Reflection of 'The Ambitious Guest'

         If someone asks me about the difference between animals and humans, I would say it as ‘free will’. Free will is the ability to control or manage one’s action and decision. While the desire makes people motivated, free will works as a brake and an accelerator which can speed up or slow down their action. The desire to be better also exists in other animals, but it is the free will what helps people to be human: rational, or sometimes warm-hearted.

         'The ambitious guest' is about those who failed to achieve their ambition. The family who used to be peaceful and modest became vain after they met the ambitious guest who talked about the city life and all those ‘leaving one’s name’. Being fanatic about the mysterious, appealing city life, the family rushed out of the house, and they ended up buried by the rock.

         In ‘The ambitious guest’, Hawthorne depicts the tragic ending of those who chased the vanity. It seems like Hawthorne wanted to warn the readers by showing the mountain slide that didn’t happen before the ambitious guest appeared.

         Some might think that this tragic incident was due to the ambition itself. However, what I think is that it is not the matter of ambition. Whether the pursuit of ambition would turn out to be tragic or not depends on the presence of free will. In other words, when chasing one’s own dream or ambition, one should know when to speed up or slow down. In the case of that family, it can be interpreted that they failed to have a free will.

         As for my case, I have done a lot of challenges. I planned to go abroad (England), I learned how to play Haegum (Korean fiddle), and I tried to do water-skiing. Some of them succeeded while others failed. To recall my experiences, I thought that the difference between succeeded case and failed case is the presence of free will, somewhat rationality.

        One of the experiences I want to say is the experience of water-skiing. Last summer, in the school activity, I had an opportunity to learn water-skiing. Being ambitious after watching others enjoy waterskiing, I made a grand plan to properly stand during water-skiing. Because I was too passionate at then, instead of listening some advices from the teacher, I just tried to do water-skiing and start off. And the result was pitiful. After less than 1 minute, I had to stop water skiing and just went back to the pier. I wasn’t able to stand up of course, and I also had to struggle to get out of water. It is the result of no free will, no control. If I had listened to what the teacher said, the tragic, pitiful incident wouldn’t have happened.

         Shortly, I think that free will is crucial in the success or realization of ambition or dream. It is easy to have an ambition, engine, but it is not easy to have a free will, the brake, to control the ambition. This can be the lesson that people should remember. 
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Comments!(before editing)
-So yeon Min: How do we verify that humans are the only species that possess free will? (Even though people often assume this fact as common sense) Also, what do you exactly mean by "free will"? Your writing would have been better if you had developed more on the point that the result of the ambition depends on the purpose. I do personally agree with your point, and I think your writing will turn out marvelous if you clarified on some points above.


-Yeji Park: You said "somewhat misleading will or purpose". How are we going to define the term "misleading"? Do you think that the city life is "misleading"? What is the desirable type of ambition then? You said "the ambition can turn to be (+) or (-) depends on one's thoughts or ideals. So are these thought/ideals chosen by the society or personality? Please clarify the "standards" of what makes ambitions (+) or (-), and I look forward for your revised reflection:)


-Rhee Jiyoon: You implied that chimpanzees have no ambition while people have "a desire to be or to live in better condition." But I disagree with you and I think chimpanzees-among other animals that you have mentioned to not have a free will-may also have some other kinds of ambition, according to your definition of ambition. I think even puppies would want to "live in a better condition"! In your essay, I hope you develop your idea further about how a pure ambition can "turn to be positive or negative", then your essay will sound even stronger!


-Chonghyun Ahn: I would have to say that I disagree on your definition of ambition as "the combination of human desire and free will". In that sense, Hawthorne's description of mountain people is also ambitious, it would be impossible to not to be ambitious. Anyway, great writing :)

Why did Gordie's parents like Dennis more than Gordie: Just a free-talk

             Everyone would have experienced 'favoritism'. There are people who we 'like', and those we 'really like', and those who we 'love'. There is sort of a 'list' in our mind that is used to pick the members for party invitations, travel to Europe, or even the dinner. We always want to deny this fact, but still, it is true anyway.
             While I was reading the story of Gordie being 'Invisible man' in his family, I remembered the article about the 'science' of favoritism. It is from TIME, and its cover looks like this:

                 One girl in the center, with an enormous cake piece, is smiling while the two kids in the side look discontent and unhappy, with a small cake piece. The cloth which the 'center' girl is wearing looks brighter than that of the 'side' kids. The background is also brighter in the center than the sides. Well, that is interesting!
                 According to Jeffrey Kluger, there are some factors that affect the 'list' in people's mind. Like these factors affected many parents' favor, they also influenced Gordie's parents to like Dennis better.

1. More Successful
According to Kluger, parents' preference starts from the parents' survival needs: the biologically narcissistic act of replicating themselves through succeeding generations. This makes Mom and Dad to prefer their bigger, healthier offspring, as that kid will be more successful in reproduction, and get more of the family's genes into the next generation.
The most conspicuous sign of fitness is physical appearance. Of course there isn't a parent who would admit to favoring a beautiful child over a less beautiful one, but most scientists agree that this heuristic, that things that are attractive are healthy and good and smart, is innate for humans.
In 'The body', we can see the sign that Dennis, who is smarter, healthier, and more attractive than Gordie, is preferred to his parents. Dennis was in the baseball league and he graduated with honors from Castle Rock High School while Gordie was hanging out with 'a theif and two feebs', in terms of Gordie's father.

2. Firstborn
The firstborns are often the family's favorite, and the reason is one corporations understand well: the rule of sunk costs. The more effort you've made developing a product, the more committed you are to seeing it come to fruition. Parents pour a lot of 'capital' into firstborns. And like Dennis was, the oldest in most familites have historically been the tallest and strongest, thanks to the fact that at the beginning of their lives, they don't have to share food stores with other kids.

(In the case of mothers, the firstborn son has the highest probability in being 'favorite'.)

In the article, it says, "Even if your kids know you have a favorite, the effort it takes to pretend it's not so can itself be an act of love." It is so true. Although I feel bad about Gordie, but anyway, it is parents' role to love their kids 'equally', at least try.

The flow of 'Gukak'(Korean Traditional Music)-actually it is fusion:)

While I'm preparing for the finals, to relieve my stress, I listened to some beautiful Guk-ak songs. I just want to share with others:)

Arirang Fantasy


-written by Sunghwan Choi
It is sooo beautiful! I once played this song when I joined in the orchestra and did the concert.


Prince of Jeju

-This is one of the songs written by Bang-Eon Yang, who also wrote 'Frontier'(what we, Minjok Orchestra, did in the Sponsorship concert.)


Festival

-This is also a nice music that I once played in the concert :) It is sooo cheerful!!


Chuno OST- Lovers

-This is a song that is an OST for Korean Drama 'Chuno, meaning "slave hunters"' It is quite sorrowful..


Letter of a private

-This is a song "이등병의 편지, letter of a private". It is a song which expressed the feeling of the private joining the army. It is originally sung by the singer 'Gwang suk Kim'. This song added the melody of Korean folk music in the middle.

Pictures that can be understood after 3 seconds

1. Leaning against the water??                                              2. Who's who?

3. I'm charging the battery

                                          4. What would you like: A set or B set?

(Two sets are actually the same menu with different prices)

                                                    5. A bride with hairy legs

                                                    6. Look! I can float!

                                         7. Oops! I spilled my cup noodle...

(Actually, it is a giant jellyfist which is 1.5m long, weighs nearly 200kg)

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I found these pictures on the website! Well...just for fun:)

Snow♥:)

Today, a bunch of snow came down! Everyone was dazed by a white, shiny trees, roads..everything. Large snowflakes came down from the white, obscure sky, landed on the roads, and made a nice, crisp sound while gently stepping on. Sometimes it was gooey, but still, that 'crisp' sound was enough to cover up that flaw.

Snow is comfortable, soft, and warm. It is so contagious that my heart soon become soft and warm like a melted marshmallow. It certainly has something magical! I mean, people make a wish in the first snow, and...what else...I couldn't remember right now:)

But...surely...it does have magical power, a power that can heal people's soul. It is not just a tool for skipping morning exercise or just a cause of using crutches. Snow has something special.

-Chunghyun Lee, Me, Nuri Kim :)

They are sooooo sweet!

A margin in an occupied space, that is KMLA life-Lesson that I learned

When you see a piece of gold, you can think of a word 'compact'. It seems very 'flawless' without any space, but at the same time, it seems very stuffed, hard to breathe. However, unlike people's thoughts, gold is actually formed with numerous atoms, and more importantly, the space between those atoms.

Like the compact piece of gold, my KMLA life seems too compact for a teenage girl, but there are some spaces in between. A margin in an occupied space; that is my KMLA life.

I learned that lesson few weeks ago, right before the Minjok Sponsorship Concert. For that concert, each teams for the Concert had to practice at least twice in a week, usually investing the first self-study periods. Everybody disliked that situation. We had numerous things to do: a bunch of papers, presentations, quizes. But we had to use up our first self-study periods just for the 'Girls' dormitory'. We didn't like both the intent and the 'compact', 'ambitious' schedule we had to face.

I was also displeased when I faced the harsh schedule. I had Math quizes, Physics assignment, Psychology paper, and other things. For me, it seemed like I have to study all the time, without any break.

However, unlike my dark, dismayed prediction, I had a lot of margin during those periods. Right after I came back from the orchestra practice, for 10-15 minutes I have before 'Honjung', I could listen to the music, see web cartoons, or have a talk with my roommates. Not only that, after I have meal, I could take a piece of nap for 10 minutes. It was sweet like a Ganse Dinner after writing a History paper.

-a cup of tea?

Well...surprisingly, I felt more comfortable during that ambitious schedule, more than the loose schedule. Seems paradoxical, but it is still true. I spent those days with joy and content, enjoying the every single moment. As I could know the importance of margin time, I learned how to 'enjoy' hard times instead of 'bearing'. A margin in an occupied space, that is one characteristic I learned in that period. I may find more characteristics from KMLA life like scientists do, but for now, this is the one I have to remember during the whole KMLA life.

*Caution: If too loose, you would end up like this:





Growing up: Reflection on 'The Body'

-growing up(left), adventure(right)

           Everyone would have done ‘adventure’ once in their life. That adventure can be the adventure of finding a treasure in a backyard, or that of going to a deserted house. While tumbling down to the ground or making the entire clothes muddy, kids learn something-something that makes them grow.

           In this story, four kids named Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern went to the adventure-adventure of finding the dead body. They walked along the train road, passed through the river, and walked the field. To adults, this adventure seems absurd and useless. Wasting that time for someone that is irrelevant seems meaningless, and in the perspective of adults, it might be better to study or play sports. However, for those four kids, it was a big event. For the first time, they are going on a journey for a big quest, finding a dead body.

           They started a journey, and they faced a lot of tests and hardships. They met Milo and Chopper in Castle rock, experienced danger while walking along the train road, and faced the creepy leeches in the river. They were tired, but they didn’t give up their journey. They laughed, sang a song, and cheered themselves. Sometimes, they talked about Gordie’s stories like Le Dio or Lard Ass Hogan. Those are gross, but entertaining.

           After all, this story doesn’t end as ‘four little heroes living happily ever after’, like a common coming-of-age story. After they came back to the town, they are ‘punished’ by Charlie and Ace ‘Gangsters’ for not surrendering. Later, after years have passed, Vern was killed in a housefire, Teddy went in a car crash, and Chris was stabbed by a man (who is interestingly related to the first story ‘Shawshank Redemption’.) Only Gordie is telling the adventure.

           However, still, this story, full of gross things and tragedies, is warm and comfortable in a whole. It’s like a giant, strong fish figure made by a group of tiny, feeble fishes.

-giant circle made by fishes

           Why? Maybe it is because it is ‘our’ story. Someone who would be reading the story would be Gordie, who likes writing or treated like an invisible man, or Chris the ‘tender-hearted’ cynic, etc. Others might have done the adventures like those four kids, travelling the abandoned, spooky house, or staying up all night in a tree house. Although this story is written in a specific way, each part is very familiar with us.

           And more important reason why we like this story is that we can look back our past, and link the past and the present. We always regret about our past. Thinking “Oh..it would have been better if I learned violin earlier!” or “My English would have been much better if I studied abroad”. All those regrets for ‘not doing something’ make us feel ashamed about our past.

           However, while reading the story of four kids, we could rethink about our original perspective about the past. Like the past experience of adventure and the humorous stories of Gordie made up the older Gordie, the tiny pieces of the past formed our personality, our beliefs, and overall, us. And this ‘absorbing’ process is present-continuous.

-past, and present

           This story is not just about four kids. It is the story of us, ‘growing’ us. We are not ‘dying’; we are still ‘growing’.

*good movies related to this post?
-The kids: it is the movie about a man meeting with 'younger' he



-Sunny: it is a Korean movie related to 'friendship'- it is a story of 7 teenage girls

-and... what else?:)