Reflection

My portfolio consist of the three essays that I wrote in the duration of this fall semester. However, I ACTUALLY read and fixed any grammar, spelling, and added a few more thoughts and sources. There is one specific thing that I can take from this class and that is to write freely. In middle school, high school, and even in English 113A, I've always had a strict rubric to follow when assigned an essay. In this class, we obviously had instructions on what to write about we weren't going to write about birds and cupcakes when clearly we had to write a the space around of. But we had the freedom the be creative about what we were told to write about and with that being said, I learned something new about myself. I like writing creatively.  I think it's pretty cool. I learned a lot of things in this class. This semester went by way to quick because I feel like there is so much more for me to learn. Jeffery and Collin, thank you for knowing what teaching really is.


-Shannon

Portfolio Essay #3

Shannon Ashford

English 113B

December 3, 2013

Jeffery Keppler

The Symbol V in V for Vendetta

            In the Comic book V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, there are characters, objects, and events in which are symbolic and related to different things in both the movie and the comic. Allan Moore creates unique symbols in this comic to keep his audience on their feet.

Small objects such a domino, a rose, and a  room number is brought out to be a huge deal in the plot. The letter V is one of the most important symbols in this comic because its symbolic to characters, objects, and events

            An oddly identified, mask man named V is the center of why this letter is symbolic. V is one of the main characters who is out to seek revenge to the harsh government that he lives in. V is a very mysterious man who lives in room 5 and uniquely fights hard for to tear down people who are apart of the horrible government. He hosts a terrorist attack to end the lives of the hated ones. Because a good number of people were killed from V’s attack, some of the audience who reads this comic portrays V as a bad guy. However, it is the government to blame the hatred they receive from their citizen, especially V.  Jason Del Gandio, the author of Rhetoric for Radicals argues in his novel that, “our rhetorical crisis with, and unintentionally influenced by, our evolving and anti-authoritarianism” (Page 31).  In this comic, V plays a major role because he sets the plot.

            A young beautiful woman who is put into a life or death situation is saved by the grace of V during a tragic moment in the beginning of the comic. Evey, who is surprisingly, the main character in this comic. Evey is symbolic to the letter V because of the connection that is made between her and V. And her name just so happen to have a V emphasized in it. We see a transformation in her character throughout the comic. She started off as a little soft prostitute alone in this hatful world and felt judged for who she was and what she did. Until she met V, who changed her perspective on love and life. V inspired her to defend herself and help others. She became more of an independent young woman instead of a girl. She didn’t follow the rules of the world but the rules of what she believed in. “Society assumes that women should pursue their own endeavors as long as those endeavors don’t interfere with the ‘female responsibility” (page 105).  Evey changes her values of society expectations.

            V performed fatal attacks to the government. Some were minor and some were major. Whenever V terrorized the government, he would always leave some sort of signature to “celebrate the destruction of a building that represents the heart of democracy in the world.” (Vincent mall). On November 5^th, V had a big plan to destroy the highly praised Parliament by setting off bombs and fireworks and ending his destruction with the letter V lit up in the sky, formed by the works of the fire. This was a tragic event for the brutal, fascist government but was important for V, Evey, and the rest of the innocent citizens within the community.

            The letter V plays every role of symbolism. It might be looked at a small symbol but its importance helps tell the story. It identifies and analyzes the characters and actions that were plotted in the comic. The letter V tells us a story. A story that had it’s ending but never stopped. V for Vendetta is a good example of unique symbols bought into one story.

                

Work Cited

Vincent, Mal V for VENDETTA: VP - the Virginian-Pilot Edition." Virginian - Pilot, (2006): E.1.

Jason Gel Gandio. Rhetoric for Radicals-“A Call for Communicative Action.” 2007

Portfolio Essay #2

Shannon Ashford

English 113B

November 8, 2013

Professor Jeffery

The Thrill

            On May 29, 1971 the “thrill capital of the world” was built (www.sixflags.com). Located in Valencia California, Six Flags Magic Mountain is a thrill, attracting amusement park for all ages. Because of the large space provided (262 acres), it contains over 40 rides for a heart dropping experience.  With the millions of people attending Six Flags every year, it has been ranked in the top twenty most attracting amusement parks of the world (www.sixflags.com). Six Flags Magic Mountain is a popular theme park because of their social values, use of space, and entertainment.  

            Broadcasted by Warner Brothers Television, Looney Tunes started off as short Television Film in the early 1900s. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Tweedy Bird are only a few of the many popular characters created for this show (bosko.toonzone.net). In 1960, Justice League of America was introduced and published in DC Comics. Justice League of America brought a team of fictional superheroes to appear in these action filled comic books (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Justice_League). Many characters such as Batman, Wonderowman, Superman, and Incredible Hulk are superheroes that are still popular today. Six Flags decided to bring these characters to their parks to provide entertainment for their visitors.  Along with entertainment, these characters attract “families, teens, tweens and thrill seekers alike”  (Six Flags Recognized by iParenting Media. Anynomous). It has also come to the attention that the more characters brought to the park, the more merchandise they can create to sell and make money off of. With the merchandise being themed as a Looney Tune character, there is a higher flow of money brought into the theme park.

            There is a unique use of space surrounding the visitors. When you walk into the park there are places to shop, eat, take pictures, etc. One specific area that is always populated is Gotham City. Gotham City can sometimes feel like a mini amusement park within Six Flags. In other words, it relates to the movie Inception. Gotham City provides, rides, places to eat, and souvenir store. When you enter this city, you’re almost overwhelmed with the amount of rides that is fit into this one space. You automatically see two rides, “Wonderwoman “and “The Jokers Jinx” both of which have something in common. Both of those rides are rides that spin in circles for over a minute. Immediately following those two rides are a few places to eat. I’ve come to a realization that the reason why they placed those two rides before the restaurants, is so that they can attract more riders. If they were to put both of those rides at the end of Gotham City, then the majority of those riders could have possibly had a bite to eat. Concluding that there wont be any attraction to experience those two rides.  Therefore, It’s not just the amount of yards used for this space, but it’s also about analyzing the space and how it’s used. Although it’s a popular use of space, it never feels too crowded and or overpopulated.

            For years now, Six Flags Magic Mountain has been known for their thrilling rides.  The one thing that is attracting to the visitors of the park is that there are rides for toddlers, teens, and adults.  Between water rides, coasters, swing sets, and more, the park pleases everyone’s satisfaction.  There are rides that are meaningful due to them being old yet they’re still popular today due to the amount of riders they receive daily. One ride that in particular would be Colossus. Colossus is wooden ride that was built in the late 70s and is still popular today. With the new and old generation of rides Six Flags upholds a tradition of Roller Coasters.

            A traditional, festive, and spooky event that Six Flags host every year is Six Flags Fright Fest. Because the workers dress up as if they were dancers in Michael Jacksons “Thriller” music video, it brings an unusual entertaining show to the audience. As commonly mentioned in Los Angeles Times staff writer, Brady MacDonalds, Fright Fest has become a successful event throughout our generation. “Like a slow but determined zombie, Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain continues to lumber in the right direction after years of generic Halloween fare.” With the increase in numbers of people attending each year, the popularity rate grows as well. The different setting that is viewed during Fright Fest makes you feel like you’re in a scary movie. Since the theme is obviously based off of Halloween, the decorations throughout the whole park are changed. Space that is normally used for walking or sitting is now used for a stage to entertain the bold visitors with the workers thrilling performances. Normaly, where people walk is now filled with staged fog and is used as a “scare zone.”  Because there is such a large space to be used for the workers, they have plenty of places to hide so they can jump out and scare you.  This popular event makes a huge transformation at the park.

            The design you see when you visit Six Flags is eye-popping. Everywhere you walk there are bright colors appealing to many visitors. The set up of the rides are phenomenal. Six Flags is known for having award-winning rides built out of creativity.  The typical fun roller coasters that are built now-a-days are ones that are fast, have loops, and a large drop. At Six Flags you have roller coasters that are built like that. However, there is a little twist to it. For example Tatsu, which was built in 2007. Tatsu is popular by the scare it brings to the riders. What makes Tatsu different is that you’re literally hanging on your stomach throughout the whole ride as if you were Spiderman. Many rides and designs that are built at this theme park is what make it popular today.

            Six Flags Magic Mountain is known for its entertainment and adventures.  Aside from the amazing rides that are built, the character of the park is what makes it a fun theme park. Comparing to what Six Flags was before to what it is now has showed the traditional meaning behind the theme park. The architectures have made a way to upgrade many areas in the park but keep the old school Six Flags in just a few sections of the park. They are in fact very smart on the way they designed the park and used its space. Although Six Flags continues building new rides, the amount of extra space is used wisely.

Work Cited

Brady MacDonald. Six Flags Magic Mountain raises the bar with Fright Fest. The Baltimore Sun. 2012

Six flags recognized by iParenting media. (2008, Feb 08). PR Newswire. Retrieved from       http://search.proquest.com/docview/453263544?accountid=7285

Portfolio Essay #1

Shannon Ashford

English 113B

October 3, 2013

Professor Jeff 

Online Dating

            In our society, there are many ways to get connected with someone who can become your potential friend, best friend, enemy, boyfriend or girlfriend, or maybe even a husband or a wife. All of which is done through having a mutual friend, meeting someone at a club or bar, social media, online dating cites, and many more communicating sources. Online dating has received a lot of attention in the past decade. There is a dramatic increase on the amount of people participating in an online dating network. I believe that negativity has come forth to the topic of searching for a lover through network. Online Dating has resulting in a negative way to approach a potential lover.

            In our generation, it is more common to find someone through an online dating site versus running into them at a place that is outside of the Internet. I’m not going to lie, people can be senseless sometimes. They’ll meet the “perfect match” via Internet and believe that that person is the one for them. They will then lead on their relationship onto a higher level. However, they might not be who they say they are. “86% of users feel that online daters misrepresent their physical appearance because daters can easily manipulate their photographs in the virtual world” (Gibbs, Ellison, and Heino Online Dating).MTV’s hit show, Catifish, has taken over the dating world. Catfish is a show about two men, Nev and Max helping couples meet face to face for the first time after dating for a few months maybe even 10 years. There has been two seasons of this show and so far no one has been who he or she say they are. It’s heart breaking. Online dating has the ability to lower the confidence of a person and their love life.

            The claim of positivity from online dating is always advertised.  People do gain more confidence talking to a person they are physically attracted to. Their standards may or may not increase, making it more flexible for a person to get to know someone. Although you can view a picture of the person you’re talking to, you’re not too quick to judge when seeing them on the Internet. If a person is unattractive to you, you are most likely going to talk to that person on your online dating network than in real life. You may not be completely comfortable on building a relationship further than what it already might be. But, a person’s personality might overpower the unattractive, physical appearance they might fail to have. Online dating has led to strong relationships, which has even been fortunate enough to lead to marriages. This shows that there is some success in relationships that have been created over online.

            Online dating has put an affect on humans socially. Although there area a few positive outcomes on online dating, the negatives take over those specific outcome. Indeed, People become more confident when they’re talking to someone over the web but what about when they meet that person face to face. They might become a little shy and or socially awkward. Once that happens, the relationship can turn around, in a bad way.  Marriages are taken place for couples that have met and dated online. However, there is a large percent of those marriages that unfourtanetly end in a failure.

            In our economy, it is difficult for the average person to maintain enough finances to provide the mandatory necessities. When you register to date online, it’s costly. The online dating site has managed to successfully gain billions of dollars from people seeking a relationship.  “Cost may be a big issue for some. While online dating services may provide different prices for their services, there is a general understanding that it may cost a single person about $250 per year for only an annual subscription and nothing else” (Contradictory deceptive behavior in online dating). When you look at the annually cost, you think that it doesn’t seem like a lot of money wasted. However, It all adds up. You’re basically paying to possibly be in a relationship with someone who you’ve never met in person.  Hundreds of dollars could be saved from one person who has the desire to start a relationship over the web.

            Danger has become a popular action in our society. News about people who are in harm or doing the harm is constantly announced, daily. With online dating being one of them. We already went over the fact that people display lies on their online dating sites and others may be senseless. You may think that you’re setting up a date with someone whom you've grown to be attracted to physically and emotionally. Its’ surprising to say that murders, rapists, and pedophiles, have taken the initiative to make a dating profile. If and when you set up a date with someone who happens to be one of the three, you as an individual are put in a dangerous situation. Criminals can be tricky. They’ve retained all of your information so it is easier to put you in a dangerous situation.  They’ve let their personality grow on you so you can build that trust. When something unfortunate happens when seeing that person face to face, the trust that you had for that one person or even anyone else who you are connected to is lost.

            Many dating profiles are being created daily. Some of which are being used because people feel like they can’t find a significant other when they go out. It is known to only find someone who you have made a connection with over the Internet. Old school dating is coming to an end because of this. “In short, online dating has radically altered the dating landscape since its inception 15 to 20 years ago”  (A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science Eli J. Finkel). Therefore, online dating has become the “last hope” to some individuals. Online dating is now made its superior value in our culture due to the attention it is receiving from the many people living.

            Online dating has resulted in many failures. It is costly, unfaithful, and encourages people to not adventure out and find their true love outside of the Internet. It may also lead someone to be in a dangerous situation.  It also causes much heartbreak by encouraging people to lie about their true self. Humans have been and still are being socially affected by online dating.  Online dating is something that is popular but is overall not good for you.

Work Cited

Online Dating Services - Chronology and Key Features Comparison with Traditional Dating     Ali, Azad I; Wibowo, Kustim Competition Forum9.2 (2011): 481-488.

Contradictory deceptive behavior in online dating Department of International Trade,            Chinese Culture University, 55, Hwa-Kang Rd., Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei 11114,    Taiwan, ROC

A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science- Eli J. Finkel, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Swift Hall #102, Evanston, IL 60208-2710 

V for Vendetta Essay First Draft

Shannon Ashford

English 113B

December 3, 2013

Jeffery Keppler

The Symbol V in V for Vendetta

            In the Comic book V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, there are characters, objects, and events in which are symbolic and related to different things in both the movie and the comic. Allan Moore creates unique symbols in this comic to keep is audience on his feet.

Small objects such a domino, rose, a room number is brought out to be a huge deal in the plot. The letter V is one of the most important symbols in this comic because its symbolic to characters, objects, and events

            An oddly identified, mask man named V is the center of why this letter is symbolic. V is one of the main characters who is out to seek revenge to the harsh government that he lives in. V is a very mysterious man who lives in room 5 and uniquely fights hard for to tear down people who are apart of the horrible government. He host a terrorist attack to end the lives of the hated ones. Because a good number of people were killed from V’s attack, some of the audience who reads this comic, portrays V as a bad guy. However, it is the government to blame the hatred they receive from their citizen especially V.  Jason Del Gandio, the author of Rhetoric for Radicals argues in his novel that, “our rhetorical crisis with, and unintentionally influenced by, our evolving and anti-authoritarianism” (Page 31).  In this comic, V plays a major role because he sets the plot.

            A young beautiful woman who is put into a life or death situation is saved by the grace of V during a tragic moment in the beginning of the comic. Evey, who is surprisingly, the main character in this comic. Evey is symbolic to the letter V because of the connection that is made between her and V. And her name just so happen to have a V emphasized in it. We see a transformation in her character throughout the comic. She started off as a little soft prostitute alone in this hatful world and felt judged for who she was and what she did. Until she met V, who changed her perspective on love and life. V inspired her to defend herself and help others. She became more of an independent young woman instead of a girl. She didn’t follow the rules of the world but the rules of what she believed in. “Society assumes that women should pursue their own endeavors as long as those endeavors don’t interfere with the ‘female responsibility” (page 105).  Evey changes her values of society expectations.

            V performed fatal attacks to the government. Some were minor and some were major. Whenever V terrorized the government, he would always leave some sort of signature to “celebrate the destruction of a building that represents the heart of democracy in the world.” (Vincent mall). On November 5^th V had a big plan to destroy the highly praised, Parliament.  Setting off bombs and fireworks and ending his destruction with the letter V lit up in the sky, formed by the works of the fire. This was a tragic event for the brutal, fascist government but was important for V, Evey, and the rest of the innocent citizens within the community.

            The letter V plays every role of symbolism. It might be looked at a small symbol but its importance helps tell the story. V for Vendetta is a good example of unique symbols bought into one story.

                

Work Cited

Vincent, Mal V for VENDETTA: VP - the Virginian-Pilot Edition." Virginian - Pilot, (2006): E.1.

Jason Gel Gandio. Rhetoric for Radicals-“A Call for Communicative Action.” 2007