AP Work

                                                            Blink Reflection
The most important epiphany that I had while reading Blink was that balance in my life is immensely vital and critical, in every aspect, at all times and in all circumstances. The book itself, the research provided in its pages and professional opinions that it included motivated me to take more care in balancing out my everyday life, as well as take more care in my spiritual and emotional being. “… truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking”(Gladwell, 76). This quote acknowledges that decision making relies on two types of thinking and recognizes that one is not enough for a healthy and beneficial decision to be made, but rather that these two must be present in balance. What appealed to me greatly and gave me more opportunities to understand this issue, is the fact that the book dives deeper that just the importance of balance in decision making, it also speaks of the importance of balance deeper within the issue, the balance in the types of thinking themselves. The way this may be achieved is by understanding both the positive and negative aspects of rapid cognitional and admit that balance is necessary in this also. “… we also have to acknowledge and understand those circumstances when rapid cognition leads us astray”(Gladwell, 94). I realized that if I apply both these quotes to my life and use them to govern my thought, choices and my actions accordingly, then my life will be more in balance which in its turn will provide a healthier atmosphere for me and those around. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking raised many questions in me, made me reconsider what I thought was to be true and challenged me to not stop, but rather to keep developing and growing in ways that I previously did not think were possible. I didn’t dream that there were ways of controlling even partially my unconscious, even if they do require time and effort. I never thought that our actions may be in some way manipulated, even if slightly, by what we read and the words that dominate the text. Although this practice of educating and training the unconscious seems helpful and healthy on one hand, it also raised some questions for me. Can’t something like this be used for personal gain when used outside of research? Doesn’t this pose problems of manipulation and start sounding like sci-fi? And how much can we possibly improve on God’s creation? Didn’t he say that we were “good” after he created us, so what right do we, the creation, have to tamper with the Creator’s plan for us? I am still in search of these answers, but while in search I will remember that what we see is rarely black and white. There are shades of gray that create the balance in our lives. I must acknowledge this fact, because it entails that my answers, not only to my newly posed questions, must exist in balance. 


                                                                           

                                                             The Road Reflection.

I love to read. Detective stories, romance, adventure, comedy, epic, mythopoeia and even fairy tales bring great joy to me. But never in my life have I enjoyed any type of tragedy whether fiction or nonfiction, whether anti-utopia or historical, whether Sophocles or Shakespeare, I cannot bring myself to enjoy such books. The Road by Cormac McCarthy, although classified post-apocalyptical fiction, in my opinion, came too close to resembling a tragedy and therefore I struggled through it, hoping to make it to the end and praying that my effort be not in vain, but rather would teach me more about life and grow in me appreciation for my life. I could not take in stride the evasiveness of the book about what the cataclysm, that has destroyed most of civilization, had been or what happened to the boy after the unnamed name picked him up, and so I wrestled with these unanswered questions. But this helped me realize that I cannot always have all the answers, sometimes I must stifle my curiosity and just say, “Okay”.  Through this book, as well as through Blink, I came to focus on the theme of balance. Although in this case, the destructed world and corrupt people symbolically portrayed the dangers that are unavoidable when balance is absent from me life. “He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it” (McCarthy, 110).  The world surrounding the man and the boy was a disaster area, full of traps and peril that could not be avoided. I had to ask myself the question, except for the obvious cataclysm, what put them in this position? Why was the world so? The answer was quite clear to me. There was no balance. The cataclysm brought almost total annihilation, but balance must be maintained. So the fact that civilization was destroyed, the conscience of men quenched and the fire for justice extinguished, in most people anyway, meant that nothing was there to restore balance. The consequence of the circumstances was that people did not balance their emotional, spiritual and intellectual needs with physical. Spiritual well-being cast away and replaced in people by the desire to survive, at any cost, by any method imaginable. And although some survived when confirmed to cannibalism, their survival could hardly be called life. They could not have a complete and fulfilling life when fear and thirst for survival dominated their existence. I realized that this actually corresponded with Mathew 4:4, “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”” This consensus between The Bible and a secular book as The Road validated to me even more the importance to remember that although my physical needs are of utmost importance and must exist in balance with spiritual ones, all the food I eat and all the exercise I do will not bring spiritual completion. The importance of balance was a topic that Jesus approached in the Bible, and The Road once again brought it to my attention, for which I am tremendously greatful.


                        
                           Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies Reflection. 
Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies was a stimulating and a thought-provoking book that made me consider my speech and the ways I use it. It was also very helpful to me because Marilyn McEntyre actually offered many ways to help me become a better steward of words that I can apply to my life and use practically every day. This book also opened my eyes to many problems in the English language that I did not notice before, however it also made me Russian and the problems that it has. Therefore all the questions that arose in me during the reading doubled as I tried to figure out their application to the Russian language as well. In the beginning of the book I thought, how important can this actually be in my life? But while reading this book, I was reminded that language is a gift of God to me, which makes my life interesting and enjoyable, and therefore must be treasured and treated as such. I found it encouraging that I could do so many things while speaking to help the language along and in some instances even preserve it, although I understand that I and my abilities are limited.

The theme that appealed to me the most as I read Caring for Words was precision and more specifically the issue with hyperboles. I enjoy using this figure of speech because it helps me to make dialogue more intriguing and make my points clearer, as well as express how valuable and prized things and ideas within themselves are to me. However McIntyre had something to say about this and I, as the reader, couldn’t help but listen, “… by embracing the culture of hyperbole we lose our countercultural edge. Biblical wisdom calls us to be countercultural- to be in the world, but not of it” (McIntyre, 38). I never anticipated that my way of bringing life and excitement into a conversation could squander something that the Bible considers vital. However here again, for the umpteenth time during reading these books, the idea of balance popped into my mind. I began to reconsider my point of view and dissect more the opinion of McIntyre and realized that not using hyperboles and using hyperboles exceedingly (in other words “embracing the culture of hyperbole”) are not the only two options available. To find balance between the two, to find the “golden middle” is an option, by far the healthiest in this situation. This reminded me that I should use good sense and look for balance not only when considering physical and emotional needs, but in smaller things such as speech or the use of hyperboles. 


                                  
                                  Official Book Review of The Road 

"Listen to me, he said, when your dreams are of some world that never was or some world that never will be, and you're happy again, then you'll have given up. Do you understand? And you can't give up, I won't let you." This is said by the main character in Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, to his son.

After an unspecified cataclysm destroys all civilization, most life and specifically human life, a man sets out on a several month journey with his son across the country, south, foreseeing that they can in no other way survive the upcoming winter. The unnamed man and boy battle against all odds to stay alive, as they encounter other survivors and struggle against circumstances that are never in their favor. As the story progresses the readers receive small insights into the former lives of the main characters and get more acquainted with the idea that inspires them to keep moving and “carry the fire”.

The main character is a man that knows the hardships and dangers of life, yet cannot imagine his life without his son, who in turn is partially blind to the harsh realities of life, although he becomes more acquainted with them on his journey down the road. The boy has such qualities as goodness, compassion and innocence which are rarely found in the now obliterated world. The book focuses on a several themes, the most important of which are death and the mortality of humans, as well as paternal love and resilience. These themes challenge the readers to see death and love for what they really are, without distortion caused by denial or ignorance and open up new dimensions to be considered and discussed.

Another dominant theme of The Road, which is controversial and therefore provides opportunities for debate and space to challenge the presented view, is the insignificance of here and now, as opposed unavoidable oblivion, which can only be delayed.

The setting and the characters of The Road, more specifically their descriptions were very realistic and made it easy for me, as the reader, to dive into the post-apocalyptic world McCarthy displayed. The ideas contained in the book are substantial and vital for everyone’s understanding and application. I found the book challenging and at times disconcerting, but this could not repress the considerable amount of ideas, thoughts, perspectives, and worldviews that seeped of the pages into my mind and made me reconsider things that were no longer new to me. The book appealed to me on a logical and emotional level, since it includes both dimensions in the choices that are made by the main character, as opposed to the other survivors. The choice to survive logically, so in any way possible, or on the other hand emotionally, keeping to things you feel are right. The times I disagreed with the author helped me formulate my opinion and showed me where I personally stand on the presented issues, but when I agreed and could apply the presented ideas to my life, the book became somewhat of a guide through tough times and hopefully in this way the book will prepare me, and all the other readers, if we personally will have to hit “the road”.