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Chuxian Lu’s large group discussion x
Group leader：Chuxian Lu

Message no. 291

Posted by Xiaofan Long on Friday, March 1, 2013 8:05am

Subject: ChuXian Lu’s Group

Actually, my feeling toward this opinion is a kind of mixed. I agree that living in United State, people have a broader freedom to pursue their dreams. Children are facing much less limitations from the society and their parents. When I just came America, I found that a lot of American student were majored in Philosophy or Film or something I never expected. Compared to them, Asian students mostly were majored in Business, Economy–something more utilitarian.

However, It is not true that American are starting their life with a totally white and blank paper. Even though most children can go to school, but these is difference about what kind of school can they go. Private Universities are always offering better resources and more opportunities about work, and their expensive tuition can do a self-explanation about why it happens. State University and College is much cheaper, but students may have less channels for the new techs or recruiters from big company. In this way, Money still makes difference in different social level. But I have to say, America is a much more fair and good place to chase our dreams, comparing to some Asian countries.

Message no. 297[Branch from no. 291]

Posted by Irene Campos on Friday, March 1, 2013 7:34pm

Subject: Re: ChuXian Lu’s Group

I agree with D’souza’s idea at the end of his essay about America where he states that in America, your life is like a blank sheet of paper. I agree with him because it’s up to that person or family to decide how their going to go about living it. They have to decide where they want to create their foundation for stability. We all decide the pathes we choose to go through. what we decide to do in life and choosing our own destinies is what makes us artists. When artists create paintings they are making the foundation of a masterpiece. As we do in life when we have reached our ultimate goals in life.

Message no. 290

Posted by Fawad Sultan on Thursday, February 28, 2013 11:53pm

I will have to agree with D’Souza for his quote this is quite in contrast to what America’s core identity is defined in the world . People around the world are trying to come to the u.s.a just for the mere cause of becoming rich and the stigma attached to it is quite true. We have open examples of that all around us. People who come here with a desire to achieve can definitely attain the prosperity level they are looking for. Only in America you are not confined to some just particular theme or time zone,you have the ability to explore all the broader horizon of life one can associate to who ever he wants to, there are less constraints which typically exists in other countries that D’Souza has mentioned in his essay. The will and desire to be prosperous certainly one of the biggest reason why this contry is so great.

Post by Chuxian Lu

Subject: Re: ChuXian Lu’s Group

I entirely concur with Dinesh D’souza idea at the closing sentences of his essay. Literary, he likens an Immigrant’s American life to a blank sheet of paper, where the individual is the artist. He has written with deep passion more on the life of immigrants in America. These individuals come from distinct continents, Africa being one of them. Their respective countries are being bedevilled by setbacks of development; poverty, poor infrastructure, constant attacks from both diseases and death (D’Souza, 2003). So each and every immigrant is always craving to and ambitious to work in an environment where have freedom to make independent decisions is open. D’souza superbly draws concrete illustrations from he himself, and his sister. He says that had he stayed on in India, his life wouldn’t undergo major positive revolutions. Certainly and as a professional, he would have trodden on the path of his father; who was a chemical engineer. However things changes once he immigrated to America. After spending some time scholarly venturing into economics at Dartmouth College, he freely makes a decision to throw himself into literature (D’Souza, 2003).

These activities eventually land him into a job in White House, particularly in former President Ronald Reagan’s office. His parents do not give room for his sister to make up her mind on crucial decisions. Such moments comes when she is ripe for marriage. It is her parents who decide on which man she should marry. They purposefully put several credentials into consideration while making up their decisions. This situation does not fit in or fall in favour in anyway in the American concept of life. There, one is independent to do anything with his or her own life. Nobody, even the parents themselves, can suggest anything to any child. For example if somebody has a crush on her or his former classmate, and they decide to tie the knot, so it would be! Teenagers also stay on in their respective colleges, learning self-rule (D’Souza, 2003). It is in America where you get the chance to design your own life map; to draw irreversible latitudes and longitudes which are not subject to change. American immigrants also get to realise that they should dump the notions which have restrained them back to everyday constraints. They decide to do so with the aim of developing to or even equalling the likes of America (D’Souza, 2003).

Sijun Chai’s Large Group нрдпеСсявИ x
Group leader：Sijun Chai

Message no. 292

Posted by Daniel Holz on Friday, March 1, 2013 9:16am

Subject: Sijun Chai’s group

Dinesh D’Souza’s report, “Becoming American”, describes in detail

why the author feels that America is a country that is so strongly

desired in the eyes of immigrants. Because he himself is an immigrant

from India, he provides a lot of insight from this point of view. He

compares life in other countries to the way life is in America; to him

it is clear as to why someone would want to live here. Not only is even

the lowest class living comparatively comfortably, but there is a

promise of the freedom to become whoever you want to become.

One of his ideas is that in America, life is like a blank sheet of

paper and you are the artist. I do agree with him, to an extent.

Compared to some other countries, we do not have the extreme pressures

by society to work a specific trade and we are able to choose our own

destiny to some extent. We can choose if or who we want to marry and if

we want to have children, and we can name our children whatever we want

to. However, even with these comparative freedoms, we still have plenty

of restrictions and prerequisites to accomplish before we are able to

make anything of ourselves. Usually these prerequisites cost an enormous

amount of money, and if you do not have the money, success rates in

citizens decrease dramatically. This is why we have so many people

living in the projects who work minimum wage jobs just so they can have

a place to sleep. If they were not already privileged, it is extremely

hard to branch out when your bare essential expenses cost more than you

make in your full time job. In my opinion there is plenty of freedom in

America and life is like a blank sheet of paper…if you have enough

money to buy your way to a good education.

Message no. 294[Branch from no. 292]

Posted by Mathew Bourdo on Friday, March 1, 2013 5:37pm

Subject: Re: Sijun Chai’s group

Denish D’Souza is extremely accurate when he states In “America “Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist” in his article “Becoming American”. First off America is not a perfect county, for it has its problems such as its bad economy and large nation debt, but that is not the point here. America was founded on its freedoms and citizens can choose to live their own life. As D’Souza says as well, Americans have the ability to choose to follow their own religion, fall in love marry whomever they want, and given enough effort, pursue any career they desire. This is why, as D’Souza explains, immigrants desire to move to America. They see the opportunity to live free lives, make thier own choices, and not be bound by their countries own traditions. Immigrants see the opportunity to escape thier struggling lives and move to america to pursue happier lives. When they put their mind to it, anyone can strive to achieve any goal they set their mind to with noone on the way to stop them. So America is like a blank piece of paper. Its citizens are the artists who can draw anything they want that picture to be. The picture is he the life they want to have and the ability they have to achieve it.

Message no. 302[Branch from no. 294]

Posted by Zi Lin on Friday, March 1, 2013 8:36pm

Subject: Re: Sijun Chai’s group

In “Becoming American”by Dinesh D’Souza, the author argue against those people who think the reason why people want to live in America is because of money. He shows the fact that the life in America is different from many other countries by pointing out the freedom and good living condition in America. At the end of the article he states that ” Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist.”(345) I personally agree with his point of view. In America, everyone has the right to say whatever they want and live whatever they feel like. Most importantly, the society and the government respect citizens’ voices.

As an international student studying in America, I can feel the big difference between America and my own country. As the author says:”This is part of the process of forming your mind and choosing a field of interest for yourself and developing your identity.”(344) American is the boss of themselves, they are living in a democratic society and live with an opened mind.

Posted by sijun chai

Subject：re：sijun chai‘s group

I agree with Dinesh D’s souza idea which is your life is like a blank sheet of paper and you are the artist, he considered life to a blank paper and we are artist. He wrote about people from other countries immigrated to the U.S. and they look forward a better life because their origin countries didn’t give they the life which they are expected. But in the U.S. they found freedom and hope, and Dinesh gave a solid example which is himself, he says when he stayed at India, he has to follow the plan from his father, but since he immigrated to the U.S. everything is changed, he can make decision by himself.

The story makes me think over about myself, I all the way came from China, before I came to the U.S. I felt everything were decided by my parents, but now, I have to deal with things by myself but I’d like to enjoy make my own decision, I hope I will draw a beautiful picture on my blank paper and won’t make myself regret. As the result, I agree with Dinesh D’s souza idea.

How to write large group discussion x

How to write large group discussion：

You should post your findings from your SG group discussion to this bulletin board. Please

summarize your group members’ discussion, and be as specific as possible. DON’T just

say that “We had an interesting conversation”; DO say, “We had an interesting

conversation because people had different opinions. For example, Alice thought that the

reading was effective because… Whereas Alex thought that the reading was ineffective

because…”