At the end of the book “forbidden city”, (192 to 197)) Alex felt very bad for his friends in china because of the way they suffer and die. When he went back to Canada he was watching news of the violent the PLA have created. On that channel, it said the leader of the protesters have die in the violent. This has trigger Alex, he had destroyed many of his dad’s belongings to take out his anger. I don’t think he use any coping strategies to release his stress, but his dad did calm him down after. What I think Alex should of use as a coping strategy to help his mental health is, to draw because drawing can help release stress when you had a sad day.…
On Hitler’s Mountain shared the personal account of Irmgard Hunt, a Geman girl, which grew up on the same mountain that was Adolf Hitler’s alpine retreat. She narrated her own and her family’s story from how they lived through many important historical moments in German history. From how the great depression negatively affected her grandparent’s household to how the Nazi ideals put up a division between her own family. She shared anecdotes that she experienced herself growing up in the German society. At first, she did not know any better but as she grew older, she formulated her own opinions of what was going on politically in Germany during the Nazi era. She made clear historical connections of the events that were occurring at those specific times.…
The author provides first hand account to support his claims as well as evidence that was provided by other survivors of his Everest group. Krakauer also gives brief history of Everest and previous successful expeditions.…
To understand the design behind the Forbidden City, one must look at Ancient Chinese beliefs and architecture. The Chinese are a very spiritual people with many beliefs that go back to the beginning of its culture. One of these core beliefs are the five cardinal points that everything in life whether spiritual or physical is somehow subjected to. In order of worst to best they are the center, the south, the east, the west, and the north. From the north came invaders and all sorts of strange people and rumors. Bad omens came from the north and the north had unbearably hot summers and freezing cold winters. In the northwestern parts of the country were high mountains that separated and kept safe those of the middle kingdom and the barbarians. The south…
Standing at an unfathomable height of 29,029 ft, Mount Everest is the world’s highest Himalayan peak. Adventure junkies and passionate climbers can only dream of such a colossal trek, but when presented with an almost unresistable opportunity, Jon Krakauer couldn't refuse the offer. In his New York Times bestselling novel Into Thin Air, Krakauer shares his personal recount of the incidents that occurred during his journey to the summit of Everest in 1996. Consequent to the publication of both Krakauer’s novel and his article in Outside magazine, multitudes of public opinion, criticism, viewpoints, and questions have been raised. One question that has yet to be put to rest, probably due to the sensitivity and controversy surrounding the topic,…
When there is oppression, a form of injustice, in the world, what would be a better way to react? The two main ways people respond to systems of oppression are by being an upstander or a bystander. In William Bell’s Forbidden City, the government oppresses its citizens. Oppressors are people who oppress and favor one group of people above the other, and victims are the people being oppressed. Bystanders are people who do nothing as they see poeple being oppressed. An example would be the narrator from Maurice Ogden’s Hangman. On the other hand, upstanders stand up for the cause they believe in, like the French woman in the movie Pigeon.…
Throughout the book, Krakauer describes the fierce possessiveness people felt towards the mountain. The history of the mountain…
His reliability has been questioned ever since his book was released. Anatoli Boukreev’s testimonies against Krakauer did not stifle this controversy, but rather fueled it. Questions regarding ethics, character portrayals, and state of mind arose. The other climbers that told their stories provided a new, unique perspective. Some of their stories corroborated Krakauer’s events, though others’ sided more with Boukreev. While the media and general public can speculate all they want about who was telling the true facts, what actually happened on that mountain, and who was responsible for the deaths that occurred, the only ones that know the real answers are those that took part of that 1996 Mount Everest…
The previously mentioned authors conducted what seemed like an objective study as they refrained from making any comment that would appear offensive but perhaps this has much to do with the fact that their studies and articles were conducted nearly four to five decades ago, a time in which our own society was not as advanced. In this recent study, Bhat (2013) describes the Tibetans as “economically poor, socially backward but culturally sound.” Although this declaration seems valid describing them as socially backward could be wrongly taken by the Tibetans. Asides from this description, Bhat does state that the Tibetans tribes’ poverty surpasses that of the general population. Furthermore, Tibetans’ “housing, sanitation, electricity and health care facilities are very low sub-standard than other sections of population. The literary rate among schedule tribes of Kashmir is also very low” (Bhat 2013). Although the Tibetans are very rich in culture, they are, in fact, very poor in other aspects—almost every aspect considered of high importance in more industrialized societies—which could lead to a misunderstanding of their culture such as being labeled as socially backward in the eyes of an outsider. Much of the Tibetans current conditions is due to India’s social system which dictates that those of purer…
Duality exists in all aspects of the world- in the light of the stars against the dark of the night sky or the vibrant spring colors and the desolation come winter. The dual nature of this world has added deep lines between right and wrong, but of course both will present themselves and both will always, in some way, shape, or form, affect one another. In the Devil in the White City the author, Erik Larson, not only informs the audience about a colossal architectural turning point for our nation, but he entices the reader into a state of jittery tension that is enforced by continuous amounts of alarming duality.…
During the outward-looking rule of China's Tang dynasty (seventh-ninth century C. E. ), sophisticated people in northeastern Iran developed such a taste for expensive, imported Chinese pottery that they began to imitate it in great quantity for sale to people who could not afford the real thing. And in northern China there was a vogue for beautiful pottery figurines of camels laden with caravan goods or ridden by obviously non-Chinese merchants, musicians, or entertainers. Non-Chinese camel figurines found in Mesopotamia carry loads that duplicate the distinctive appearance of the loads on the Chinese figurines. So it is clear that by the time of the rise of Islam in the seventh century, contact across the Silk Road not only was extensive, but had affected the material and aesthetic cultures on both ends (William/ Spielvogel 145). Clearly, one of the most important and most utilized animals during the Silk Road era was the camel.…
Throughout history, there have been several ways in which people perceive Tibet. Since it has traditionally been isolated from the world, culturally and geographically, the mystery it provokes has shaped most people’s beliefs into viewing it as a Shangri-La, or sacred land. This popular view is supported by the fact that Tibet is a place where its people see Buddhism…
City of God, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, is based on a true story of slum gangs of Rio De Janeiro in the 60’s. Rocket tells the story from his point of view about him and Lil’ Z growing up in the ghetto and they take on different paths in life. The city was dangerous and full of drugs, guns, gangs and killing. Rocket, had dreams of becoming a photographer one day. He did not want to fall into the violence and corruption and his only way out was to expose the city’s brutality to the world through his pictures. Lil’ Z, grows into a fearsome gang leader, his words enforced by death. The film felt very real and was shot to make it feel…
The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader who has left his homeland, Tibet and has established the Buddhist Temple in Dharmasala, India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The newspaper extract revealed the two contrasting reputations of the Dalai Lama after emerging as the prophet of Buddhism in this secular age. The two reputations of the Dalai Lama that has been identified from the newspaper articles are his religious and political reputations which have been viewed with different perceptions by the people of Tibet and other parts of the world. The comparison between these two reputations has been discussed below with reference to the Chapter 7 of Book 1.…
Mullen’s article “Orientalist commercializations: Tibetan Buddhism in American Popular Film” reflects upon how Tibetan Buddhism has remained under the limelight of American media and film industry for some time. Tibetan history, culture and religion have gained huge popularity all over the world in a very short span of time through the American films. oHowever, Mullen argues that the views presented in these Hollywood films regarding the Tibetan…