Tag: theme

The Survival Under 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert

ClaireHumanities

Below are my video and writing about the theme and the central ideas from the book “Trapped.”

 

“Trapped” is a book written by Marc Aronson that explains the story of 33 miners trapped under 2,000 feet below in San Jose Mine, Chile. This book describes in detail both above and below the Chilean desert, how the trapped miners survived together and how the process of the rescue went. One theme of this book is that cooperation and teamwork are important for survival.

The trapped miners held each other to not lose hope, and whenever they started losing hope, as a team they cheered up again. In addition, the rescuers were cooperating, too. They really worked together to save the miners not knowing if they are alive or not. Due to this teamwork and supporting one another, all 33 miners were able to be alive until the rescuers reached them, and the rescuers were able to reach them as quickly as possible.

There are two main reasons why you should read this book. First, it is a true accident of trapped miners that we have to recognize and have a think about. Today, many of the employees work in unsafe workplaces (including mining). However, the jobs cannot be stopped because it is an important job that affects our daily life (mining – electricity, fuel). By reading this book, we can realize the situation of the workers and pay more attention to the issues. Second, this book is not only about how the world rescued the miners, but also a story that shows how cooperation is an important key to survival. It is very interesting to read how the trapped miners got together and hold each other to not lose hope and stay alive. It makes the readers to think about the power of cooperation and putting ideas together. Since the end of 2019, coronavirus had spread throughout the world widely. To quickly get out of this Covid19 situation, all of us have to cooperate together. Thinking of our current situation, this book is inspirational and relatable.

One thing I learned in this unit and reading this book was rereading an important part of the book for a deeper understanding of the content and finding the connection with main ideas. Before, I never tried rereading a part even though I did not understand it well, because I thought it was a waste of time. However, now I know that it is an important process that helps me to come up with deeper ideas.

Wishes Make You Greedy

ClaireHumanities

Everyone is born with greed, but the most important thing is to realize the danger of greediness. In this short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” it shows the danger of greediness. The White family has a magical object that can grant any three wishes. They already had all they needed and lived ordinarily before the Monkey’s paw was handed to them. Because they received an object that could change their lives, they made unnecessary wishes. However, wishes always came with a price. In this story, William W. Jacobs, the author, believes that greed usually leads to terrible consequences.

In the beginning, Sergeant-Major Morris, a man who had experienced Monkey’s paw before, advises the Whites: “‘If you must wish, … wish for something reasonable.'” (Jacobs 99). Morris has experience with the Monkey’s paw and helps the Whites to make a wiser decision. This message warns the family to be sensible when making a wish with the Monkey’s paw. However, one example shows them being greedy, when the Whites made their first wish, saying, “‘I don’t know what to wish for … It seems to me I’ve got all I want.'” (Jacobs 115). This phrase shows that they did not need anything more, and they knew that they did not. However, because they were able to make wishes, they wished 200 pounds. And as a result, they received 200 pounds. But it was a pay for their son, Herbert’s death. Their greediness and hoping for more than they needed led to Herbert’s unexpected death. Further along in the story, they made even more serious wishes. Mrs. White told Mr. White, “‘No, we’ll have one more. … quickly … wish our boy alive again.'” (Jacobs 242). To save Herbert, they made a second wish. Herbert’s death was the outcome of their greed, but they did not stop there and desired more. The second time, they did not wish for money, not an object, but one’s life. And the result of the greediness was terrible: Herbert came back home as a living corpse. Because of their selfish desire, their son died and turned into a living corpse. As shown in the story, greediness and hope for an extreme change in life always require a price. This story of the Whites shows that wishing for something unnecessary commonly brings unexpected and unpleasant consequences.