Pages 331-338 consists of three chapters and more characters than I can count. I browsed Jane Flick’s GGRW reading guide, and she would has great historical references of the names of King’s characters. For example for Buffalo Bill (43):

King combines the names of two men famous for their hostility to Indians. Holm O. Bursum (1867-1953) was a senator from New Mexico who advocated the exploration and development of New Mexico’s mineral resources. With his eye on the map of New Mexico, he proposed the infamous Bursum Bill of 1921, which aimed to divest Pueblos of a large portion of their lands and to give land title and water rights to non-Indians. See bibliography, Washburn, HNAL The Buffalo Bill part of the name refers to William R Cody (1846-1917), an exploiter of Indians for entertainment in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show” (Jane Flick).

This unlocks whole new meanings of characters for me, allowing me to have a bigger chuckle reading GGRW. At the same time, having these historical references also heightens both the seriousness and significance of Thomas King’s work.

Jane Flick’s reference guide alludes Robinson Crusoe to Daniel Defoe’s character. That is humorous for in the novel, Robinson Crusoe essentially “enslaves” a native “friend” and calls him Friday. Another character in these pages shares the same name as Fran Striker’s character- The Lone Ranger. Once again, a hero with a “faithful Indian companion;” this is once again humourous as Striker’s Lone Ranger “captures Native Americans.”

Ishmael from Moby-Dick, “is a variation of the faithful “Indian” companion.” Ishmael is also part of the bible as Abraham’s first son. Both survive banishment; one into the desert, and one into the sea. I found that Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael is actually a captured Gorilla, with the ability to communicate. This is similar to how the Coyote is able to communicate as well.

James Fenimore’s Hawkeye is not too different from Marvel Comic’s Hawkeye. Leather dressed hero with a natural bond with nature, this character in GGRW contrasts with Charlie Looking Bear, which Jane Flick notes “has materialistic interests.”

Louie, Ray, and Al, is “a pun on Louis Riel” (Flick). They are from Manitoba, just as Louis Riel is (then Red River Settlement.) Though Louie, Ray, and Al have nowhere the same historical significance or character attributes of their namesake.

Jane Flick alludes Eli to “Elijah Harper, who blocked the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord in 1990 by being the standout vote in the Manitoba legislature. He voted against a debate that did not allow full consultation with the First Nations and that recognized only the English and the French as founding nations. King may also have drawn upon the name of Blood Elder, Pete Standing Alone, subject of a National Film Board documentary in 1982.” She forgets to mention that Eli can also refer to Elijah from the bible, who also “stands alone” against the worshipping of the Caanite God Baal.

Ching, Albert. “”Avengers: Age of Ultron” Set Photos Show New Look for Hawkeye.” – Comic Book Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=51737>.

“Louis Riel.” Louis Riel. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://library.usask.ca/northwest/background/riel.htm>.

King, Thomas. Green Grass, Running Water. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.

Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael. New York: Bantam/Turner Book, 1995. Print.

“Elias.” CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Elijah. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05381b.htm>.

My Dad’s side of the family is Buddhist, while my Mom’s side is Christian. I have been a youth leader at a local church in East Vancouver when I was nine or ten years old. Even though I stopped going to church after I turned eleven, I do believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that there is a God. I am also Buddhist. For me, Buddhism is a way of life, but Christianity is my faith. The creation stories I am familiar with are “Genesis” and the “Big Bang Theory.” Although I prefer the “Sky Diver” creation story to “Genesis,” I am most intrigued by “Genesis.” The reason for this is not because I am Christian, nor is it because it is a story shared by three big global religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I am most intrigued by “Genesis” because it is also a story that explains “everything,” from gender dynamics, to sufferings, to sin. There are major differences between the ethos of the way “Genesis” was told to me, and the story King tells in The Truth About Stories, I will try to compare and contrast these differences. I will also compare “Genesis” to “The Sky Diver.” However, I suspect I will end up describing how I, as a casual, amateur, and non-baptized Buddhist-Christian, reacted to how Thomas King tells the story “Genesis.”

“Genesis” is a part of the bible, it tells a story about how humans irreversibly sinned and acquired knowledge. “Genesis” does not explain what humans should do with sin; “Genesis” does not explain how the Holy Trinity will help us with sin, however, the rest of the bible does. I am not preaching Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; I want to express my dissatisfaction with a part of a religious text being retold casually.

King could have used the same amount of time and pages to explain the Bible as he did with the Aboriginal story. He could have said “God made everything; He made the Earth, the animals, Adam and Eve, and they lived in the Garden of Eden, where everything was perfect. Adam and Eve were ignorant before, and loved God because they knew of nothing else. Satan tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, which gave them knowledge and sin. For this action, they were banished and punished. This is why there is hunger in the world; this is why humans have to work; this is why it hurts woman to give birth, all because we are no longer in Eden. With knowledge, humans now also had to deal with sin; this is why there is evil in the world. Humans should put in our best effort not to sin, because sinning would result in having to join Satan in Hell. Sin and Satan are powerful; sometimes, humans will sin. Jesus Christ willingly died at the cross by human sins, for human sins. This will allow humans to reunite with the Holy Trinity in heaven after death. Now some of us love God because we choose to; filial freedom is the tradeoff for being banished out of Eden. By trying our best in life, and having faith in God, one day humans can return to Heaven. Even if humans sin, humans can return to Heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice. If one decides not to reunite with God, one can go to Hell if he or she wishes as well.

To answer the blog question, the ethos of “The Story About Charm” and “Genesis” are different because one story explains why there are terrible things on Earth; one does not. Both stories explain how Earth was created; however, to be fair, “Genesis” should have ended after the first line if it only needed to serve the sole objective of explaining how Earth was created. Thomas King introduces “Genesis” by describing it as “a perfectly serviceable creation story” (21). King is right, “Genesis” is a serviceable creation story and he tells the story as if the audience has already heard it before. He also mentions that there are multiple faiths that believe in multiple editions of this story with the line about the Russian Orthodox version. King illustrates how “Genesis” may be responsible for misogyny in this world, or at least inequality between man and woman, since God created Adam first, and Eve at the forbidden fruit first. King ends this story with the cruelty of God in banishing Adam and Eve out of Eden and into a life of “sickness and death, hate and hunger” (22). In his telling of Genesis, King describes the mistake of eating the forbidden fruit as “unavoidable” (22.) I would like to know why he thinks that. Is it because of King believes that Lucifer is all-powerful, or does King think God give Adam and Eve a test He knew they could not pass? Maybe Thomas King read Milton and decided that Adam and Eve were meant to embark on an epic quest, no one knows.

I agree with that Charm’s story is cooperative and fun, a creation story I would prefer every culture and society to accept. But religious texts are powerful and dangerous; the various crusades and various modern wars hold testimony to that. Religious texts are so prone to interpretation and disagreement, Thomas King gave his interpretation and I am disagreeing. Although I believe in God, I take “Genesis” as a creation story only. Although some people take advantage of religious texts, these texts can also promote good in people. The way Thomas King almost ridicules it really benefits nobody. In my previous blog, I wrote how Thomas King is doing society a service by promoting “The Sky Diver;” in hindsight, I take that back. By clearly making one religious text seem better than the other, he may end up contributing to the negativity in this world caused by differences.

King, The Truth About Stories, Chapter One: You’ll Never Believe What Happened Is Always a Great Way to Start.

Milton, John. “Paradise Lost.” Milton: Paradise Lost. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2014.

“Multiculturalism was adopted as official policy in a bilingual framework in 1971, and later in the broader Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Multiculturalism Act (1988), which built on the ideas formed in the Multiculturalism Policy (1971) and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)” -CanLit

The Multiculturalism Act is a policy of the Canadian government. It was created to ensure minorities groups of Canada would receive equal treatment as the majority groups of Canada (the British and the French.) This would include any minority features ranging from physical (such as skin color,) to cultural (such as holidays,) to intellectual (such as language.) By recognizing the diversity of people in Canada, the Multiculturalism Act essentially gives minorities the right to be “different.”

This act has social and political significance as it may have the ability to smoothen interaction between all Canadians groups on the social level, and allows for recognition of minorities on the political level. Be that as it may, there are skeptics such as Smaro Kamboureli, who defines the Multiculturalism Act in her book Scandalous Bodies with: “The Multiculturalism Act recognizes the cultural diversity that constitutes Canada, but it does so by practicing a sedative politics, a politics that attempts to recognize ethnic differences, but only in a contained fashion, in order to manage them. It pays tribute to diversity and suggests ways of celebrating it, thus responding to the clarion call of ethnic communities for recognition. Yet it does so without disturbing the conventional articulation of the Canadian dominant society” (82). I agree with Kamboureli’s definition of the Act, but I wonder why she is unsatisfied with the way the politics are playing out. My family came to Canada in 1995, and we appreciated the Multiculturalism Act. It was comforting and helpful for my parents to see Chinese on official documents when they could not read English. I remember in the second grade, when I finally became a Canadian citizen in Burnaby, my principal at the time announced the news of my brother and I on the school loudspeaker and congratulated us. My friends at that time were White Canadian, Hungarian-Canadian, (then Yugo) Slovakian- Canadian, and I was grateful to be in a place where I was recognized as Chinese boy becoming a Canadian citizen. If Kamboureli was Chinese, maybe she would be unsatisfied about the way non-Chinese people in Canada would say “Kung Hey Fat Choi” during the lunar new year to mandarin speaking Chinese people, without realizing it is Cantonese. Maybe she expects a lot more from the majority population, and other minority populations than me.

As I grew up, I witnessed the Multiculturalism Act impact the lives of minority groups and the majority groups. The Multiculturalism Act helps society in general, but the concept itself will always be complicated. For example, a local Vancouverite Nav Kandola filmed and describe the following video titled “Ignorant proclaimed UBC graduate being a racist on Vancouver sky train.” with “got onto the train today. It started off with this guy getting into it with some random girl as I got onto the train. I thought she was bothering him and he was the victim. She got up to get off at her stop and as she got off he yelled at her “by the way you stink”, the train started moving again. He turned around and started talking to the two Korean gentlemen beside me. He asked “where are you guy from” one of the guys responded “Korea” he then asks “are you in Korea?” Which they responded “no, we are in Canada” he then asks “and what language do we speak here in Canada” the Korean guy goes “English…?” The guy yells back “so speak English then”. He goes on rambling about how he pays for them and pays taxes and same old ignorant racist non sense everyone’s heard before. He ends up picking on an Indian girl which is where I started to record .. Share this video. Let this idiot come to light so everyone knows who he is.” Due to cultural differences, racism still exists in Canadian society today even though the Multiculturalism Act exists.

I do not see myself as a racist, but there are times when I feel frustration. I am very proud of my Chinese background and identity. I love China; I visit at least twice a year, and have a whole life there. I proudly sing the Canadian Anthem every time it plays, whether it is at a Toronto Raptor’s basketball game or at a political event I would participate in. An example of when my frustration turns right on is when I see fellow Chinese associates, classmates, or friends being unable, or unwilling, to sing the Canadian anthem. Another example can be told about some of my friends being frustrated about certain French establishments refusing to speak English. I am sure people have the rights to remain silent during the singing of “O-Canada,” but in the French speaking case, this can cause a feeling of hostility and inconvenience, even if groups have the rights to speak whatever language they wish. There is no excuse for hate or racism, however, everyone can entertain the idea of trying harder to embrace and balance multiculturalism and nationalism.

Coleman’s argument about the project of white civility is difficult because not only do we live in a “White” nation, with a powerful “White” neighbor (USA,) we arguably live in a “White” world. English is the global language. The highest “standards” are displayed internationally in five star hotels, regardless of nation, where white civility showcases itself. Classical music play in these places; people, regardless of race and culture, are wearing dresses and suits. The people there eat with fork and knives in a quiet manner, keeping their mouths closed as they chew. Colonialism already dictated the “standard” of “civility” all around the world. There are “finishing schools” for ladies in Europe where affluent families from all over the world, from Saudi Arabia to China, pay tens of thousands of dollars to send their female family members to learn the “art” of talking, serving tea, opening doors, walking, smiling, and acting as a White, female aristocrat. In fact, there are one or two finishing schools in Beijing, the biggest communist capital city in the world. The Multiculturalism Act is a lawful attempt of respecting and preserving different cultures, I wonder if it is enough to combat the White capitalism that has been rooted in the minds of non-white groups.

CanLit Guides. “Reading and Writing in Canada, A Classroom Guide to Nationalism.” Canadian Literature. Web. April 4th 2013

Coleman, Daniel. White Civility: The Literary Project of English Canada. University of Toronto Press. 2006. Print.

Kamboureli, Smaro. Scandalous Bodies: Diasporic Literature in English Canada. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.

Ignorant Proclaimed UBC Graduate Being a Racist on Vancouver Sky Train. Prod. Nav Kandola. N.p., 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152088272612037>.

“Multiculturalism Act.” Multiculturalism Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/multicul.htm>.

O’Connor, Liz. “Wealthy Chinese Women Are Paying $16,000 For 10 Days Of Finishing School.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 22 July 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

According to Carlson, Aboriginal stories that are influenced or informed by post-contact European events and issues are “discarded to the dustbin of scholarly interest” because the modern audience defines aboriginal authenticity with being pre-contact (56). This is problematic because this can render modern aboriginal stories dishonest or unauthentic. Salish stories belong to the Salish, if the modern scholar chooses an attitude of rejection, this can contribute to an extinction of Salish culture.

My first instinct was that if the Salish stories are of oral tradition, there might be an issue with a diminishing audience since fewer and fewer people are speaking Salish. As I read more into the discussion question, I realized there is a heavier ongoing issue. Carlson describes the Western academic accuracy with proven evidence, yet Salish academic accuracy can only be proven with memory and experience. As an endangered culture, there are many complications with this standard. Because there are different standards, the very fact that one culture relies on written evidence and one thrives with the oral tradition means that the very roots of this discussion is laced with extreme unfairness.

Carlson explains it is very difficult for Salish stories to be unauthentic since “for the Salish historian, bad history is considered to have potentially tragic consequences for both the teller and the listening audience. Ancestral spirits are said to be extremely concerned with honour, integrity and accuracy, so in effect its expected that bad things would happen if their story was altered or abused (59.) This means that if there were any uncertainty in the process of recalling a story, the teller would actually choose to keep quiet from the start. Additionally, I would like to argue that the exact information behind a story is pretty irrelevant in the big picture. A story is a celebration of a culture, a reflection of acceptance. Stories impact generations of whole cultures and whole societies’ way of thinking. I am generally happy about the way some of my classmates know a little bit about the Chinese epics such as Romance of The Three Kingdoms or knowing who the monkey King Sun Wu Kong is from Journey to The West. It is irrelevant to me that my classmates have some names of the characters wrong because they learnt it from a video game, or if they got some of the events wrong because they read it in a Japanese Manga. The Chinese situation is different from the Salish as the Chinese do have many examples of written texts that are qualify for Western academic approval. As long as books are not being erased, Western and Chinese stories will preserve; however, Salish storytellers cannot live eternally.

Carlson writes “Harry Robinson’s account of literacy being stolen from Coyote by his white twin conform to all the standard criteria associated with a genre of Salish narratives commonly referred to by outsiders as legend or mythology with one exception – they appear to contain post-contact content” (Carlson 56). Disregarding the part about post-contact content, it is already difficult to define an “authentic story” in a constantly changing and progressing world. There may be an issue of a lack of respect for a culture, if post-contact stories are not being considered authentic.  Myths and legends are stories that define a culture and society. The Salish societies are now all “post-contact,” the Salish and their cultures should all remain respected, especially under the circumstances where it is uncertain if there is anyone to pass on the relay of the Salish culture.

Brewitt-Taylor, C. H. San-kuo-chih: San-kuo, or Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1925. Web.

Carlson, Keith Thor. “Orality and Literacy: The ‘Black and White’ of Salish History.”Orality & Literacy: Reflectins Across Disciplines. Ed. Carlson, Kristina Fagna, & Natalia Khamemko-Frieson. Toronto: Uof Toronto P, 2011. 43-72.

NW Profiles: Saving Salish – a Language Revival. YouTube. KSPS TV, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urIlnR_6fRE>.

Robinson, Harry. “Coyote Makes a Deal with the King Of England.” Living by Stories: a Journey of Landscape and Memory. Ed. Wendy Wickwire. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2005. 64-85.

Sheri Linden March 6. “Review: ‘Journey to the West’ a Rollicking Tale of Demon Hunters.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-journey-to-the-west-review-20140307%2C0%2C3970762.story#axzz2vbwE7qaH>.

Employing Dichotomies for Persuasion

Creation stories have similarities in that they tell us how the world was created. Creation stories also require audiences to take a leap of faith, and to have imagination. With the issue of believability, King “says, he purposefully tells us the “Genesis” story with an authoritative voice, and “The Earth Diver” story with a storyteller’s voice” (Paterson). The epic and authoritative voice of “Genesis” does not make the story more believable than the playful voice of “The Earth Diver” since both story is equally un-scientific and unrealistic. In fact, the absurdity of “Genesis” is strengthened with God’s contradiction of being all loving and all-powerful.

This is a contradiction as there is an abundance of poverty and evil in this world. If God was all loving, and all-powerful, there should be no human suffering on Earth. John Milton’s Paradise Lost illustrates this point very well. God in Milton’s work is perfect, something humans are not. This makes God hard to relate to, and practically boring, when compared to the more dynamic character Lucifer. Lucifer has ambition, goes through struggles, makes mistakes, and has weak moments just as humans do. God on the other hand is a perfect being; God is an entity humans cannot truly understand fully. Although I agree that the First story being co-operation and collaboration, I disagree that Genesis is about competition, since God will not reject a soul into heaven because there is a better soul out there. However, the sheer fact that God has this sort of power over humans is proof enough that there exists a dichotomy.

Thomas King creates dichotomies for readers to examine the two creation stories of “Genesis” and “The Earth Diver” in order to educate readers. Essentially, King is doing social work in this chapter of The Truth about Stories. Society will not benefit by having readers believe every part in either creation story but society can benefit by appreciating the values King preaches through “The Earth Diver.” By choosing the “sacred” story with the flawed, “crazy, nosy, curious” Charm, the audience can learn to become more accepting and open-minded. The characteristics of this creation story is flexible and will not lead to religious wars the way the Bible or the Quran does. Theoretically, each individual can only believe in one sacred creation story. If it came down to only two available creation stories, Thomas King would prefer society to believe in “Earth The Diver,” that is his main purpose of illustrating the dichotomies.

King, The Truth About Stories, Chapter One: You’ll Never Believe What Happened Is Always a Great Way to Start.

Milton, John. “Paradise Lost.” Milton: Paradise Lost. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2014.

Woodlock, Rachel, Antony Loewenstein, Jane Caro, and Simon Smart. “Doesn’t Religion Cause Most of the Conflict in the World?” Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 01 July 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Since the age of two, I have lived in seven different cities around the world and attended more schools than I could remember, even a few dreaded boarding schools. At the moment, my family moves around often five different cities as a result of my Dad’s work. Because I have been in different international schools since the age of ten, there has not been a city I have traveled to that I did not have the pleasure of a friend to see, or to pick me up from the airport. Strictly speaking, my best friends, or social groups, are not associated with home. My sense of home comes from experiences such biting into the Montana Burger at Shanghai’s Blue Frog Restaurant, driving by the calm and familiar roads of Burnaby, or hearing Asian languages in many public places of Richmond BC. Since these senses of home are not always available to me, I naturally connect to more available senses of home.

I connect to different franchise stores that give me a sense of home. I recall being very disappointed during my first visit to McDonalds in China, and very thrilled when Cold Stone opened in Vancouver. Since I was a young child, I have been eating a lot of McDonalds’ fast food. When the menu was different in China, and when the fries tasted different, my desperation for the familiarity, consistency, and comfort of the fast food franchise, turned into disappointment. Cold Stone Creamery, an ice cream shop, has been a family and friend hang out place for me since I was ten years old. The only other place I have ever seen, and frequently visited a Cold Stone, is in Shanghai. There they would sing the Cold Stone song, while they made customer’s order; enjoying cake batter ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery meant home in Shanghai to me. Now that Cold Stone is in Vancouver; that is no longer the case. Franchises are so important to my senses of cities and homes that ordering different meals at McDonalds, as a result of the pricing and menus, will always remind me exactly where I am. For example, if I were to order Chicken Wings at a McDonald’s store, I would be in Hong Kong. In Vancouver, I always order as little as possible, since it is relatively expensive there. In the United States, I would always order as much as possible, since it is relatively inexpensive. However, if I were in the American state of California, I would never be in McDonalds’, since I would only be at the In-N-Out fast food chain. I may be mistaken about some franchise facts, but because of this, the casual thoughts in my head about franchises only become even more intimate, in connecting myself to certain places in the world that I have been to. I spent five years of my childhood in Burnaby, and I always thought Arby’s fast food restaurants only existed in Burnaby. Whenever I am in the area, I would go feast out on hamburgers and curly fries in Burnaby to remind myself of my childhood. I live in Waterloo now, and recently been in a car crash. The auto shop repairing my car has an Arby’s right across from it. Now Arby’s remind me of both my carefree childhood and my tougher young adulthood.

To me, the physical home refers to a place for sleeping, showering, and making meals. The physical home can be anywhere, and yet, it never gives me the sense of home. What is home without the smell of my mother’s cooking or the sounds of my little brothers playing? To me, consistency defines the feeling or sense of home. Not too long ago, I was the type of person who would be a frequent visitor to big clubs. Now that I think about it, to me, loud music and red bull vodkas are consistent all around the world, more consistent in giving me the sense of home than a physical home. For this reason, instead of cuddling up in a comfortable bed, making my way to the clubs would be the first thing I used to do after arriving at any city. This is my fifth week in Waterloo, Ontario. Home in Waterloo means roommates, bedbugs, packed belongings, and the cold. I am no longer in a city due to coincidences, but as a result of a conscious decision. Every day I work, and build new life experiences without turning to my past senses of home. I hope to discover a new sense of home here, which would not be unique to the city, but unique to myself.

Lopez, J. Kenji. “Serious Eats – Seriouseats.com.” Serious Eats. N.p., 2 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

MacDonald-Carlson, Helen. “Developing a Sense of Place: Exploring Ideas of Home and Community.” Canadian Children Child Study (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Su, Calvin. “Blue Frog’s Montana Burger in Shanghai.” 2013. Jpg

The reaction from both my audience and myself to Leslie Silko’s story is that evil must have already existed in the world one way or another. In King’s novel, the “fear and slaughter, disease and blood” recited by the Witch, must have happened before for the witch to know of it (9). The text never assures that the Witch’s story was original; therefore, she merely spread the idea of evil or brought it back to the world.

Here is how I told the story out loud:

“One witch brought evil to the world.”

Immediately, I was interrupted requesting the definition of evil along with the gender of the witch. I defined evil as anything sinful or negative. It is intriguing how the gender of the witch mattered to my audience; maybe it is because Eve was the first to eat the forbidden fruit. It seems as though I took Leslie Silko’s story and compressed it within a short sentence but my story telling style usually starts of broad and goes into detail. After making it clear that the gender is unknown, and that the race of the witch is non-human, I continued with:

She brought evil into the world to win a competition among witches. Other witches would do spells, bubble potions, and the competition was generally friendly and fun. It is assumed that the other witches have had these get-togethers before, while this particular one occurred in a cave. It is also assumed that none of the other witches performed anything that was “evil.”

Yes I did raise my hands to perform the “quote and unquote” gesture.

The Witch of concern performed her trick last, which was horrifying to even the other Witches. They asked her to undo it, but as stories are, they are irreversible. I concluded with “and this is how evil came into the world.”

The most interesting discovery I have made with this story is realizing the power of stories. Stories sound very pleasant, as in bedtime stories. However, stories also communicate thought and memory, the most powerful tools of human beings. That is why totalitarian governments spend so much time dealing with censorship. Critical thinking and the sharing of ideas deals far more damage than simply fighting a regime physically. On the other hand, the potential consequences of planting a scary, sinful, or evil idea in someone’s head are infinite. Sometimes, a string of words can haunt a human being for life; in the same way Thomas King will be forever haunted by the fact, communicated by a story, that his father never shared his existence with his other family members.

Milton, John. A Critical Look at the Role of Responsibility in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Muncaster, Phil. “China’s Censors Censor Press Censorship Report.” • The Register. N.p., 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Technological advances in communication tools go all the way back to the invention of the printing press and even writing itself, however, this post focouses mainly on the World Wide Web’s digital literature.  I agree with Professor Paterson’s idea that technological advances in communications tools have contributed to increased rethinking about the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality. In present times, human beings are constantly being exposed to information. Mass marketing, along with the “technological advances in communication tools” are responsible for this occurrence. Social media in digital literature enables widespread publication, without publishers; this means that every voice can be heard. Voices can be unmonitored or even anonymous. As a result of technological innovations, I am constantly consuming information online through means such as advertisements, conversations, or twitter. Furthermore, it may even be worthy to argue that technological advances do not merely result in a rethinking about the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, but actually causes a diminishing of the trend. This decrease of categorization is due to the sheer availability and speed of exposure to information and ideas through the Internet.

Hypertext, another form of digital literature, is capable of granting users further research, for ideas and evidence. Hypertext sorts out information through relevance, and gives a user the choice of whether or not they want to pursue the information linked by the hypertext. Digital literature tools such as the hypertext permit more people to understand a broader spectrum of topics and be able to have personal input. For instance, one can rely on the internet to have a good understanding, and form his or her own thoughts on topics such as the environment without needing to have a high level degree in environmental studies through a post secondary education. In fact, I have learnt much more about mathematics off the Internet than I ever had in a classroom. Tools of digital literature create conversation that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. The amount of exposure and information accessible from the World Wide Web can make ownership of ideas hard to manage. Exposure sparks attention, and conversation is possible through the researching of information that leads to new ideas and thoughts.  Property rights can then become an issue if mass information consumers cannot tell if their thoughts and ideas are a hundred percent original.

Technological advances in communication tools may result in a finer line between documenting an original thought, and subconsciously regurgitating an existing idea in communication. Of course, I would quote the person I am borrowing my idea off of in my essays, but how should one handle borrowing a style of speaking, or an influence of an idea? Everybody starts of life with barely enough knowledge to survive, yet, two decades later, many of us are writing essays and blogs. Is there really just one definite line between original thought and plagiarism? One may gain knowledge through experiences but I argue that the majority of “things” people know are learnt from another source. This reminds me of Kim Dotcom, a entrepreneurial tech whom raises the issue of intellectual property through his various business ventures, most notoriously “MegaUpload.” The various tools of digital literature illustrates how technological advances reduce the tradition of divisive and hierarchal  categorization in literature; however, what are the consequences of mass consumption of information? Will it result in less original thought? Additionally, how will citation systems need to improve to keep up with the progress of digital literature?

Please comment and discuss. I hope to make my concern and argument with the issue of “blurred intellectual property” more understandable with the class, especially in relations to Kim Dotcom. Thank you so much for reading 🙂

Geller, Lois. “What If Marketing Were An Olympic Sport?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Pool, Tim. “Kim Dotcom: The Man Behind Mega.” VICE. N.p., 03 Jan. 2014. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2014.