Characters From The Jungle

Jurgis Rudkus
1. Jurgis is an exceptionally strong young man with a large physical build.
2. Very little description of Jurgis' physical characteristics is provided by the text.
3. He always sports ragged clothes due to the nature of his back-breaking labor. During the cold Chicago winters he may wear a wool coat, if he is able to afford one.
4. All Jurgis seems to do is work his heart out in order to feed his family.
5. He is at the bottom of the social class; he is the honest, yet hardworking man.
6. He believes that if he continues to work harder he will eventually secure an economically sound future for his family. He realizes that he is the backbone of his family, so he holds himself responsible to solve all their economic woes.
7. Jurgis is viewed as the major provider for the family.
8. Jurgis is just one of the thousands of immigrants of whom lived in America during the early 1900s that devoted their lives to straining labor in order to feed their families.
9. "Jurgis" is a traditional Lithianian name. A large majority of the immigrants who journeyed to America also had traditional names common within their culture.
10. In the beginning of the story Jurgis firmly believes in the ideal that anyone can become economically successful as long as one continues to work hard, despite the hardships that one may face. The horrid conditions of the meat packing plants and the prevelent corruption in packingtown begin the ware down Jurgis' belief in his ideal that promises himself an economically stable future, so long as he works his heart out.

My Photo Essay

Before beginning any rigorous physical activity, it is important that one stretches their muscles in order to reduce the possibility of cramps or strains. I aimed to incorporate running in my internship immersion experience. I had roughly one month to regain my cardiovascular stamina and leg strength to their former glories before track & field season started. Whether I endured a rigorous 8.8 mile journey from my house to my internship site in the morning or a quick 1.4 mile venture to In-N-Out Burger and back during my lunch break, running became one of the most memorable experiences of my internship immersion. Traveling to internship by means of my legs jump-started my metabolism, keeping me fully alert and awake for the rest of the day. My fast paced travels to the local food establishments during my lunch break ensured that my body received nourishment whilst allowing my mind to take a healthy break from my assignments. The reason for this exercise was not solely for my own health benefits but to ensure my productivity output in the workplace.

The internship workroom became a second home for me during immersion, not in the sense that it was a place that provided me comfort but that there was no other place besides my house that I spent more time occupying in that two week time frame. Somewhat isolated from the other employees, this room, if you could call it that (this area resembled a short hallway that happened to meet a dead end), felt like a pen due a constant sense of containment I always felt whenever inhabiting this space. This “room” witnessed the completion of all my assignments as well as all of my habits. Overrun with clothes, papers and boxes, this area offered a reflection to my organizational tendencies that could not differentiate a house from a workplace. The clutter spread like a virus, infecting a new section of the room each day. However this pathogen of untidiness failed to latch on to the hard drive of my computer and disrupt the completion of my tasks.

One of the key differences that I noticed immediately at the start of immersion between my internship workplace environment and an academic environment was the amount of time I sat in front of a computer screen. I often use a computer three to four hours a week during school in order to finish my assignments; however that amount of time is far less eye-straining than the six hours I spent each day staring at a monitor during immersion. I felt that my computer was devouring my conscious state of mind, sucking all my thoughts into a vortex, emptying them out on to the formerly blank document before my eyes. By the end of immersion I viewed my computer not as a tool of convenience, but as a fascist vampire with a thirst for mental processing. Despite the monotony of investing hour upon hour of my tireless efforts researching and learning all the topics for my project, I ultimately emerged as a more environmentally conscious individual at the end of my internship immersion.

My project during immersion dealt with the several different aspects that form one’s carbon footprint such as: post-consumer paper products, recycling by the numbers, excessive packaging and the energy required to deliver products from their factory to you. I found it impossible to research each of these aspects of one’s carbon footprint without reflecting on the environmental impact of my own daily actions. Prior to this project I never considered the amount of energy that is invested into the generation and transportation of goods or that the multiple layers of plastic covering a product is nothing more than garbage in the eyes of a landfill. Learning about the issue is only half of the battle; I must now use that knowledge to reduce my environmental impact. Each individual that inhabits this planet has a carbon footprint; however it is the actions and choices that one makes that determine the size of their footprint.

The purpose of my carbon footprint project was to inform middle school and high school kids of how their daily action or choices impact the environment. Educating children at the High Tech Fair was an eye-opening experience for all the parties who participated in the event. Half of the students that approached our booth did not have an understanding of the term carbon footprint; however I was able to give them a quick lesson detailing an explanation of the term as well as numerous ways that they could reduce their footprint. The entire day I delivered lessons that were compacted down to short, yet coherent presentations. Seeing the wonder in their eyes empowered me with a large sense of confidence in my presentation skills. At the end of that day I arrived at a great realization: I want my future career to incorporate some form of public speaking.

My Contribution to the Magazine

1. I may choose to write an article outlining how my internship experience ultimately benefited the San Diego community. Another idea for a possible contribution is a reflection that focuses on how I have grown as a student and an overall individual. My third choice for a contribution to the magazine could be my photo essay.

2. Internship: Diving Head First into the Workplace Experience

3. I would like to read an article about how a student's internship benefited the San Diego community.

Animal Farm Characters

Napoleon
1. Napoleon is a large black Berkshire Pig.
2. No further identifying features are mentioned.
3. Napoleon does not wear any clothes until the very last chapter in which be begins to wear items from Mr. Jones wardrobe, carries a whip and begins smoking a pipe.
4. Based on his frequent use of the word "comrade," Napoleon can be easily identified as an animal representative of a Russian individual.
5. Napoleon serves as the leader of the Animal Farm after Snowball is chased off of the property. He commands the animals to perform various tasks that will ensure the sustainability of life on the farm, however he himself does not actually engage in any of the labor.
6. Napoleon has an incredible thirst for power that he continually tries to satisfy.
7. All the animals of the farm, with the exception of pigs and dogs, lack the intelligence to realize the cruelty of Napoleon. Due to Squealer's deceitful statistics and speeches that praise Napoleon whilst blame Mr. Jones and Snowball for the farm's past problems, Napoleon is able to manipulate the minds of all the animals into believing that all is fine under his leadership.
8. Napoleon is representative of Joesph Stalin. All of Napoleon's actions in the novel are identical to those of Joesph Stalin during his rise to power.
9. His name elicits a connection to the French general, Napoleon Bonaparte. Much like the leader of the Animal Farm, Napoleon Bonaparte aimed at eliminating the monarchies that ruled Europe in order to establish equality, however he gained a power that rivaled his adversaries.
10. After the rebellion, Napoleon aims at establishing the Animal Farm as a place free from the tyranny of humans where equality exists for all animals. As the story progresses Napoleon's lust for control over the Animal Farm drives him to toss aside the virtues of equality he once preached and invoke the past cruelty of the humans.

Snowball
1. Snowball is a pig.
2. He has no identifying marks.
3. Snowball does not wear clothes.
4. Like Napoleon, Snowball refers to the other animals as "comrades."
5. After the rebellion, Snowball emerges as a hero of the animals on the farm because of his courageous bravery he displayed in their to gain independence from Mr. Jones.
6. Snowball believed that the animals should invest their efforts toward developing advanced technologies that would ensure a more comfortable life in the future.
7. Before his banishment from the Animal Farm, almost all of the animals publicly praise Snowball for his bravery during the rebellion. Once Napoleon assumes leadership over the Animal Farm he convinces all of the animals that Snowball was no different from the cruel Mr. Jones and that he is to blame for many of their problems.
8. Snowball is representative of Leon Trotsky, a man who was exiled from the Soviet Union by Joesph Stalin.
9. His bravery during the rebellion produces a snowball effect in the surrounding farms, inspiring other animals to rise up against their human oppressors.
10. After the successful uprising against Mr. Jones, Snowball emerges as a potential leader of Animal Farm, however Napoleon's fierce guard dogs force Snowball to leave the Animal Farm never to be seen again.

Boxer
1. Boxer is a horse who is described as "nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together."
2. Boxer has a white stripe down his nose.
3. Boxer does not wear clothes for he is a horse.
4. Boxer is not an intelligent creature, however he does retain a firm belief that he is working for the best interest of the Animal Farm.
5. He is the backbone of the workforce of the Animal Farm.
6. He believes that the state of the Animal Farm will flourish if he continues to work harder. He also believes that his endless toil is in the best interest of the collective Animal Farm.
7. All of the animals on the farm praise Boxer for his dedication to the benefit of the Animal Farm by working harder.
8. Boxer is representative of the Russian working class. He is committed to working as hard as he can, however he is oblivious to the cruelty he must suffer under the rule of the pigs.
9. I believe that his name represents the will of a boxer: to never give up.
10. After the Rebellion, Boxer is convinced that his work efforts are beneficial to the collective Animal Farm, so therefore he must continue to strain himself to work more efficiently. Like the rest of the animals, Boxer is constantly deceived by Napoleon and Squealer, absorbing whatever they say to be true without any objection. His dedication to the ideals that he believes the Animal Farm continues to follow, eventually leads to the good-hearted creature's death. He overworks himself, and is sent to a glue factory to be killed rather than to a doctor.