Term 3 Assignment 5

In the play The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is one of the main antagonist of the story. It is difficult to define what kind a character Shylock is, on one hand he is seen as a victim as racial discrimination and on the other he is seen as an evil and mericless person, just like a monster. As such, I assume that Shakespeare's intention was to make the audience show more emphathy towards Jews but still stay true to the general sentiments towards the Jews.

In one sense, he is potrayed as a victim of racial discrimination which can easily be supported by the racial remarks made by the characters such as Antonio and Bassanio:

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"
These were quotes based in the scene where Bassanio attempts to borrow money from Shylock to fund his courtship of Portia. Shylock was criticised and humiliated and called the devil by Bassanio even though Bassanio was there to borrow money from him. This shows the the extreme descrimination and marginalisation of jews, such as Shylock.

However, this sense of emphathy soon dissapears as he later "forced" Antonio into signing a bond which would allow Shylock to cut off one pound of flesh from Antonio if he fails to return the money on time. Antonio ultimately fails to return the money and was brought to court by Shylock, who was eager to claim his bond. Also, towards the end, Shylock turns from a man who is suffering from injustice to a vengeful person and full of hatred, with revenge the only thing on his mind. Empathy is then changed into anger towards Shylock and sympathy towards Antonio.

As quoted:

" My deeds upon my head!
I crave the law,
The penalty and forfeit of my bond."
As shown from this quote his seems to have lost his humanity and is hellbent on killing Antonio.

In conclusion, I feel that Shakespeare's intention was to raise awareness of the feelings of Jews but at the same time not make it too obvious to keep in line with the norm.

Blogging Assignment

I do not feel that Shakespeare is biased in terms of portrayal of the main characters in The Merchant of Venice. This can be seen through the fair portrayal of these characters.

He portrayed the characters with both good and bad qualities. Take Antonio for example, Antonio was portrayed to be a loyal and helpful friend. Where he was even willing to have a pound of flesh cut from him, just to ensure his friend's future. However, he turned out also to be racist and conducted many anti-Jewish acts on Shylock such as telling him that he was a dog and spitting on him.

Another character which was portrayed fairly would be Shylock. Shylock, is portrayed as an evil and cruel with no sense of mercy, and was hell bent on killing Antonio through his bond of a pound of flesh. All these bad characteristics developed due to the discrimination that he was facing and that he probably felt dejected, sad and alone, leading the the growth of hatred towards the christians. This can be seen in many parts of the play such as during the trial whereby the Christians gang up against him, and also the part which Antonio spit on him. Therefore, Shylock is not just portrayed as a ruthless, merciless tyrant, but also a misunderstood character who is discriminated against for being a Jew.

Term 3 Assignment 4

In my opinion, Jim Rogers' main argument is that one must be able to have a good grasp of various languages in order to survive in this globally competitive world. With the East rising to power, more and more people from the west are starting to get their children to learn the languages of the East. It is no doubt that the East would soon overthrow the West in terms of power and wealth and people want to side with the creditors than the debtors.

I agree with Jim Rogers' argument. Truly, the Asians are coming stronger than ever. Rapid economic growth, global trading ties, and expanding diplomatic cooperation have pushed China to the first rank of nations. A few years back, China took a step foward in ending world dominance of American,by using a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy an old weather satellite. Up till then, America and Russia had been the only countries who could make millitary use of space. Nowadays, almost every product that is manufactured, is made in China. Even the renowed iPhone is also made in China. It is almost impossible to walk into a shop and not find an item which is not made in China. Indeed, America is still at the top, but sooner or later, they will have to step down.

Some may think that america will remain seated on the throne in the world race, and that english is the language is all they need, as it is the universal language. However, this type of thinking is clearly wrong. Take a look at the asians. 200 million Chinese schoolchildren are studying English. South Korean parents recently threw a collective hissy fit, demanding that their children begin English instruction in first grade, rather than in second. Nearly 700,000 students from all over the world attended U.S. universities during the 2009–10 school year, with the greatest increases in kids from China and Saudi Arabia. The asians are all expanding their knowledge in language by educating their students with English language. If the Westerners still sit around and only learn one language, they will soon fall behind the Easterners.

The advantage of being capable to speak in a foreign tongue is certainly indisputable, especially as the rapidly globalizing world pushes it's engine of globalization ever harder. In order to develop a good grasp of a foreign language, children must be exposed to foreign culture & languages, otherwise, their survival in a global economy would be certainly very tough.

Term 3 Assignment 3

Nowadays, as the population of Singapore continue on its steady increase, the MOE is trying to come up with newer and better education systems. Some people think that the current educational system is good, while others beg to differ. I myself, as a student, I think that the educational system is partly good, but partly bad.

Just like Janelle had said in her letter to the Minister of Education, learning cannot be a one-sided affair. Teachers are only giving answer sheets, assignments and teaching what they are supposed to teach. However, this way of teaching curbs all curiosity of the student. Students are not taught to ask "Why?" Albert Einstein once said: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” By not teaching students how to ask questions, the student cannot truly maximize his time at school, and cannot learn at his maximum potential. This will surely affect the students greatly, and Singapore might lose talented people through this big mistake.

In Janelle's letter, she said that "The problem is that Singaporean youths are often not taught as individuals with separate talents, but as a collective who are all the same. " It might be true in the past before the education system changed in the late 1990s. However, i beg to differ. For example,in my school, there are several programmes to help students nature their talents, be it in language, art or music. In my school, there are additional programmes like the AEP, LEP and MEP, which stands for Art Elective Programme, Language Elective Programme and Music Elective Programme. All these programmes help to develop individual talents among students. Thus, i disagree with Janelle's point.

In my opinion, I feel that the education system in Singapore can be improved by reducing the stress faced by the students. Take schools in america for example. The american education system is very much relaxed and easy-going for students. Their lessons include many group work, and fun while learning. This way, students will enjoy school and instead of disliking school, which is the case in most students in singapore, start to like and enjoy going to school and learn. This way, the education of the students will improve and their attitude towards study will change.

In Conclusion, I feel that the ideal education system should be a mix of play and work, with work being priority. This way, students will learn and have fun at the same time, causing them to like studying and changing the mindset of the students.

Term 3 Assignment 2

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity?

Water, is essential to every living organism in the world. Every living thing requires water in order to live, without any water nothing can survive. Over the years, drinking water is becoming more and more scarce and with the gradual increase in the world's population, and also the increase of temperature due to global warming. Human right means that it is accesible to anyone, regardless of age, physique, religion, race, skin colour and so on. However, a commodity refers to an item of value that can be sold. I feel that water should not be treated as a commodity. If water needs to be purchased, what about those who are too poor to afford it? They just suffer and die a horrible death due to dehydration.

In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

In my opinion water should be treated a human right and not a commodity as water is a particular resource that everyone requires. Water is a neccessity, not a luxury. Without water, nothing can survive. How can one charge another for water? Water should be shared and treated as a commodity. Regardless of how powerful, how rich you are, you cannot buy all the water in the world. Thus, i feel that water should be treated as a human right.

Weekend Assignment Term 3 Week 1

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Nowadays, we can see many cases of maids getting too stressed up or homesick and doing many unbelievable things in the newspaper. Some of them might be able to take the stress that their employers give them, but other weak-willed ones might not. Also, they might also get homesick and become distraught. One can never have any idea what a extremely stressed up person could do. I feel that maids should be given weekly days off.

Not long ago, there was a newspaper article about this maid, who mixed detergent in her employer's two and a half month old twin babies' milk powder. When the employer came home and wanted to make milk for her twins, she noticed a some blue particles in the powder and also a fragrance coming from the milk powder. She was sued by her employer. The reason for this incident was because the maid was very angry and stressed that her employer scolded her constantly for her poor work performance. From this incident, we can see that maids are capable of anything, especially when under tremendous stress and pressure.

I feel that maids should be given weekly days off as this will enable them to lose stress and enjoy themselves. If you coop them in the house everyday, they might feel scared and insecure. They might also get stressed up and in the process, doing something wrong. By allowing them to go out and relieving their stress, this will also strengthen the bond between employer and employee.

However, I feel that a curfew at night should be given to the maid, to prevent her from staying out too late.This is because if you give your maids too much freedom, they might end up neglecting their work, and instead stay out to late at night to party and have fun. They will always go out until very late into the night and return in the wee hours of the morning, surely they will feel tired and will go to bed and sleep until very late the next day. Also, those maids who drink might get drunk and have trouble finding her way back to her employer's home. This will cause complications to both the employer and the employee. Even if they manage to get back, they might get a hangover and cause more troubles for her employer.

In conclusion, I feel that the giving of weekly days off in Singapore should be legislated. However, employers should take the responsibility to set a curfew and not let them party all the way into the wee hours of morning. This way, it will both help them relieve stress and at the same time not neglect their work.

HBL 24May

Children in Darkness

1)In many war torn countries, children not only are deprived from education, many were also recruited, mostly forced, into armies to fight. For example, in 2004, Burundi, hundreds of child soldiers served in the Forces Nationales pour la Libération (FNL), an armed rebel Hutu group. Children between the ages of 10 and 16 were also conscripted by the Burundese Military. Also, in Cote d'ivoire, many children were recruited forcefully on both sides during the civil war. All these children are deprived of a chance to read and write some of them are even forced to be sex slaves.

2)

Steps in Analysis
	Point	Evidence	Elaboration
1.	Point of View Point of View of Author	The Writer wrote about these children from his point of view and how he sees things	By Writing from an outsider’s point of view, he can truly convey the thoughts and feelings expressed to others.
2.	Situation and Setting Poor and war torn countries Children are not able to get education Children are in the army at a young age	“Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul” “Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they cannot flee” “Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole”	This sentence tells us that the setting is in a war torn environment. This sentecnce tells us that the children will not be using chalk and blackboards, which are items found in a classroom. This implys that they are not able to go into a classroom, due the the war. This implys that the children are also fighting the war, which is preventing them from getting education.
3	Language/ Diction A Rhyme is used	Every last word in th second and fourth line in each stanza rhymes.	This is to emphasize on the hopelessness in the situation.
4	Personal Response I feel that these children are extremely pitiful as many of them are forced against their will to join the army and fight at such a young age, and in the end, deprived of their education. I also feel that we should treasure whatever we have and count our blessings. As others do not even have anything.	It is written in the poem that chalk and blackboard will not to be, to this door there is no key. Many children now are complaining about the education system being very stressful and are reluctant to go to school. They should think about those children in these war torn countries who want to go to school, but instead forced to join the army.	This means that the children cannot escape this and have no choice. This means that we should think about others and count our blessings instead of complaining.