1) How is Oskar's sense of self affected by his search?
Oskar begins to come to terms with the fact that there are sometimes no answers, no reason behind the things that happen to us. I think by the end of the story, Oskar also realizes that the scope and size of the world is larger and more complex than what he'd initially thought. This leads him to feel (paradoxically) less safe and more loved (ex-- his father is still dead and without reason, but the discovery that his mother knew of his search gives him a sense that someone is watching out for him).
2) What does Thomas Schell discover?
Thomas discovers that his (ex) wife knew her sister was pregnant, he discovers (literally and figuratively) his grandson, and he discovers that he cannot perpetuate the life he left and recently came back to. For Thomas, the burying of his letters to his son is a means to leave his past behind him, but true closure can never come for him-- I believe this is the reason he leaves again.
3) How does fast food affect my life?
Fast food has affected my life since before I was born, and continues to influence aspects of my life, even though I don't regularly patronize fast food establishments. Economics, labor, trade, real estate value, food quality, competition, culture and globalization are all components of the fast food industry, and trying to define just how they affect me is like trying to describe how all of the oceans affect just one jellyfish- there is absolutely no way to imagine a world without fast food, for better or worse.
4) How does fast food affect me, after reading FFN?
Having read FFN fully twice now, I continue to notice bits of every day life that are impacted by fast food-- from the (generally) falling cost of commodities like beef, potatoes, corn, to the marketing I see on television and the internet.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
E. Loud I. Close and Fast Food Nation by hesham
How is Oskar's sense of self enhanced by his search?
I believe in Oskar's search he has experienced much knowledge from his meetings with the blacks. He met different and unique people in his opinion, yet they were just normal people. I think in that sense he realized that he wasn't that off normal with his "heavy boots" and realized that many people have different problems in their lives too. Also in his search he was able to meet people who became in a sense his friends, he was supported by them. They gave him the moral (sometimes) to keep searching. And in a way they shared his grief.
What does Thomas Schell discover?
Thomas Schell discovers that he has made a big mistake in the way he was living his life. I believe he regrets his past action with his wife and how he abandoned her and his only son. He worried too much about himself that he has lost sight of his family. He did not think for sake of his wife that loved him or of his unborn child who is going to be raised without a father.
Before you read Fast Food Nation -- How has fast food affected your life?
Fast food has actually been a huge part of my life. In the beginning it started out as the favorite place to go when I was a child. I would always love to play in the playgrounds and loved the food. I would always cry to my parents everyday to go to burger king (my favorite fast food place). As I grew up this did not change. My favorite fast place to eat would still be burger king. I guess it brings back good memories when I was there. It always brought my family together.
As I grew even older (15 to be exact) it was the ideal place to work part time with my high school. I started to work at Chick-fil-a. It was a great experience as I began to understand how these places work. I saw myself in the children at the play ground, and I saw my family as the parents and elders siblings. I also learned a great deal about the work world through my job there. I learned many things and grew mentally that by this current date I have become a manager there.
After you read FFN -- answer the same question.
It is still the same way that I answered it in the question above. I did not need a book to tell me something that I understood of my own. I have experienced this "synergy" first hand, and was a victim of it. I have been working at a fast food place for quite sometime to see how it truly opperates. I came to understood that these companies used these stategies to pull in as many customers as possible. And honestly I was not shocked from these facts.
ELIC end. and FFN
1. Oskar's sense of self is greatly enhanced because of his search. In his quest he encountered people of all different backgrounds, beliefs and struggles. He realizes that his pain is not unique and that it is shared by all those who have experienced loss. His pain is no greater than anyone else's. He also learns to forgive his mom and himself for the tension in their relationship that his fathers death caused. When Oskar goes to Mr. Blacks apartment to get Mr. Blacks biographical index card. He stumbles upon his own. It has one word on it: Son. I think that gave Oskar a great sense of self.
2. I think Thomas Schell discovers a second chance. He missed a life with his own son. He missed out on raising Oskars father and helping Oskars grandmother. I feel like Thomas is connecting with his grandson as a way to make up for past transgressions. He wants to be there for Oskar in his search for his father, because no one was there for Thomas's own son, when he left.
3. Fast food has been a relatively small part of my life. My parents make a lot of my meals at home. I didn't really start eating fast food a lot until a couple of year ago when I got my license and a job. I was out either going to work from school, or hanging out with friends. Fast food became an easy alternative to actually getting a healthy meal. Since then I have toned down my consumption of fast food. I eat it maybe twice a month if I can't make it home for a meal. But, I don't believe it has had a large impact on my personal life.
4. I don't think that I have been affected anymore than i thought before, even after reading. I guess I was a little bit shielded from corporate marketing aimed at kids. I didn't have cable until about eighth grade, and as I said before my parents were never big on the whole fast food thing. I guess to a certain extent the playlands and toys packaged with meals had an affect on the place I wanted to eat when the rare occasion popped up. But I don't feel like I was greatly affected by fast food's "synergy" or children's marketing.
End of ELIC & FFN
1. I think Oskar's sense of self was improved by his search. What would have happened if he heard the message Abby left him those months ago? He would have missed out on so much of life, so much questioning, and so much self-discovery. He got the closure he wanted, and he still wanted to take everything back, but the mission was accomplished. I also think a big thing was him opening up to Ron and his mom. The fact that his mom was part of a coping group gave him comfort, and even allowed him to tell him mom that she could fall in love again.
2. Thomas Schell discovered what he missed. He thought at the time he left that it was the right thing to do, and what he needed to do, but in the end, he missed out on a lot. He said he was afraid of his son living rather than dying, and he missed both parts. At least he was given another opportunity to have family.
4. The reading doesn't really affect how I view it, or how I utilize fast food. I still just eat it when I have to, and make the healthier options what I go for. It IS possible to eat fast food and not weigh like a gajillion pounds after a given amount of time. It's always about the personal choices.
ELIC to End and FFN
1. Over the many months that Oskar is searching, he becomes less self absorbed. His focuses become less "what does this have to do with dad?" and more about the people he finds in his search for the lock. Near the end of his search, he begins to realize that he is not the only one who has lost someone or something important to them. You can tell that he has changed when he talks to Ron instead of just brushing him off like he usually does. He even accepts that Ron can be a part of his life. To me, this was showing that Oskar became less of a child, and I think that he probably noticed that about himself too.
2. Thomas Schell discovers that leaving was the wrong thing to do. His son tried to become him ("his own father," as the book says) instead of being his own person, when all Thomas Sr. wanted was for his son to NOT become him. He barely mentions his time away, even though it was so much more time than the things he did focus on. Almost all of his writing that isn't about before the bombing of Dresden is about being in New York, which shows that his mind is really more there than anywhere else.
3. Fast food doesn't affect my life much, since I don't care for it much. I do sometimes get something from Wendy's, and Subway is pretty delicious. I love subs. But honestly, if there was no more fast food, it would barely affect me. I only have it about once every month or so.
4. Fast food has surrounded me with advertising and made the places I've been have different things available to me. There's no way to list all the connections that the fast food industry has to things, but it's more than just eating there or not.
2. Thomas Schell discovers that leaving was the wrong thing to do. His son tried to become him ("his own father," as the book says) instead of being his own person, when all Thomas Sr. wanted was for his son to NOT become him. He barely mentions his time away, even though it was so much more time than the things he did focus on. Almost all of his writing that isn't about before the bombing of Dresden is about being in New York, which shows that his mind is really more there than anywhere else.
3. Fast food doesn't affect my life much, since I don't care for it much. I do sometimes get something from Wendy's, and Subway is pretty delicious. I love subs. But honestly, if there was no more fast food, it would barely affect me. I only have it about once every month or so.
4. Fast food has surrounded me with advertising and made the places I've been have different things available to me. There's no way to list all the connections that the fast food industry has to things, but it's more than just eating there or not.
End of ELIC Begin FFN
1. Oskar's sense of self is enhanced on his search through observational learning. On his search for the lock he and in his own encounters many people who all have something in common, which is suffering. He realizes he is not the only one with problems and that everyone suffers in some form, and that by suffering together you can cope more easily. A strong example of this is his knowledge of his mother withholding information from him to shelter him, much like what he does to her sometimes. Oskar is able to relate to other people and identify with their suffering.
2. Thomas Schell discovers that his life philosophy is wrong. He discovers that isolating himself from a situation was not the best solution and in many ways is remorseful for his actions. He discovers on many levels what Oskar discovered about himself. He discovers he wants to live again, and not let death overwhelm him.
3. On the surface, fast food in my life has played a simple, basic role; a cheap and tasty source of foodstuff. However, in recent years bad experiences inspired me to do some research that has opened my eyes to just how deeply fast food impacts everyone's life.
4. After reading FFN, my view towards fast food has become tainted by a sense of corruption from the top down, and how a well orchestrated attack exploiting the masses has become so successful and unabated. FFN is eye-opening, but not unbelievable.
2. Thomas Schell discovers that his life philosophy is wrong. He discovers that isolating himself from a situation was not the best solution and in many ways is remorseful for his actions. He discovers on many levels what Oskar discovered about himself. He discovers he wants to live again, and not let death overwhelm him.
3. On the surface, fast food in my life has played a simple, basic role; a cheap and tasty source of foodstuff. However, in recent years bad experiences inspired me to do some research that has opened my eyes to just how deeply fast food impacts everyone's life.
4. After reading FFN, my view towards fast food has become tainted by a sense of corruption from the top down, and how a well orchestrated attack exploiting the masses has become so successful and unabated. FFN is eye-opening, but not unbelievable.
ELIC pp 216 - 326 and FFN pp 1 - 57
1) Oskar's search affected his sense of self by forcing him to face other peoples' pain. He grew to understand that while his pain was important, it did not preclude the pain of others, and it was necessary for him to have compassion for their suffering, especially that of his mother. His search also gave him the opportunity to begin defining who he is as a person, as opposed to being defined in terms of others (i.e. “you remind me of your father”).
2) Thomas Schell discovers that he cannot exist in a vacuum, closed off from human contact. Originally, he believed that he could not face the world after his experiences during the bombing of Dresden, and losing Ana, who was pregnant with his child. However, even during this phase, I think that he realized, at least subconsciously, that he needs others; this can be seen in his constant requests that strangers tell him the time, despite the clock above where he sits in the airport. It was not until he found his son's name in the lists of those killed during the 9/11 attacks that he consciously acknowledged his need for a connection, especially with his wife and grandson.
In addition, I think that Thomas Schell made the same discovery as Oskar, namely that his pain did not preclude the pain of others. In struggling to help Oskar cope with the loss of his father, Thomas was able to move beyond his own pain, and paradoxically, to bring it into clearer focus.
3) Before I read the book Fast Food Nation, I ate fast food at least three or four times a week. Because of its convenience and good taste, it was a constant, steady influence on my diet. Beyond what I ate, I did not notice that fast food otherwise influenced my life.
4) As I read the book Fast Food Nation, I began to realize that fast food was affecting my life in more ways that just influencing what I was eating, although that was a very large impact. Through the process of synergy (“The idea that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts.” - Dictionary.com), fast food has influenced the world around me, from the actions of the government, to product placements in schools, to influencing the local and national economy. Fast food is everywhere around us, and influences us even if we choose not to partake of its products.
2) Thomas Schell discovers that he cannot exist in a vacuum, closed off from human contact. Originally, he believed that he could not face the world after his experiences during the bombing of Dresden, and losing Ana, who was pregnant with his child. However, even during this phase, I think that he realized, at least subconsciously, that he needs others; this can be seen in his constant requests that strangers tell him the time, despite the clock above where he sits in the airport. It was not until he found his son's name in the lists of those killed during the 9/11 attacks that he consciously acknowledged his need for a connection, especially with his wife and grandson.
In addition, I think that Thomas Schell made the same discovery as Oskar, namely that his pain did not preclude the pain of others. In struggling to help Oskar cope with the loss of his father, Thomas was able to move beyond his own pain, and paradoxically, to bring it into clearer focus.
3) Before I read the book Fast Food Nation, I ate fast food at least three or four times a week. Because of its convenience and good taste, it was a constant, steady influence on my diet. Beyond what I ate, I did not notice that fast food otherwise influenced my life.
4) As I read the book Fast Food Nation, I began to realize that fast food was affecting my life in more ways that just influencing what I was eating, although that was a very large impact. Through the process of synergy (“The idea that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts.” - Dictionary.com), fast food has influenced the world around me, from the actions of the government, to product placements in schools, to influencing the local and national economy. Fast food is everywhere around us, and influences us even if we choose not to partake of its products.
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