Writing Log 4B

While reading “Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil” I found it hard to find just two hotspots in this essay.

The first hotspot that really made me think was “Sever generations of Americans have comet o see the Arab world as a dangerous place, when terrorism and religious fanaticism are spawned and where gratuitous anti-Americanism is inculcated in the young by evil clerics who are anti-democratic and virulently anti-Semitic”. (200) This is taking about how the U.S first started over in the Middle East for oil and then started to say that they were going to reform the government. And because of that American’s now see the Arab world in a light that is not correct at all. I would say that he does have a point over the years of just are lifetime alone America’s opinion of Arabs has gradually been getting worse as time goes on. We do see Arabs as people who hate all American’s when many people in America have a hate for Arabs. On the other hand Said’s opinion seems to be very bias.

The second hotspot I found in “Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil” was “We are in for many more years of turmoil and misery in the Middle East, where one of the main problems is to put it as plainly as possible, U.S. power.” (202) This hotspot is really concluding the whole essay, and saying why he thinks that the Middle East is having so many problems. I think that Said’s opinion is very bias and one sided. First is yes the U.S. being over there may be causes even more problems than need for. And might not be helping any of the problems that have existed for years. Second it seems to me that he is very quick to blame mostly all the problems and turmoil all on the U.S. with out looking at the bigger picture. Said seems to over look the fact that the Middle East has been in so type of fight or war since biblical times, and that will probably never change. But all he seems to be doing is pointing fingers at everyone else. I don’t think that it matters weather or not the U.S. is there or not the Middle East would probably still be in turmoil and in a war with someone or with themselves. I think that he had a few good point but over all he was just pointing fingers and just putting all the blame for the Middle East’s problems on the U.S. and no one else.

The second story that I read I found it very hard to come up with hotspots. I think it was hard to come up with hotspots because it was in poem form and was hard to understand. It seemed at one point to be talking about the end of the World and then about God’s second coming I guess but I’m not really sure.

My first hotspot was “The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out”. (222) To be honest I have no idea what this is talking about but I can only guess. Since I’m not really sure exactly what this poem is talking about my guess is Yeats is referring to when the Bible and even the church say that the world will end when God comes for a second time. So when he says “The Second Coming!” I would believe that he is talking about God, and the end of the world. The lines that follows my hotspot is “When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi”. (222) I tried to look it up to see if I could get a better understanding but I couldn’t seem to come up with anything thing really other than this poem.

My second hotspot is “And what rough beast, its hour came round at last, / Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?” (222) I once again have no idea what this is talking about either. I would just have to guess that it is either talking about God coming to Earth a second time at the end of the world and that he is guess that he might be born in Bethlehem once again. I can only guess that this whole poem is about the world ending and God’s second coming like the Catholic Church teaches but I am not quite sure because there are only little hints that this is what it might be about.