way out of recession, leaving many without jobs, food, and support. Although many laws have been enacted to protect racism and other discrimination, it still occurs and is an issue. In my opinion, modern society today has a good amount of freedom and indpendence, but still continues to have crucial, everyday problems.
ReplyDeleteEveryday technology is advancing, which is great in some ways. It is the 21st century and the need for useful technology and internet is critical. However, some people are using it in ways that are taking away lack of privacy of others and the fact of how much time people actually spend on this. For example, Facebook, is a socializing network that is used by almost everyone. It is a way to be able to share information about yourself to your peers and sometimes complete strangers. This is just how modern day teens and sometimes adults spend their time.
ReplyDeleteAnother example is about machines and computers. I think that the fact of having advanced technology is wonderful and definitely crucial in order to expand on the make of machines and computers. However, having automatic "robots" do basic jobs that us, humans, are taking away a necessity for modern day families to survive in this world. Overall, the use of advanced technology today is helping us prosper in society. But on the other side, it is leading many people into sticky situations with the internet, and with jobs, it is leading many families into challenging situations that may lead to poverty.