The Old Sad Man

I chose this picture because the old man in the picture must have had a really hard life. The old man is dressed in old clothes with a gigantic heavy basket on his back which is full of merchandise, and he walks around the market in Korea. I cannot imagine why someone maybe older than eighty years would keep working. I can feel the sadness of his life from his eyes, with helplessness and hopelessness.

The old Korean man has a normal face like other Asian elderly men. There are so many wrinkles on his face and a lot of age spots on his skin which show that he is no younger than eighty. He has a round face with no sharpness. His lovely hook nose remains, which makes me think that he must have been very handsome when he was young. The prolapsed corners of his mouth make him appear as an unsmiling tough old man. But I think the real reason is that there is almost no teeth in his mouth which causes the skin near his mouth to droop. The most important part which attracted me is his eyes. The turbid bleak eyes show a lot of pathos. That makes people know what happened with the old man, including me.

The clothes of the man and the background in the picture can also tell people many things. He dresses in an old but clean shirt and a vest with a lot of pockets. There is a black hat covering his hairless head, and this old hat may be sent by the government because of the sign on it. Behind his back, there must be a huge basket full of goods. He tries his best to take more goods with him so that there are even many goods and in his hands. Even all of his pockets are full of goods. He is standing in a traditional Korean market where people sell necessities, including clothes, rugs and hats. The old man must be one of these vendors.

The story behind the picture is that the senior citizen has had a truly sad life. Perhaps his wife died five years ago and he lives with his grandson who is twelve years now and studies in a primary school. The child’s parents, the old man’s son and daughter in law, had a traffic accident three years ago and all passed away. The only family left is the grandfather and grandson. For earning the cost of living and the child’s tuition, the old man has to get up early everyday and walk around several markets to sell his goods. Because he does not have enough money to rent a stand in the market, this is the only way to make money. Now, he worries about his grandson’s tuition for next semester. He needs another one hundred dollars to break even. That is why he shows the helplessness and hopelessness from his lackluster eyes.

When I look at the picture, from his face and his clothes, I know how hard the old man’s life is. Considering his special situation, I really want to find this poor senior citizen and try my best to help his family. I believe other people who see this picture and know the sad story must have the same idea as me. But the only thing we can do is pray for him. I hope he can get through the difficulty.

What Does Obama Worry About?

If I were a president, I would have a full schedule. I couldn’t have a lot of privacy. I couldn’t do anything or go anywhere that I like. My life would become like The Truman Show because people could watch anything I do and judge me and my family. I wouldn’t be very happy if I were a president because I would need to worry about a lot of things such as my country’s well done and my family. I wouldn’t want to be at my wit's end. This is a picture of the new president of the United States, Barack Obama, and he looks worried about a lot of things.

When I saw this picture, first, I saw his movement. He folds his dark brown hands together. He wants to lay down his head on his hands and make himself more comfortable. His hands look strong so they can protect him. He wears a black jacket, a white dress shirt, and a gray polka-dotted tie, so we can know that he was in an important meeting. That meeting is about the United States’ economy, and there are a lot of members of Congress arguing against him. They want him to live up to his promise to improve the United States’ economy by decreasing oil prices and taxes. That is why he looks so worried.

Second, I saw his facial expression. He has black-brown eyes, black eyebrows, a little triangular nose, and bistre lips. From his black-brown eyes, I can see that he worries about something such as how to answer the questions of Congress. He wonders how he can develop the United States’ economy without people arguing against him. He wants to come up with ideas to live up to his promise to the people. His black eyebrows show that he is not relaxed. He also has some wrinkles on his face, stretching from his nose to his mouth. I can tell that he feels anxious. He tries to figure out how to fulfill his promises about making the United States’s foreign policy become better such as the relationship between Palestine and Israel. That is why his face is so wrinkly.

Last, I noticed his head posture. He has short black hair on his small pointed head. He tilts his head to his right side almost lying down on his folded hands. It looks like he is tired. He might think about a lot of things at this time. They might be about his country, or his family. He is also worried about his family because now that he is a president, people use a magnifying glass to watch them. He doesn’t want his children to have a lot of stress because they are little. He wants his daughters to have a happy childhood and also have good behaviors so that people won’t point at them. He wants to be a good leader of his country, but he also wants to be a good father of his children that is why he is at his wit's end.

I know that a president needs to manage a country, and it is very hard. When I saw Obama in the picture, he looks so tired. I also feel that he looks so innocent. I don't think he caused any of the United States’ problems. He wonders what he can do about those problems. I can see from his movement, facial expression, and posture that he looks very weary. He seems worried about the economy, foreign policy, and his family. So, being a president is not an easy thing.

The Dictator's Portrait

I recently watched the movie Valkyrie. It was about a captain who assassinated Adolf Hitler, so I chose this picture. This is a black and white picture. There are two middle aged men standing in the middle of the picture. The one on the right is Adolf Hitler. The one on the left is Benito Mussolini. Their armies are behind them. This picture has no relationship to Valkyrie, but it attracted me to discover the story behind the picture.

These two men both have solemn and emotionless faces, but Hitler’s face looks more serious. His eyes are droopy. It seems like he didn’t sleep very well for a long time. Hitler’s outstanding square mustache and tightly closed mouth make him look like a cold-blooded killer. His mustache is so hairy that it blocks his nostrils. I don’t know if he can breathe well. His cap covers his bald head and there are only two small, clean ears outside. However Mussolini is wearing a green beret. It also covers all of his hair. I can predict that he has short hair like Hitler’s. His eyes are slanted. Was he sad? Or was he just pretending to be sad. Unlike Hitler’s snub nose, Mussolini has a hawk shaped nose. And he doesn’t have mustache, so he was probably breathing more smoothly than Hitler. His lips are longer and thicker than Hitler’s. He must good at talking. Because they occupied the main part of the picture, I hardly see what the two soldiers behind them look like. I can only see part of one soldier’s face. He looks a little nervous.

In addition to their faces, I’ve also studied their clothing and weapons. The most different part of their clothing is they have different emblems. A swastika symbol is on Hitler’s left arm, while an eagle patch is on Mussolini’s arm. There are many medals hanging from Mussolini’s clothing, but only one little medal hanging from Hitler’s clothing which makes Mussolini’s clothing more like a general’s costume. There are two shining epaulets on his shoulder, and he has a colorful belt. Although they wear nearly the same style clothing, they carry different weapons. There is a sword which is tied at Mussolini’s waist, but Hitler is equipped with a pistol. Hitler seems smarter than Mussolini because a pistol is more efficient than a sword. They have different political opinions. Hitler’s politics are more modern while Mussolini is more conservative.

This is a very common picture on the internet, but it took me a long time to find the story behind the picture. In 1940, the Italian government invaded Greece, and didn’t tell his friend in Germany. Mussolini wanted to improve his government’s status in the Axis Powers. The Italian government didn’t expect that the Greek army would be so brave. Many Italian soldiers died and the Italian government retreated their army to the Greek border, and asked Germany for help. In order to help the Italian army, the Axis Powers invaded Yugoslavia near Greece. This picture was taken when the Axis Powers won the war in Yugoslavia. Two dictators were standing in Yugoslavia and looking around like two hungry raptors. After this was, the Axis Powers began their full-scale war against Russia and America. In this picture, Hitler looks more confident and ambitious. Mussolini always listens to Hitler and follows his orders. Mussolini treats Hitler like his brother and because he looks up to Hitler, Hitler can use him as a weapon. These two men have gotten together to make evil plans to destroy the world.

After carefully studying this picture, I learned more about World War II. But I still don’t understand what made these two guys in the picture become the public enemies in WWII. Their appearance has no difference with other common people, but their behaviors greatly affected the world’s development.

Homework for Tuesday

Review Test 2 on page 524
Activity on page 526 (colons)
Activity on page 528 (dashes)
Activity on page 528 (parentheses)
Activity on page 529 (hyphens)

Homework for Thursday

Jing & Weilin
Read “Bombs Bursting in Air” by Beth Johnson, page 673
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 676-677

Zero & Mohammad
Read “Kids and Computers: Digital Danger” by Alison Sperry, page 680
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 682-684

Queena & Haruka
Read “Date Rape” by Ellen Sweet, page 686
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 694-695

Mars & Shizuka
Read “Here’s to Your Health” by Joan Dunayer, page 697
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 699-700

Garnett & Ai
Read “How to Make It in College, Now That You’re Here” by Brian O’Keeney, page 702
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 707-708

Joe & Kobe
Read “College Lectures: Is Anybody Listening?” by David Daniels, page 711
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 714-715

Yogi & Sophia
Read “Seven Ways to Keep the Peace at Home” by Daniel A. Sugarman, page 718
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 724-725

Thanh & April
Read “In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry, pages 728
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on pages 730-731

Long & Simon
Read “Is Sex All That Matters?” by Joyce Garity, page 733
Answer 10 reading comprehension questions on 736-737