Surely You Are Joking, Mr. Feynman Literal Comprehension Interpretation Critical thinking Assimilation

1.      Surely You Are Joking, Mr. Feynman
Four Levels of Interactions
For: BA / BBS First Year
Richard P. Feynaman, USA (1918 – 1988)

2.      Literal Comprehension
After passing his under-graduation from MIT taking Physics, the narrator Mr. Feynman was suggested to go to other colleges by Professor Slater to understand the rest of the world but he was quite unfamiliar in system of Princeton College. Then Feynman went to Princeton College where everything was fully formal. On the first day, Eisenhart gave new student tea party. Feynman was not mannered and formal person who answered to have both lemon and cream teas. She told Feynman was joking about it by saying ‘’Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman’’ because it was taken as a social error.

3.      After that he went to Cyclotron where everything was left open to do. He started to take part in philosophical discussion and sometimes in biological groups as well as physics classes. He spent lots of time in biological work. He also did research on a phase and discovered the double mutation process. His that discovery made him popular among the biology students. Later he was invited to Harvard University to give a lecture for biology. Despite of his hard work and discovery of new thing in biology, he could not be satisfied. Though he knew and did a lot about the biology and other subjects, but his actual interest was in physics. So he expected he would go back to physics sooner.

4.      Interpretation
This essay tells us that there should be thirst of knowledge and progress in one’s mind to get their intended things. For it, one should also pay great labor to be successful in chosen field. This essay suggests how the education can be gained and what can be the best technique. Memorization and subject of inner interest are different and opposite things, the former is not the productive one. It also tells about the significance of interdisciplinary subject study. It portrays that education is the only key to learn about manner, culture, and knowledge in any multiple subjects.

5.      Critical thinking
It is sure that for the readers this essay is quite difficult to understand by the students beyond science faculty, it is because it contains the jargons that are used in scientific text. The crux if the essay is easier, but the presentation and language is, so one must be multidisciplinary to understand it because there is description about biology, physics, philosophy and as well as about other subjects. The passion of the writer for study and progress even in lack of tools and resources gives the good lesson to us. The writer became multidisciplinary in the lack of tools and resources. Is it possible to be multi-talented for all people in the lack of tools and resources? If it is difficult for the students of other faculty who are not from science background, why is this essay kept here in the management faculty?

6.      Assimilation
Thought the presentation and content of this essay is difficult to understand, it taught me a lesson that one should be dynamic and should have continuous effort to achieve your desired goal though you may lack the physical resources or somebody flatters you.

7.      According to different situations and societies, Prof. Slater’s suggestions to go in another college to meet the rest of the world is to try to understand multiple subjects and sectors of the life. I used to be bounded in studying of my subjects only but after reading this I came to know that nothing can be done with limited boundary of knowledge and people should be versatile/multidisciplinary in terms our knowledge.

Don't Cut Down the Trees, Brother Woodcutter Bal Krishna Sama

1.      Don't Cut Down the Trees, Brother Woodcutter

2.      By: Bal Krishna Sama

3.      Literal Comprehension: The poem "Don't Cut Down the Trees, Brother Woodcutter" is composed by Nepali poet Bal Krishna Sama. The main theme of the poem is about conservation of nature. Specially, the poet argues that trees are very important in our lives and they need to be protected. The poet considers the trees as our dead mother who are silent observers, but they protect us from natural calamities. The poet personifies the tree. The tree is like our mother that is around us and takes care of us. When we remember our childhood, we find that most of the time we play around the tree. It gives us fruits and flowers as if our mother cares us. Thus, no child is hungry. Their leafy lips kiss us and when they feel tired, they sigh and weep. They never speak a word. They are able to tolerate and their pains and grieves are only for our sake. They never complain.

4.      Further, the poet says that in winter the family sits around the fire burnt from the wood, and sing and talk. In the winter, the trees are covered with white frost that makes them bow at us. Nevertheless, we are ignorant. We do not understand all the scarifies and tolerance that the trees endure to sustain our lives. They silently and secretly pass the cold nights dreaming of our happy and cheerful days we spent during our childhoods under their guardianship. They also hear us singing the songs they had taught us. They bless our laugher all the time. They always love us. But, they cannot express their inner thoughts to us. It does not mean that they are lifeless, ignorant and thoughtless. They wait for us until winter ends. As soon as spring arrives, they again spread out their arms and appeal us not to cut off their arms.

5.      Interpretation:   In this pro-environment poem, the poet is trying to be more concerned with the pressing problems of deforestation and environmental degradation. He repeats the idea of considering the earth and its plants as respectful and forgiving to us, the selfish humans who ceaselessly fell down trees for fulfilling their present needs. The poet is indirectly criticizing the human act of clearing the lands, thus, making the life of our children and grandchildren insecure. The trees need to be saved for our future in case the human species may become extinct.

6.      Critical Thinking:  The poem "Don't Cut Down the Trees, Brother Woodcutter" has contemporary message to all the generation. Keeping the environment balance is the upmost property for the benefit of human beings. Some of the ideas presented in this poem are not common to cover all sorts of ecological parts. For instance, those who live in hot place do they find frost on the top of the trees during winter?

7.      Assimilation:  After reading this poem, once I felt to think of our dense forest found in Terai belt. There was "Charkose Jhadi" which was the great economic source of Nepal. Now we do not find it. if the then government was alerted like the poet Sama even nowadays we could find that dense forest. Thus, I appeal citizens and the government to conserve the forest whatever is left for our future generation.

Sex Roles

Sex Roles

                        Hamilton McCubbin & Barbara

1.      Are the female fairly the second sex?

2.      Does our society put equal value on both the sexes?

3.      Are the sex roles determined biologically or culturally? By nature or Nature?

4.    Sex roles and gender identity

5.               

6.                Any actor and actress act in a play according to the script written by the writer, and similarly every human being is a social actor who acts according to the script written by the society. There are some social norms in every society and an individual act determined by the same social norms. Traditionally, it is believed that the men should be brave, strong, independent, rigid, ambitious, aggressive self-controlled etc. Whereas the women should be passive, coward, soft, dependent, emotional etc. When any man shows the features of the women, he is criticized. Whereas a female is laughed at when she shows the features of the men.

7.                The writers of this essay try to prove that the behavioral differences between the sexes is not only determined by cultural norms and values as well. If it was biological, why the sex role differs from place to place and if it is only cultural why do the people share some unique features. Thus, it is self-evident that the sex role is determined by the both.

8.     

9.    The cause of sex roles: Biology or culture ?

10.              It is interesting to know that most of the nurses are women and must of the truck drives are the men. In general, the men are more intelligent than the women but the question is, why is it so obviously there are two factors biology and culture or nature and ----

11.   

12.  Sex Roles :

13.   Genetics : The Biological Evidence

Male                                                                Female

-                      Androgen                                                       - Estrogen

-                      Visual skills                                                  - Verbal skills

-                      XY – Chromosomes                                      - XX- Chromosomes

No one contradict the fact that there are biological differences between male and female. However, there is a question put to the researchers whether the biological differences determined the behaviors of male and female or not.

            By structure male and female are made up of different chromosomes: XY chromosomes make the male where as XX chromosomes make the female. Due to the difference in chromosomes, the average male is taller, heavier and more muscular than the average female. Similarly, it is found out that the behavioural differences are due to the male and female hormones. Both male and female hormones produce the hormones named androgen and estrogen. The male hormone is androgen and estrogen is the female hormone. It helps for the depending of the voice. Similarly, estrogen prepares the female being the mother by developing her body parts.

            Undoubtedly, the physical structure of the male and female is determined by the hormone but the question is what it has to do with the emotional aspects. The answer is obvious that the males hormone empower them with usual skills and the female hormone enrich them with verbal skills. Consequently they act differently however, it should be noted that the sex roles are influenced more by the culture than by the biology. Even if a girl has boyish features she cannot act like a boy until her society permits her to do so.

1.       

2.    Culture: The Anthropological Evidence

3.     

4.    The study of three tribes

5.    a)      Arapesh : both the sexes acted the role of a female: cooperative, nurturing, etc

6.    b)      Mundugumer : masculine roles were played by both the sexes: aggressive and competitive.

7.    c)      Techambull: just the reverse roles. Women played the masculine roles and the man played the feminine roles.

8.     

9.    According to anthropologists the sex roles are determined by the culture, from the early civilization. The males achieved power and prestige because of their strength and courage because they went for hunting whereas the female stayed at home nurturing their children. Obviously, both of them symbolized the sources of food, male earned more power because they disturbed the food and made the female dependent on them consequently, the sex roles were determined the males were more powerful and confident than the females. In a sense, they were like rulers and the ruled.

10.  According to the study of the anthropologist, the sex roles differ from one society to the other. In some of the societies, both the sexes play the feminine roles and in some others, they play the masculine roles. It is also surprising that some societies make the female more powerful than the males. Basically, the female are powerful only when they make themselves independent.

11.  Therefore, it is self-evident that the sex roles are the product of income resources allowed by the society to both the gender.

12.   

13.  Sex Roles:

14.  Society: Learning Evidence

15.   

16.  It is stated that sex roles are determined by biological as well as the cultural factor. If culture determines the sex roles, how does it begin? Obviously, the culture starts from the process of socialization. Most differences between male and female are learned through family interactions, school teaching and the mass media. The grown ups describe the boys as ‘bouncing’ and ‘study’ whereas the girls are describe as ‘sweet’ and soft. As a result, the feminine features are developed in the girls and the masculine features are developed in boys. Moreover, if any boy likes playing with dolls, the parents do not allow him to do so. They try to teach him that he is a boy and most play the rough games. As a result, the socialization process begins.

17.   

18.  Feminist Critique: Sex Roles and Social Control

19.   

20.  After the minute study of the sex roles, the feminist critiques have reached the conclusion that there is a strong social control over the sex roles. It is because of the social control the males have achieved prestige and power. Whereas the female are still lacking behind the males. If equal opportunities are provided to the females, they would never be different from the males even though there are fundamental differences in their biological structure.

21.   

22.  Conclusion:

23.  In this chapter, entitled “Sex Roles” the writers have justified that sex roles have biological as well as cultural roots. In the process of development of culture, society plays a key role and the child learns the destination of the sex roles from his elders. However, the feminists are with the hope that if the opportunities are provided to the female equally, the gap between the sex roles will be bridged.