Compare and Contrast: Marriages

Comparing and contrasting is useful to make a decision. It gives you distinct similarities and differences between two topics, and is usually straightforward. 
The essay I chose to write about is comparing and contrasting arranged marriages vs. marriages from love. 

I'm not too sure that I agree with Sapra. I felt like she focused too much on how great arranged marriages were, and not enough on marriages based on love. I understand that she supports arranged marriage, but telling me how great it is instead of explaining all the points of each topic doesn't convince me. On page 289 of "I'm Happy with an Arranged Marriage", Sapra gives a few examples of women who are happy with their arranged marriages. The point that stood out to me the most was that they were all happy with children. I think the main reason why I don't agree with arranged marriage is because you are strongly encouraged to live up to your family's expectations. From what Sapra wrote, I know that a woman has to marry a wealthier man and have children. I believe in the phrase, "follow your heart." A lot of couples do not want children, and some are just not able to. I enjoy seeing people travel with their loves and live in the moment, not worrying if their families approve or not.  If you have to spend the rest of your life with someone, I think you should be able to choose. Your family is not getting married, you are. Although I do not agree that arranged marriages are the better option, Sapra does bring up valid points. She stresses the importance of family during the process of choosing a husband. Even people who are on their own choosing their spouses ask their families for advice. Your family just wants what is best for you in the long run. 

Lies

I totally agree with Ericsson when she says that lies have become almost the norm in today's society. If somebody said that they don't lie very often, well they would be lying. I think she organized her essay very well. There are so many different types of lies and she made it easy to distinguish between each of them. 

There are probably other types of lies that Ericsson forgot to mention, but she gave the basis for each lie. In my opinion, other types of lies come from combinations of those that she listed. I think the most common lie that people tell are white lies. White lies are small, easy to tell, and essentially harmless. What people don't realize is that their white lies will add up and create a big problem in the future. Maybe some of us have been caught in a string of white lies and had no choice but to take the heat for it. 

I think Ericsson wrote this essay to show people how lies have become a normal part of our lives. There's so many types that people may not even know they are lying. She wanted to make a point that we should really be conscious of how many lies we tell. As common as they are, we should cut down on how frequently we lie.  

How in the World Do You Get a Skunk Out of a Bottle?

Connors' essay is titled with a question because that is the same question he asked himself when faced with this situation. If a skunk came wobbling up to me with a jar over its head, I would definitely be asking myself how to get that jar off. 

I think Connors wrote this essay to let people know that animals, no matter what kind, need our help when they have run into a problem. For example, this poor skunk who is usually feared because of its terrible spraying was completely helpless. The jar was cutting off its oxygen and it was slowly suffocating. The skunk had no choice but to walk towards the nearest person to help. 

I also think he wanted to make a point that we need to be careful where we throw our garbage. Animals will accidentally wander into it and get stuck and injured. If Connors wasn't there, the skunk was probably going to die. There's countless incidents of animals being caught in various things that humans threw away. For example, dolphins and sea lions become trapped in shopping bags and plastic bottle holders. The same goes for smaller animals on land as well. Squirrels, raccoons, and others can be suffocated or poisoned by the waste we carelessly throw away. We need to be conscious of how we dispose of our waste so animals can be free to roam around in a clean and safe environment. 

Clothing Ads

I have received many clothing magazines in the mail. I always look through them to see if anything catches my eye. What I don't understand is why companies such as Urban Outfitters put models in the weirdest locations, doing the weirdest things. Not that I have anything against the clothing store, I just think their marketing strategy is odd. Almost all of the photos are taken in some remote location, like a junkyard or the desert. The models are usually wearing mismatched clothes, have long, dirty hair, and seem to not have a care in the world. 

I think Urban Outfitters wants to be the ultimate "hipster" store, but it has to realize that not everyone who shops there wants to be a hipster. I certainly don't. I shop at Urban Outfitters every time I'm at the mall and sometimes I feel very awkward walking into the store. It's almost as if they only want people who look like hipsters to shop there. 

My point is that Urban Outfitters and other clothing stores as well try too hard to cater to one group of people. I think if they realized how many people want to shop at their stores but feel unwelcome, then they would try to use a different marketing strategy or even different pictures altogether. I love clothing magazines, but the outrageous locations and situations in the pictures should be toned down. 

Depression in College Students

I thought Steiner wrote a very well organized essay on the subject of college depression. Her thesis was very clear, in my opinion, that students should always seek help from a counselor if they are feeling all the stress being thrown onto them. The way she supported her thesis made me realize that depression is a very real thing and it can happen to anyone, even people who seem to have everything. 
I liked how much information she gave in her essay. She gave an in-depth explanation of what depression is, what the symptoms were, and what the consequences and effects are. I'm glad she included where to seek help in her essay, as many students reading this would probably need that information. 
I can definitely relate to this article because I felt very overwhelmed with stress when school first started. I eventually got over it by going to my older friends who have been in college for a few years and asking them how to handle everything in an easy way. If I didn't have my friends, I probably would have had a breakdown by now. 
If I were to write an essay on this topic, I don't think I would change the format very much. I thought Steiner's essay was written very well and was easy to understand. I would also include examples of real people (If i had any examples) and explain the most important points about depression. 

Hidden Intellectualism

"Making students' nonacademic interests an object of academic study is useful, then, for getting students' attention and overcoming their boredom and alienation." I believe this is the thesis in Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism. 

I totally agree with his argument because many students, including myself, have a hard time in school when learning about mundane or difficult topics. Graff does a good job of giving examples supporting his thesis and showing the reader why this would be a good idea. I agree when he says school is like a competition with the countless standardized tests. Some students might be very intelligent but nervous test takers. This, including the fact that these tests include very long, boring reading passages, is not something we should use to measure our intelligence. 

I believe that ideal intelligence is to have a combination of book smarts and street smarts. You can't go a day without talking to somebody about a big media story or what happened in the last football game. But you should be book smart as well, because without the basic understanding of literature, math, science, etc. you can't understand what happened in that football game. 
I think book smarts and street smarts are equally important in today's society, as you will be well-rounded and able to talk to anyone, about many different topics. 

Dialogue Between Radley and David

Radley: I don't think it is right that the government is forcing restaurants and schools to "go healthy." This just makes people unenthusiastic about eating healthy.

David: We need places to have healthy alternatives so teenagers don't automatically go for the quickest fast food meal. it is the cheapest food they can find and they won't care if it is unhealthy or not. To teenagers, it is just food. If healthy food places were put in areas near schools or a workplace, people would have more incentive to eat healthy. It will be of easy access and will be better for them.

Radley: That is true, but these places are going to be more expensive because of the ingredients and the organic nature. People go to fast food restaurants because they are cheap. Unfortunately, all of the fast food will eventually catch up to them and they will have health issues. But don't worry, there is medical attention reserved for them, coming out of taxpayers' pockets.

David: Wouldn't it be a good thing to have healthy food restaurants and stores then? if more people ate at these places, and if the cost was lowered, the amount of money being used for obesity medication would decrease.

Radley: You may be right. as long as people are under the impression that they will not be paying for obesity medication or if there is no medical attention, they will continue to eat healthy and live an active lifestyle. 


After reading both of the arguments, I agree and disagree with both of them. I disagree with the phrase, "don't blame the eater" because it is nobody else's fault except the eater's. It's not like somebody else is telling them what to eat or how much they should eat. And if you eat fast food every single day, it is almost common sense that when you put unhealthy food into your body quite frequently, you will become highly susceptible to health problems. I disagree when Radley says there should be absolutely no medical attention for obesity. There should always be some kind of medical help no matter what issues you are having. I could possibly agree with him more if he revised his claim by saying there should be less healthcare for obese people. It still gives the incentive to exercise and eat healthy.


Thesis: Everyone is responsible for their own food choices, and you can't always rely on the government and medical attention to treat someone for being obese. Being healthy and making healthy choices it ultimately better in the long-run for you as well as others around you.