Draft Summary

As Geertz and his wife ventured to a Balinese village, he did not know that he was going to study so intently the art of the Balinese cockfights. Geertz and his wife were able to overcome culture barriers to enter the Balinese community and observe closely something that had not been studied, the cockfights. The cockfights brought with them a chaotic atmosphere to the quiet Balinese culture. Not only did the cockfights bring entertainment and money to the community, they also hold a deeper meaning. In a country where there is gender equality, only men fight roosters. The roosters are part of the men and more importantly than running the risk of losing money is the risk that challenges the men’s honor.  Cockfights are organized to illustrate the importance of honor in the game. Everything from determining the umpire and being able to pay the bet immediately show the importance of trustworthiness and honor in the society. The deep fights involve more equal in strength roosters and attract bigger bets, but what is important for those in deep fights is honor. The shallow fights attract less money and smaller crowds but attract those who only care about the money.  They are looked down upon and are in a lower level in the stratified culture of the Balinese. Being the observer, Geertz realizes that the cock fights are a part of the culture having guidelines that everyone must follow. At the end of the day, whether you win or lose is not a drastic change in your life.  Winning or losing a cockfight will not change your social status. The cockfights are just a part of the Balinese culture and as an anthropologist Geertz has been able to observe the culture and write down his observations so others can glance into one of the aspects of the Balinese and be able to understand them.      

Quote

“It is also the umpire to whom accusations of cheating, which, though rare in the extreme, occasionally arise, are referred; and it is he who in the not infrequent cases where the cocks expire virtually together decides (if either, for, though the Balinese do not care for such an outcome, there can be ties) went first. Likened to a judge, a king, a priest, and a policeman, he is all of these, and under his assured direction the animal passion of the fight proceeds within the civic certainty of the law. In the dozens of cockfights I saw in Bali, I never once saw an altercation about rules. Indeed, I never saw an open altercation other than those between cocks, at all.”

                This quote is interesting because it reveals some aspects of the organization of the cock fights and the morals of the people. The cockfights are not just a group of people who gather around to just bet on random fights; rather, they set a method where the fights have become organized with the intent in preventing conflict. Preventing cheating, the umpire ensures that everyone fights fair. The quote also shows that most Balinese like to fight honestly; they know the guidelines of the game and stick to them.  The quote reveals the importance of the umpire’s role in a fight; he must have the qualities of honesty and trustworthiness.

Occupy Wall Street Summary

   While the Occupy Wall Street has lost energy in the last couple of months, the movement has become known and everyone is waiting for its reemergence.  Using an analogy, the author compares the movement to reality TV. The author describes the people supporting the movement as the 99% disadvantage battling the 1% elite seen as evil becoming a show of good vs. evil.  The movement’s purpose is to represent the disadvantage on Wall Street where only the elite can advance. Although anyone can hold stock only the rich can have enough stock to be included in corporation decisions showing that public cannot compete with the private. The author suggests that with the reemergence of the occupy movement there will be new demands from the 99%. The movement has become a real issue that should not be ignored in this active political year.

Strong Reading and reading with/against the grain

          Strong reading refers to understanding the reading you are given by using approaches that allow you to connect with the readings. Because most college readings are made for audiences different to college student, college students must use strong reading to understand what they are reading. Strong readers are able to make connection to the text, using their own experiences to understand the reading. As a strong reader you ask questions about your reading such as its purpose. Strong reading is not just reading it once but multiple times while being able to make notes such as underlining, highlighting, and circling key words. Being able to read content that you agree with (reading with the grain) and support and expand it and also being able to read content that you don’t agree with(reading against the grain) and being able to refute and build an argument against it makes you strong reader. Strong reading to me is being able to ask yourself what is my purpose in reading this, this allows to concentrate in the content of the of the reading.  Being able to look up information that I do not know such as vocabulary and historical contexts, eases in understanding the reading.

                One time I read with the grain was in my AP Literature Class, reading The Poisionwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. The novel was about how a man and his family ventures into the Congo during the 1960s trying to convert the natives to Christianity. The story paralleled the events that happened in the Congo during the 20^th Century such as being controlled by other countries and the United States supporting a dictator.  While the father insisted on bringing Christianity to the natives, the oldest sister Leah was able to realize that both her dad and other countries were damaging the Congo, her dad by being intolerant towards the Congo Culture and other countries by using up the resources of the Congo without helping the people. From my history class I had known the History of imperialism regarding the Congo and I agreed with Kingsolver’s argument.  Reading the novel with the grain allowed me to elaborate on its conclusions by supporting it with historical references.

                One time I read against the grain was last semester in my Latin American Class, reading an article By Samuel Huntington called The Hispanic Challenge. The article was about how Mexicans and other Hispanics were making United States a country with two Cultures. He viewed bilingualism and the incorporation of the Hispanic culture with the traditional American culture as negative. His article also expanded on how in some regions Hispanics outnumbered others. Overall he had a negative outlook on the increasing trend of Hispanic culture intertwining with American. Of course I being Mexican and being bilingual did not agree with his argument, in fact I disagreed 100%!!! Against the grain allowed me to write a counter argument that supported the intertwining of the Hispanic and Anglo culture and argue why Huntington was incorrect.