Journal: Journal according to Frank Reilly

Intrapersonal[select one]
a. Write a journal entry from the point of view of one of the characters in Flowers
for Algernon. The title of your journal is Journal according to…
b. Who would you want to be friends with in the Flowers for Algernon. Explain
your choice.

I decided to choose a) and write about Frank.

JOURNAL ACCORDING TO FRANK REILLY

Charlie Gordon is just a fool, a mentally retarded person. He did not even have the intelligence to spell his words right, ha ha. He is a moron, why can't the Earth be rid of these retards, why is he even here working with us and not be stuck in a mental hospital. I know what to do! I'll just poke some fun out of him, that way he will get upset and leave, giving me more space at work. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I do that. I guess I'll need to wait longer as Charlie went for some operation thingy.Oh well, there's nothing else to write so I'm closing for today.

March 25- Ha, that fool finally came back to the factory, I was hoping he was gone for good! Anyway, he mentioned that he went for some wacky operation that will make him smarter, impossible! I bet that Charlie is just saying some crap and expects us to believe it. Joe Carp said that Charlie will finally get some brains, I almost died laughing. Oh yes, we came up with the phrase "pull a Charlie Gordon" when someone does something stupid or retarded, ha ha ha!

April 3- I was in stitches today. We invited Charlie to "Muggsys Saloon" for some drinks and had a party. Joe gave Charlie a mop and told him to mop the floor exactly the way how he mops it in the library, and the retard actually listen to him! I laughed till my chest hurt. The best part was when we asked Charlie to go out to buy a newspaper. When Charlie went out, we quickly ran out of the saloon, imagine how shocked Charlie must have been when he returned.

April 19- Ha, what a dope Charlie was! We invited Charlie for a party today. I guess Charlie could not hold his liquor, and asked for a coke instead. Joe said that Charlie should dance with Ellen and boy did we start giggling when we secretly tripped Charlie when he was dancing. That fool did not suspect a thing! When he fell for the last time, we could not hold our laghter anymore and started laughing aloud. He started blushing and I can feel the embarrasement going on inside him. He really pulled a Charlie Gordon, ha ha ha!

April 30- Charlie quited from his job, I was glad. He suddenly became so smart and intelligent all of a sudden, it scared me. I quickly signed the petition to fire Charlie. I felt quite sorry for Charlie but I cannot stand someone so weird working next to me. That day, I refused to talk or even look at Charlie.

July 27- Charlie came back, when I saw him coming downstairs and started to work in the toilet, I was shocked. We later found out that he is starting to lose his intelligence and he may die. I felt very guilty for treating him like dirt the last time.When I saw a newbie in the factory tease Charlie, I knew what I had to do. Joe went over and taught that guy a lesson, and threatened to break his neck. I went to Charlie and told him to look for Joe and I when he ever gets taken advantage of, it was the least we could do after bullying him for so long, I felt like I owe him.

I guess Charlie was not so bad after all, I felt sorry for him. I, and many others, have discriminated him but he still stood strong. I must say, I take my hat off to Charlie. Charlie Gordon, you are one hell of a man!

This journal is according to what can be inferred from the story only.
( some parts of these journal entry include some inappropriate words or slang to make it realistic)

My leaner profile

My learner profile is intrapersonal. After taking the Multiple Intelligence test, I was very surprised that our leaner profile can be deduced so easily, just by taking a simple questionnaire. I was, in fact, quite impressed because it is quite accurate, my leaner profile was really intrapersonal and the task that Mr Teo gave for people with a learner profile that is intrapersonal really suites me. However, people should not always rely on these type of tests to determine their learner type, it may not always be accurate, which may sometimes lead to bad consequences. For example, if a student with an actual learner profile of naturalist suddenly finds himself doing a task meant for people with a learner profile of musical, he will feel really lost and will not do a good job.
So, I deduce that if we occasionally take this sort of tests, it may be quite fun and may be accurate. However, we must not depend too much on it as there is no proof that you are really that learner profile, it is just a simple 'guess' after looking at how you answer the questions.

The Casinos

Recently, the casino in `World Resort Sentosa ` has been opened to the public. There was a large number of people anticipating its grand opening and on the day it opened, the response was overwhelming. Thousands gathered at the entrance of the casino and most of them waited for many hours before getting a turn. Some of them did not even get a chance to use the jackpots after waiting for several hours. The government has impose a rule that all Singapore citizens and permanent residents must pay a fee of a hundred dollars before entering the casino.

I think that opening the casino is a very good thing as it can help to boost Singapore's economies and people can just go there to gamble for their leisure, it can also attract tourists to Singapore. However, nothing is perfect, there is also some disadvantages. Singaporeans that are addicted to gambling will often go to the casino and gamble heavily, often ending up with a huge debt and in a miserable state, family members will most likely also suffer. If many Singaporeans start to go to the casino on a regular basis, in no time at all, they will too become addicted to gambling. This is the reason why the Singapore government imposed a rule that all Singapore citizens or permanent residents need to pay $100 in order to enter the casino, this is to protect the interest of fellow Singaporeans. This will discourage them from going to the casino too often as they will soon realise that it is a waste of money to go to the casino. There is also a rule that family members can appeal to the government to ban heavy gamblers from entering the casino.

However, the government do not impose this rule on foreigners which encourages them to gamble more often, their money will go into the casino owner's pocket and it will boost Singapore's economy. These money can be used to develop Singapore and construct new buildings, schools, etc to let Singapore become even more prosperous.

So, with all these measures taken, Singapore will become more prosperous while Singaporeans will not become heavily gamblers. So it is definitely a win-win situation.

However, this is just the opening of the casino, We will have to wait and see if these rules imposed are effective.

Animal Farm

`Animal Farm` was written by Eric Blair (1903- 1950). He was born in India and became a poor "scholarship boy" in a snobbish, ill-run English prep school. He went to Burma later in 1921 where he spent five years working as a policeman and wrote his first novel, `Burmese Days`. George Orwell, his other name, quit his job and travelled to Paris and London.
Eric Blair struggled to earn a living as a journalist and author. Although he had weak lungs, he exposed himself to exhaustion and privation during World War 2 to serve as an air-raid warden. He became very ill at the end of the war and died on January 23,1950. Before his death, he had written his two best masterpieces, `Animal Farm` and `1984` which only became popular after his death.
The whole story begins with old Major, a prize boar on the Jones farm, telling the other animals that all animals should have their own freedom and not take the commands of humans.
After old Major dies, Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, and other pigs preach revolution. The animals are won over and "animalist"spreads quickly. Soon, the animals force Mr Jones to leave the farm, and the animals establish control over it.
When Jones and his neighbours try to recapture the farm, Snowball leads a successful resistance and they maintained control of the farm. At first, the revolution has excellent results. Morale was high, a successful literacy campaign is waged and pigeons carry the word of `animalist` far and wide. The animals labour heroically, especially the strong and loyal Boxer. Just as the future began to look bright, Napoleon springs a coup d'etat . Fierce snarling dogs reared by Napoleon upon their birth chase Snowball away from the farm. Boxer and the other animals, however, develop faith in Napoleon.
Methodically, every trace of equality is stripped from the animals as Napoleon and the pigs turn into a ruling castle. All the seven "unalterable" commandments are soon broken and history is rewritten. Memories of the revolution grow dim.
At the ending, Napoleon and the other pigs acquire human characteristics and make peace with the neighbouring farmers. Pigs and humans now become indistinguishable to the other animals and they become as bad as each other.
The story resembles historical events during the Russian Revolution.
I feel that the story is a very good one and it shows how people can become power-mad and their lust for power will turn them into cruel and despicable figures. It also shows how ignorant people can really be.
Although boxer was faithful and loyal to Napoleon, Napoleon still sold him out after he became weak and crippled. It shows how ungrateful, selfish and cruel people can really be.
However, what made me confused is why didn`t the other animals realise what was happening and put an end to this madness. Maybe they were just ignorant, maybe they were too dumb, or maybe they were really unaware. Whatever the reason, one thing for sure is that the revolution backfired and all the animals,except the pigs, are back to square.

The Scarlet Ibis and Flowers for Algernon

Compare `The Scarlet Ibis` with `Flowers For Algernon`, see the similarity? In fact, Doodle is a perfect image of Charlie, they are both disabled; Charlie mentally disabled while Doodle physically disabled.
They both shared the same dream, to overcome the disability and they both wanted acceptance, to fit in, to live the life of a free person; a normal person. They both wanted love and attention, which they lacked. Charlie was treated badly by his `friends` while Doodle was neglected by his bother.However, they both did not get what they wanted in the end, and it took a turn for the worst.
While there are similarities, there are also differences.`The Scarlet Ibis` is told from the point of view of a person related to someone disabled while `Flowers For Algernon` is told from the point of view of a mentally retarded person.`The Scarlet Ibis` also has more emotion, it shows the whole process of the brothers trying to overcome Doodle's disability, the bond between the two brothers and the tragedy of the narrator losing his only brother, the impact on the reader is indeed much stronger. In `Flowers For Algernon`, it is just Charlie's journal, it does not show the whole process of the sufferings he endured, there is also a tension in the ending and we do not know if Charlie will die, because of these, the impact on the reader will not be as strong.
Doodle only has his brother to confide in, to trust and to count on him to help overcome his disability, but as the saying goes`blood is thicker than water` so there is a stronger bond between him and his brother compared to the bond between Charlie and all his `friends` add up.
Charlie's boost in his intelligence is artificial and it is precisely why it soon backfired and Charlie lost everything. Doodle's will power and perseverance is what spurred him to overcome his disability, but it backfired when his brother pushed him too much and unable to take it, Doodle suffered from a heart failure.
However, the storyline and the characters in both stories are somewhat similar and besides some difference, I feel that Doodle is like Charlie, the scarlet ibis is like Algernon, and Doodle's brother is like Charlie's `friends`.

Are humans inhuman?

There is one thing that I do not understand in reference to 'The Lottery', how can the people simply kill another human being without hesitation and even take pleasure in doing it. It shows the true nature of humans: cold-blooded and cruel,extremely cruel. Ask this question "Why do humans like to abuse defenceless animals and take pleasure in doing it?", why doesn`t the newspaper once read ' Tiger mauls its keeper and smiles'.
Even when animals kill other animals, they do not 'smile in glee as they devour their prey'. They do it for one reason-survival. However, humans simply kill others for no particular reason because they are just bloodthirsty.
It is similar to a kidnapper killing his hostage after he got the ransom. Why does he even do that? The hostage is defenceless and poses no threat, the kidnapper got what he wanted and he has no particular reason for killing him. The kidnapper might as well say "Give me a ransom of one million dollars AND I will kill him".
Furthermore, another question I would ask is why are humans so superstitious that they are willing to kill one of their own kind for silly and non-proven rituals?
Are humans so eager to see someone else scream or to experience pain? If they like it so much, why don`t they do it to themselves? Afterall, they will get a `first class` experience.
Humans are even willing to kill their loved ones for silly reasons such as money problems, rituals, etc. These actions are totally pointless and the worst part is ,most of the time the culprit does not feel remorseful and treated it as of no significance.
I admit, when I was young I used to get a kick out of stamping on frogs.
Why does this habit come naturally for humans and not for other, less intelligent animals? Are we really inferior to them?
What is the point of being the most intelligent animal if we are also the most cruel animals because of that?
Another thing is, whenever you bring up this topic, it will cause an uproar. That is because of humans` pride, they just would not admit they are heartless and cruel. A good example is when 'The Lottery' first appeared in The New Yorker magazine.
The scary part? These 'trends' tend to come naturally in our life. Ask yourself this question, have you ever took pleasure in watching animals suffer before? If the answer is yes, please change so that humans can clear this image of ourselves.

Is pity a form of insult?

There is a habit among some of us to pity others who are less fortunate than us and we would try to help them in one way or another. However, if you look at it from a different angle, you will find that by pitying other people, you are literally insulting them. You will only pity others if you really find them in a miserable state, so by pitying them, you are actually saying that they are very unfortunate and in a state entirely different from a normal person.
This type of 'attention' gives them a feeling that they are in a way 'handicapped' and require a lot of care. Due to the pride of humans, nobody will want to receive care and attention and definitely nobody will want to think themselves as a handicapped. Everyone wants to think themselves superior to others and not inferior.
So, nobody wants to be pitied unless he is really so pathetic and miserable.

Knowledge can be a bad thing

Actually from `Flowers For Algernon`,we can infer that intelligence may be a bad thing, and it is not always a blessing to be smart. For example, Charlie Gordon became smart but he was not happy at all. That is because he was so much smarter than ordinary people, this gives him a feeling that he was unable to fit in. In fact, when his IQ was still 68, he was very simple minded and thought positively, not knowing about what people really think of him, this gave him his motivation.
When he became smarter, he found out many ugly truths which made him sadder every passing day, like when he found out that people where taking him as a hopeless retard. This made him very upset and ashamed.
Knowledge may not always be good as sometimes you will find out about things that was better kept in the dark.
Take the modern world now for example, if mankind did not have the knowledge to make weapons or to use them, wars will not have broken out, all the bloodshed could have been avoided. One example is the making of nuclear and atomic bombs. Yes, they are very destructive and their only use is to strike fear in every body's hearts.
So, the question is why does mankind has a thirst for knowledge? Everybody desires knowledge to fill their curious minds, everyone wants to outshine one another by helping mankind with creative inventions that can be made only because of the one thing where the information comes from, knowledge. Everyone wants to be called a genius and not be mocked by others for being an `idiot`.
My conclusion is knowing everything is not good, knowing nothing is also not good, knowledge is indeed a very complicated thing.