Journal Entry 24 - Compare/Contrast Cats

            Doraemon, which is a manga character, is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio. This manga later become popular in Asia and United States. The story basically is about an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, travels from future to present to aid a schoolboy Nobita Nobi in everywhere. On the other hand, Hello Kitty is a fictional character produced by Japanese company Sanrio. It first appears on an item, a vinyl coin purse. It is also famous in Asia and the States.

            First of all, the similarities between these two characters. In physical appearances, Hello Kitty and Doraemon are similar. They both are cats and they both have small eyes and short arms and legs. In personality, Doraemon always assist everyone whenever they need help. Also, in the manga, there is a lesson behind a story every time. Therefore, Doraemon can also be a model for children. For Hello Kitty, it always creates a positive image to the public. Whenever people think of it, we suddenly feel cheerful and joyful, even though it doesn’t have a mouth to give us a smile. In abilities, Doraemon has a magic packet that can put unlimited things. That magic packet supports it to take out highly technology tools to help people. On the other side, I believe that Hello Kitty has the ability to entertain everyone. Although it does not speak at all, it can provide a circumstance that makes people happy.

            Secondary, the differences between these two characters. In physical appearances, Doraemon has a month and Hello Kitty does not. Moreover, Doraemon likes to eat “dorayakis”. Yet, I don’t think Hello Kitty has a choice of favorite food. In personality, I believe that Hello Kitty is less emotional, because it does not have a mouth. So, it’s hard for it to express its feelings. In abilities, Doraemon has a magic packet to assist people. But, Hello Kitty does not have one.

            In conclusion, although they both have their pros and cons under the comparison, I don’t believe we should define which character is better. The reason is simply that they both exist for a purpose. The purpose is to bring joy and entertainment to the public.

Journal Entry 23 - Pearl Harbor Day

            Pearl Harbor is one of the most significant historical events. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters planed by Operation Z attacked Pearl Harbor surprisingly on December 7th 1941. According to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s infamy speech, December 7th, 1941 is a date, which United States of America will live in infamy. This surprised attack also cause Americans disbelieve Japanese. Americans thought that Japanese is ambition; they are willing to do anything in order to achieve their goals. Therefore, United States of America decided to set up internment camp for Japanese Americans. They locked them until the war is over. However, Americans did not do anything to harm Japanese Americans.

            Although this important event did not have direct influence to Taiwan, it did cause United States of America join the World War II. If Japan did not attack on Pearl Harbor, everything would be totally different from modern days. The reason is that USA probably would not join WWII. Then, I believe that USA will not be as powerful as present. Moreover, despite Japanese are crucial and ambitious, they did create a huge benefits to Taiwan. For instance, they built the Presidential Official Building, Taipei, and Hsinchu Train Station. Without Japan, these beneficial buildings cannot be completed.                                    

Journal 22 - Telling Your Story

            During class today, everyone only heard Karen and Pamela’s stories. However, although some of us did not have the opportunity to tell our stories, I guess pretty much everyone has the experience of telling a story. Therefore, I want to foretell what I might experience when I am telling my story. I guess I would probably feel nervous? The reason is that I am not a confident person at all. So, whatever I do, I would worry about people question about my work. On the other hand, I do not think I would be afraid of telling my story, because I not only took public speaking in tenth grade, but also I have had the experience of telling a story or making a presentation in front of thirty students before. Thus, I guess this probably would be a piece of cake for me?

            If I really need to compare this kind of experience in public. I would say presenting something in the public would be more frightening. First of all, telling a story in front of a bunch of people that you never met before is kind of awkward. Secondary, if you made too many mistakes that can result of bad first impression to other people. 

Journal 21 - Your Audiences

            I think I will have a problem with the audience. Be specifically, some audiences might not choose to read my story. How come? First of all, the story I created is not only based on the suspense type, but also it involves a little bit with horror and supernatural. This might affect some of the audiences, because some of them might refuse to read horror or supernatural story. So, this is the group that might not choose to read my story.

            On the other hand, I think the people who would like to read my story probably is crazy about supernatural; that’s for sure. Moreover, they might even look for excitement. In this situation, excitement means when one is doing something everyday, eventually, he/she will feel bored.  I think the excitement can be found in literature, such as suspense or horror story. Therefore, this kind of story provides entertainment for them. In conclusion, I believe that the story type occupy a huge amount of percentage of the interest of the readers. The reason is that if a story is not attractive to some individuals. They will not even bother to look at it. However, although the readers’ choices can have a direct effect on the popularity of a narrator’s story, it is still difficult for to change a narrator’s voice. Every narrator has his/her own thoughts and voices; it is irreplaceable. If a narrator always needs to follow what the readers thought, then the individuality and uniqueness would be perished. 

Journal Entry 20 - Putting It All Together

Indeed, after all these different categories that Mr. McCool taught us. It is about time to put every single piece together in order to finish the final work. At the beginning, I honestly thought that the process is unnecessary because why don’t we just write down the story and then hand it in as a normal assignment. However, when I followed Mr. McCool’s lessons, I found out that these processes are essential to me. In fact, I did not know what point of view means in the beginning of this assignment. After our teacher explained, I realized that I actually learned about it in local school. This is a significant tool for writing.

I hope everyone like the story I wrote. Nevertheless, I worried that my story will not be able to create the suspense atmosphere, which is not only the most important thing of my story, but also the most difficult elements to create. In order to make your readers want to read your story continuous is a hard task for the narrator. Therefore, I hope my story can have this effect successfully. In addition, I believe that the plot of the story is pretty good. It should be a story that combines suspense and ghost, which give the readers eerie feelings. That is also the key element that I want my readers to receive. When I reading my story to the class, I will put emotions and pauses as I read along. Emotions help the readers to get into the story’s environment, and the pauses can be a hint of something shocking is coming. Overall, I have confidence that this will be a good story.