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Homework , December 14th 2007

2007-12-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

Characterization of Solomon Barber

Solomon Barber is the son of Thomas Effing whose original name is Julian Barber. Effing left the family when the mother of Solomon - Elizabeth Wheeler - was pregnant with their baby in common namely Solomon.
At the age of 17 Solomon Barber wrote the novel " Kepler's Blood " based on his father's disappearance.
He studied history at Columbia University where he got to know Emily Fogg when she did also start at Columbia University. After having slept with Emily Fogg, Solomon got dismissed. Later Emily left Solomon without telling him that their little love affair has got a consequence called Marco Stanley Fogg what Solomon primal found out when he got to know him years later.
Later, Solomon Barber won the American Studies Award because of his thesis on Biskop Berkeley and the Indians.
In the novel " Moon Palace" written by Paul Auster, Marco's father is presented as a very fat man. Inherently as a young boy he got other children annoyed him because of his appearance. Solomon Barber is always wearing hats. He weights 113 kg on a size of 1.90 m. Barber likes to smoke long cigars.
Solomon Barber likes books and reading a lot. He is a very intellectual and knowledgeable man. During his life books became something like a refuge for him where he can hide into another world, a place to hide from people and the outside world. Also his obesity is a kind of a protective shield.
Although Solomon Barber was always on the move he was successful at every university he went on. He writes books and articles. From that you can conclude that he must be a very hard working man. Besides you can assume that he is interested in the early colonial history of America because of his thesis about Biskop Berkeley and the Indians.
He first met his son Marco after he learns that his father Thomas Effing
( Julian Barber ) died. Therfore he travels to New York City where he found out that he is Marco's father. Both like each other immediatley which is a result of the warmhearted and unconventional character of Solomon. Together they planned to travel to the West to look for Effing's cave. But on their way Solomon Barber died because of an accident and therefore Marco had to move on alone.

Homework, November 30th 2007

2007-11-29T04:24:00.000-08:00

Characterisation of Kitty Wu

In Paul Austers novel " Moon Palace " Kitty Wu is the most important female character. She was born in 1950 in Taiwan as the daughter of a Kuomintang general and his second concubine. She has got a brother and a half-sister. Her father died when she was very young. Therefore she underwent the almost the same childhood as Marco, whose mother died when he was also very young. After having spent her childhood in Tokyo, Kitty Wu immigrated to the United States where she went to school.
Marco meets Kitty Wu the first time when he wants to visit Zimmer. He goes to his apartment without knowing that Zimmer doesn't live there anymore. Instead of finding his old friend Marco joins a breakfast of the new inhabitants of the apartment. There he meets Kitty and they get to know each other. Even though it is their first meeting Kitty kisses Marco to say goodbye. After that, they don't meet again. But when Marco stays in Central Park, Kitty and Zimmer decide to look for him. They find Marco and the young chinese woman falls in love with him. After Marco looses his job because Effing died, the couple moves together.
Kitty wants to be independant from Marco and therefore she start's to work. They seem to live in a perfect relationship in which they complement each other but later on, Kitty and Marco break up with their relationship. Kitty gets pregnant and they notice that they have got different ideas of how to live together in future. Marco wants Kitty to bear that baby but Kitty does not want to. She isn't disposed o give up her dream of becoming a ballerina.
While reading Paul Austers " Moon Palace " the reader learns, that Kitty Wu is a person with many traits of character. The Chinese girl is an open-minded and warm-hearted person who cares for for others and feels a kind of responsible for them. At first this becomes clear when Kitty went to Marcos apartment to see wheter he is fine or not. But even when she starts to look for him in Central Park - togehter with Zimmer - you can conclude that she is very responsible. She also has got spontaneous traits. This becomes clear when she kissed Marco after their first meeting and after she rescued him in Central Park. Marco is a kind of fascinated and feels attracted by Kitty's naturalness, her geniality and her individual character.
Kitty enjoys being in a relationship with Marco and the physical love with him. They seem to be the perfect alliance, but when Kitty Wu gets preganant, you get to know that this is rather not the case. The pregnancy bursts their relationship and it's harmony. Kitty doesn't want to give up her dream, namely becoming a ballerina. In contrast to Marco she does not want to have the baby. This decision of the Chinese girl named Kitty Wu demonstrates her strong ambition which finally contributes to the ending of her relationship with Marco Fogg.
In consideration of her appearance can say that Kitty Wu is a pretty, small, Chinese woman. She does not wear a bra under her dresses which are sometimes extraordinary. But when she does not wear extraordinary clothes, her outfit is made up of T-shirt and jeans. She wears an indian band around her head and silver bracelets around her frail wrists.
All in all you can conclude, that the Chinese girl Kitty Wu is a very friendly and helpful person, espeacially for Marco who she likes very much.

Homework, November 16th 2007

2007-11-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

What does Central Park mean to Marco?

For Marco, Central Park with its rolling hills and trees , is a place of refuge.
He senses the park as a chance to hide away from the prejudices of the people in the streets of New York City.Somehow he seems to be a kind of feared of what they think about him.
He regards the park as a protection of his own. Here he has got privacy and is able to pretend to be normal. The people in the Park are friendly and respect each other. Here, it is not important who you are. Just you as a human being is what the people are interested in. Everybody is able to do what he wants. " Live and let live" is the motto of the people in Central Park where harmony and toleration are dominating. Besides the park offers a feeling of liberty to Marco. Here, the demand of not carrying a normal life declines. For Marco Central Park constitutes a home and the community with others, social contacts. He feels accepted and agreed by the people.

" How to have fun at home "

2007-09-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

The chapter " How to have fun at home" , an extract of Bill Brysons " Notes from a big country " focuses on the I-narrators feelings and thougths abut his new situation at home in America.
At first he mentions his wife who is very enthusiastic about all the new things, the extravagance she discovered in the everyday life of the United States, for example free water in restaurants or the bagging of groceries by a shop assistent and other services during shopping. But the narrator critizises all this unnecessary things and doesn´t agree with his wife. In his opinion there are more important things like national health care missing in the USA , compared to Great Britain.
But also the narrator himself is somehow enthused by some things the new "US comfort" offers to him. One example for things he won´t miss anymore is his garbage disposal. In his opinion it is entertaining and also very practical. Besides there is the aspect of having a basement which he also doesn´t want to miss anymore

Hausaufgabe vom 11.09.2007

2007-09-12T05:52:00.001-07:00

4.) Comment

The United States have such a big increase of crime. On the one hand, this development is caused by the illegal immigrants who are getting criminal to save the possibility to survive. But on the other hand I think there are enough american citizens also being criminal. So in my opinion you can´t say that this increase of crime is just the blame of illegal immigrants.
Besides you can´t hold the illegal immigrants responsible for the ruling unemployment in the USA. For sure they occupy jobs, but I think that this isn´t relevant. Most of the jobs which are taken by immigrants are kinds of jobs which american citizens often don´t want to accomplish. So I think that illegal immigration to the United States of America hasn´t got such a big consequence to the local employment market.
Thirdly illegal immigration doesn´t impair the US economy in such a bad way. Doubtless, the american government has to spent a lot of money on the illegal immigrants in terms of health care etc. . But you also have to consider the more positve effects on economy. By consuming food or other things the illegal immigrants do also strengthen the it. So there is a kind of a balance of expenditures and revenues caused by illegal immigrants.
All in all I think that it is understandable that the United States want to abate the number of illegal immigrants. But I think the "Proposition 187" is the wrong way. It doesn´t accord to the human rights because even if someone is an illegal immigrant you can´t take the responsibility to deny him or her health care, education or welfare services. So I don´t think that it would be legal to achieve it.

Hausaufgabe vom 07.09.2007

2007-09-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

California turns against its force of Latin Labourers

1.) Shortly describe the situation illegal immigrants in California are confronted with.
The illegal immigrants in California live in a hopeless situation. They depend on the american citizen to earn money which they send their deviced families in their homecountries. They haven´t got any rights and so they just can be engaged as temporary manual labouerers who don´t have a constant employment. So they haven´t got any perspective of life and it is day-to-day unsure for them, if they earn some money or not.
Once they have been tolerated by the Californians, but nowadays the legal californian citizen discriminate more and more against the illegal immigrants. The californian attitude has changed, and today, illegal immigrants are a kind of an enemy.
2.) Explain why "Proposition 187" won considerable support in california.
I think on the one hand,one reason is the dissatisfaction of the californian citizens with the increase of illegal immigrants to California. They are feared that the illegal immigrants endanger their employments because they do work for shorter money. They feel approved by the information that the Golden State California has its worst slump since the Great Depression which is caused by the illegal immigrants. On the other hand they are a kind of feared that the criminality increases because of the fusion of individual illegal immigrants to criminal and dangerous "gangs".
Besides there is an financial reason for the considerable support of "Proposition 187" . The californian citizen have to pay taxes for the illegal immigration. But this proposal plans that illegal immigrants get no support by the government neither in education nor in welfare services or health care.