English with Mikey

The year 2020 has proved time and time again that it is anything but ordinary. It seems as though more major events have occurred in this year alone than that of the last decade. But 2020 is not done yet, with the election going on right now, we can expect much more drama to come in the following days or possibly even weeks. But just what exactly should we be expecting?

With protests firing up left and right these days, and acts of violence coming from both sides and political viewpoints, we should expect many more people, especially these younger adult generations, to become more inspired to vote as well. To help us gain a better understanding of what we could possibly expect, we can turn to some data to help us out.

The image above shows the voting data/party affiliation of the voters from 20 states that have integrated party registration. This helps us to see what percent of Americans vote for which party. As you can see, many voters will identify themselves as democrats and will vote for the representatives of the democratic party. This data ties in well with the 2016 election that was between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

If you look under the electoral vote statistics on either end, you can find the data for the popular vote. The popular vote is the total number of individual votes for that candidate. Hillary Clinton had 65,853,625 total votes, and Donald Trump had 62,985,106 total votes. Through this data and the previous image showing the political party affiliation of voters, we are able to conclude that there will most likely be more people that will vote for the democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

As of November 4, Joe Biden is not surprisingly leading the popular vote with 70.5 million votes, as Donald Trump trails with only 67.8 million votes. With those 70.5 million votes, Joe Biden has broken the record of the most votes for president which was previously held by his former boss Barack Obama, at 69.5 million votes in 2008.

Now just having the popular vote does not guarantee that a candidate will win the election, for this, the candidate must win the electoral vote. To understand the electoral vote, we must look at the electoral college. The electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to represent their state. In total, the electoral college consists of 538 electors. Each state has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators. (There are also 3 electors for the District of Columbia.) With the 538 electors, there is a total of 538 electoral votes. In order to win the election, the candidate must have at least 270 electoral votes.

Again, as of November 4, Joe Biden currently has a commanding lead in electoral votes at 253, as compared to Donal Trump’s 213 votes. With Biden also looking to take some key swing states like Wisconsin, Georgia, and Nevada, it is most likely that Joe Biden will win the election and go on to be the 46th president of the United States.

As for my opinion on who I would like to win the election, I must say that I do not really have an opinion. Personally, all I would like to see would be everyone getting along with one another and for there to be peace throughout our great nation. Especially in these continously trying times, I believe that it is very important that we all come together as one to help each other, and not to tear each other down. If we can do that, I know that we will all be able to get through whatever the world may throw at us.

In “The Most Dangerous Game” a hunter by the name of Sanger Rainsford falls off of a boat where he then swims to a nearby island and meets a sadistic man named Zaroff. Rainsford is forced to outwit and hide from Zaroff who is trying to hunt and kill him. Zaroff hunts Rainsford for 3 days and in the end Rainsford ends up killing Zaroff.

Is Hunting Good or Bad?

An author named Gary E. Varner suggests in his book “In Nature’s Interests”, that some types of hunting may be morally justifiable while others may not be. Hunting “designed to secure the aggregate welfare of the target species, the integrity of its ecosystem, or both”—what Varner terms ‘therapeutic hunting’—is defensible, while subsistence and sport hunting—both of which only benefit human beings—is not.” In this paragraph, Gary is stating that Hunting of some animals is considered morally right while hunting of others and for sport is not. In “The Most Dangerous Game”, Zaroff is only hunting for sport and subsistence while Rainsford is a hunter who hunts for the benefit of an ecosystem as well as himself.

How The Morality of Hunting Ties into The Story.

In this story, hunting plays a huge role in both main characters. Rainsford is a man who hunts for food and for the benefit of an ecosystem while Zaroff is a man who hunts for sport and personal gain. A connection that could be made is how Rainsford sees what he could become if continues hunting and eventually gets bored of hunting animals and turns to hunting humans. The entire plot of the story is a big hunt for Rainsford and can symbolize how all things on this planet are either hunting or are being hunted.

Many people these days have started to get lazy, and it has gotten very easy to do so recently with all of the technology and services right at our fingertips. When people want to do something or try something new they will start to make excuses like “I don’t know where to start” or something along those lines. Well here are seven steps to help you get started and out of your comfort zone.

Step 1: Choose what inspires you.

Your own motivation will get you started and help overcome the challenges of getting out of your comfort zone. You probably have a whole bucket list of things awaiting your attention. If not, get a pen and paper, record your dreams, and narrow down to one or two new things you’d like to do soon.

Step 2: Remember it’s fine to be uneasy at first.

Trying new things is exhilarating for some, scary for others. Whether you are really excited or massively intimidated, don’t let fear stop you from doing the things that you want to do. You’ll probably find that others, who now appear to be comfortable or masterful at whatever you are now attempting, were once uneasy, too. But they found a way to confront their fears; you’ll do the same.

Step 3: Do your research

You’ll probably want to do research online. Sure, reading how to do it is not the same as doing it, and no matter how many articles you read or forums you visit, you can’t fully grasp the experience itself. But you can often get enough information to try something new on your own. Or, if you’re still unsure, you can get familiar with the topic, learn the main issues to consider, and form the questions you’ll need answered to get started.

Step 4: Talk to a friend who knows about what you want to achieve.

The right person can guide you through the process of learning something new. They can explain what’s standard practice and what’s unproven, share tips about what has worked for them, and what they noticed had helped others. The best way to tap someone’s expertise is to get general advice when you are getting started. Then, as you take steps to become more proficient, you can get insights on specific concerns.

Step 5: Take a class

Outside instruction can help you get the skills needed to try something new and provide a great foundation for further learning. You might be able to find a class for what you want to do at a community college, local service providers, non-profit organizations, or even something like an online class.

Step 6: Talk to an Expert

An expert can be a great resource. Look for those who relate well to beginners, are willing to help you take the next step no matter where you are starting, and enjoy helping those eager to try something new.

Step 7: Keep your head up

The road to achieving those goals outside of your comfort zone isn’t going to be easy. You will most likely find yourself doubting and criticizing your confidence and abilities. The most important thing when you get knocked down is to get up, dust yourself off, and keep plowing towards your goal. You can do it.

After reading through these steps I hope that you have gotten an idea of how to get out of your comfort zone and where to start. The time for excuses is over, it’s time to make a plan and begin to work to achieve your goals. You got this!

“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, is a sad story of a child born with a serious medical condition who overcomes some of his challenges only to be overworked to death by his well-meaning but self-absorbed older brother. Though the story is sad, we are able to pull out some great themes from it.

Pride

Throughout the story, the brother allows his pride to outweigh his compassion and blind him to Doodle’s limits. He is too proud to accept having a disabled brother, and this is why he does everything he can to teach Doodle to do able-bodied things. Because of his pride, he does these things more with himself in mind than his brother’s own wellbeing. This story is a clear example of the effects of blinding and debilitating pride since the brother’s pride eventually kills Doodle.

Guilt

Because this story is set in retrospect, there is a bunch of room for the brother’s guilt to come into view. He flashes back to this time in his life with a regretfull, guilty tone, and from this we know that he blames himself for Doodle’s death, even though Doodle was extremely unhealthy to begin with. Though we are not given anymore information about the narrator’s current life, we are left with the question of whether or not he will ever be able to overcome his guilt, move on, and be happy.

Family & Brotherhood

This story really shows us the importance of family, particularly those bonds between brothers. Doodle clearly looks up to the brother, but many times throughout the story the narrator fails to be the caring and compassionate brother he needs to be and instead is more concerned with the struggles of having a disabled brother. Without the support of his family or his brother, the person he looks up to the most, Doodle’s strength was bound to weaken. Following Doodle’s death, the brother realizes just how important his brother is to him, but by then, it is too late.

After looking at these themes, we could ask ourselves a few questions to further understand the text.

1. Which would you consider the most important?
2. How could these themes be connected in a way?
3. How might the story have been different had the brother realised what he was putting Doodle through?