Bùi Phương Thúy

Entry 1 _ Bùi Phương Thúy

Item1: Poem

Love and Friendship                                                                                     

Love is like the wild rose-briar;

Friendship like the holly-tree.

The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms,

But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,

Its summer blossoms scent the air;

Yet wait till winter comes again,

And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Then, scorn the silly rose-wreath now,

And deck thee with holly's sheen,

That, when December blights thy brow,

He still may leave thy garland green.

~Emily Bronte

Rhetorical devices:

- Rhyme: air – fair; now – brow; sheen - green

- Simile: love vs the wild rose-briar; friendship vs. the holly tree

- Metaphor: bloom (existence of relationships); spring, summer (happy time); winter (unhappy time)

Message: Love an friendship are important relationships in people’s life, although love is beautiful, it might not always turn out as ones hope but friendship would stay and keep them on their feet even during unhappy time . Honor friendship and don’t forget the strong friendship during happy time in love

Item 2: Story

  The Window" (Author unknown)

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man  was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and   families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military  service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the  man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where  his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and  color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while  children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite  detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.  Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive  words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should hehave all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see  anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt  ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He   began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that  window - and that thought now controlled his life.
Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window  began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man   watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking  stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence.
The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away--no  words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he  could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his   first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

Rhetorical devices:

- Metaphor: the window (points of view towards life); the man near window (the optimists); sceneries outside the window (happy things)

Message: The pursuit of happiness is the matter of choice; it is the way we choose to express. Happiness will come to people who are optimistic towards life.

Item 3 : Cartoon

Rhetorical device:

- Metaphor: the fish (natural sources, environment), the man (present generations), the child (future generations)

 Message:  we are overexploiting natural sources and destroying environment without caring about the future of our new generations.

http://allspirit.co.uk/emilybronte.html

http://blog.humanityy.com/en/30-great-environment-cartoons

http://classes.bus.oregonstate.edu/fall-07/ba465/Stories/The%20Window.htm

http://hanoimoi.com.vn/newsdetail/Van-hoa/543076/mieng-ghep-nguoc-gianh-giai-nhat-biem-hoa-ve-moi-truong.htm