I'm Going to Meditate After This...

The Power of Concentration By Mark Konnikova

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/the-power-of-concentration.html?ref=opinion

In Mark Konnikova's work, he glorifies the incredible Sherlock Holmes and his remarkable success in his practice. Konnikova corralates his successful career to his simple tactics. Through the author's bold use of detail, imagery and syntax, he states Holmes practice of meditation allowed him to be the most legandary sleuth of all time. As the author declares this, he uses this to support his claim; meditation is the key to a successful life.

Reading this article was a great experience for me. It was neatly organized and the ideas flowed together perfectly. Konnikova created this peaceful read with the details he provided. He stated a claim of the benefits of meditation, supported that specific claim with an experiment and provided shocking and very supportive results. Konnikova clearly did some background on his subject, and all of the details he provides are essential in his piece. Without these details, the reader would not be convinced on his claims of meditation. Another way Konnikova uses his large amount of data to his advantage is by comparing. In a multiasking experiment, the effects were made clear to the reader, "spending approximately 36 seconds on each, in contrast to the 48 to 50 average tasks attempted by the other groups (Konnikova)". The written numbers allows the readers to truly see the results.

Meditation is mostly about concentration, as Konnikova words it, "the ability to quiet your mind, focus your attention on the present and dismiss any distractions that come your way." After the many complex experiments and psychoanalytical explanations, the author creates an image which simplifies each concept of meditation. This image circulates back to Sherlock Holmes. Konnikova says that meditation is what occurs as one exhales a milky cloud of smoke while taping together the tips of ones fingers. This strong imagery illuminates the classic visual of Sherlock Holmes; all his focus on a single element (Konnikova).

The strongest part of this review is the conclusion. I give props to Konnikova for creating this conclusion because there was a lot of points to sum up, and he managed to keep it short without leaving out the essentials. The syntax used in the conclusion is what made it stand out above every other paragraph. First off, Konnikova covers all of the benefits discussed by stating, "Mindfulness may have a prophylactic effect: it can strengthen the areas that are most susceptible to cognitive decline". The colon is what makes this sentence bold, because it breaks down his main thought. Next, he uses the word "unitask" as he originally did in his introductory paragraph. Not only does this make the reader draw the connection, but it concludes the main idea of unitasking to multitask, which is the most profound benefit of meditation. The circular pattern of the words is a great technique seen many time by this author. Lastly, the syntax used does a great job by making the topic relatable to all audiences. Konnikova strongly signs off with syntax, "We may be investing in a sounder mental future-no matter how old we are."

Open Prompt #4

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

In the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, the determined Captain Ahab puts his desire for revenge on the great Moby Dick ahead of the safety of his crew. Capturing Moby Dick is the ultimate dream for Ahab, but it is a very dangerous task as proven before. Ahab had suffered a hard loss to Moby Dick, which made his desire for revenge very strong. Capturing Moby Dick would put his crew and himself in danger, but Ahab had no regard for the consequences. Defeating his personal battle was the most important thing to him. Captain Ahab disregarded all of his morals to pursue his selfish dream. Ahab’s loving family back in Nantucket wasn’t even enough to keep Ahab sane at sea.

The personal relationship that Ahab believes he shares with the whale drives Ahab to finish what was started. Ahab believes that he can take on the great whale. His large amount of confidence causes him to act inferior and ignorant. The present moral issues on the boat are unimportant in comparison to Ahab’s great battle. His inferior attitude causes him to believe that fate has brought him to defeat his biggest challenge.

Ahab is a hero in the novel, and like all heroes he suffers from a flaw. His flaw was inflicted on his original journey to kill Moby Dick. His peg leg is an everyday reminder to himself of the pain and suffering this evil being has caused. His flaw is symbolic towards the work because it is a main thing stopping him from capturing the whale. The thoughts of revenge are always present in Ahab’s mind and they don’t go away. Ahab looses all moral values and sense because his own sense has been damaged. 

Death of a Salesman Summary

Author: Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1949, which won him a Pulitzer Prize and was named as the first great American tragedy.

Setting: The play takes place between the 1930-1950's at the Loman residence in New York. The backyard is home to flashbacks and also Willy's famous garden scene. The kitchen is one of the only places where all of the Loman's are together, and this is where most of the arguing is done. The front stoop of the house is Willy's proudest accomplishment, and it is referred to often throughout the play. Direction is also an important part of the setting, as east and west are constantly mentioned.

Plot: Willy is an unsuccessful salesman who believes he can still make it as a salesman. The story revolves around the false hope that Linda feeds to Willy so he can have something to look forward to. Willy idolizes his brother Ben's success and wants Biff to live a successful life as well since Willy didn't. Willy is obsessed with Biff's success, as Happy is usually just pushed aside out of the picture. Willy has very high expectations for Biff although he has no skills that will help him follow these, just like Willy. Willy believes the most important thing in life it to be well-liked, because with that you will succeed.

Significant Characters:

Willy: He can't seem to live his life in the present. He is an unsuccessful American salesman who obsesses with the facts of the past. He is self-centered, irresponsible, a liar and delusional. His health is a main concern of the family throughout the entire play. Willy wishes for Biff to have the perfect life that he couldn't have.

Linda: The mother and wife to Willy Loman. She takes care of his every last need from getting him cheese, to making sure he goes to bed. Linda is a strong woman at heart, but she is unable to show this front to Willy. Around Willy she is weak of her own voice, and has to tell Willy exactly what he wants to hear. When she is only around her boys, she is firm, aggressive and most importantly- respected. She is the displays her true emotions the most in the play, but around Willy she can't because she needs to defend and protect any threat to towards him. She is easily shut down by Willy, but I think she doesn't fight back to maintain peace.

Biff: The most praised Loman child. As a kid, Biff had it all going for him in his father's eyes; he was well-liked, handsome, athletic and determined to make his father proud. Biff ruins the rest of his life when he flunks math and goes to Boston to see his dad. Because of what happened in Boston, he doesn't go to summer school to earn the credit. Biff is angry because his father has filled him with a false self-esteem believing he could do anything! All Biff wants is for his father to tell the truth so he can idolize him once again.

Happy: The least favorite child of the Loman family. Happy is often shut down, ignored, and seen as unimportant. He pleasantly lives in a life run off lies and oftentimes contributes to them with his sense of false hope. Happy's achievements are overlooked and don't measure up to the success of his brother.

Ben: Willy's brother and role model. Willy greatly admires and even obsesses over Ben's success, striving to live his life like his and achieve the same success for himself and his sons. Ben appears in Willy's flashbacks where he provides advice to Willy in times of need.

Symbols:
-Stockings: represents Willy's affair, and how it will always be in the back of his mind
-Rubber hose: Willy's desire of suicide, his way out
-Seeds: Willy's desire to practice success, a renewal of life
-Jungle: The opportunity for success
-Front porch: Only place where Willy accomplishes something

Motifs:
-appearance
-success
-dishonesty
-need for approval
-mistreatment of women
-denial of the truth

Narrative:
3rd person, flashbacks allow a different look on the situation

Quotes:
"That's just the way I'm bringing them up, Ben--- rugged, well liked, all-around."
-Willy says this to Ben referring of his boys. Willy looked up to Ben a lot and took what he said to the heart. It was very important for Willy to be approved by Ben in his own eyes, successfully raising children would of been one way to prove that. Willy thinks the key to success is to be well liked, he teaches his kids these morals even after they fail in his own life. Willy never understood how to fulfill his own life and this quote explains how Willy still struggles in helping his boys fulfill their own lives.

"Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground."
-Willy says this line towards the end of the play after he realizes he has failed at everything. He was an unsuccessful businessman lacking any previous achievements. Towards the end of the play he acknowledges that he hasn't started on a successful path either; he had never built up a solid foundation able to support himself. This quote is important because Willy finally realizes he hasn't done one thing to help gear him towards success and it takes him this long to realize this.

Theme: Accepting the truth and evaluating one's self must come before success.
Willy has a hard time accepting the truth and adjusting to situations due to that. He refuses to listen to what he doesn't want to hear, therefore living a successful life is very challenging. Personal success is impossible if your foundation only exists in your imagination. A main issue in this play is building success off of nothing. The character's believe that success can come from perseverance, which is true but that isn't the only thing needed. True talent and benchmarks are required for real success. Ben lived a successful life, but Willy was unaware of the steps taken for Ben to be able to achieve this. Willy is delusional towards the effort that truly matters.

Response to Course Material #4

I enjoyed reading Death of a Salesman, but I'm glad we've moved on. I felt that we spent a lot of time on one topic and we wasted some time. The commentaries of Salesman were very interesting and very informing. I thought the commentaries cleared up a lot of questions I had. Although some were long and exhausting, they helped me fully understand what Holmes is talking about. After reading, I could connect the meaning behind the important parts of the play that Holmes had mentioned. Our most current read is Hamlet, which is definitely not my favorite. I'm struggling with it because I'm unfamiliar with Shakespeare's style, but I'm slowly becoming able to understand his language on my own. Annotating helps me break down the parts I may have missed in class, which helps me actually understand what I just read on my own.