Ender’s Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. The novel was published on January 15, 1985.
Reception of the book has been mostly positive. Ender’s Game was recognized as “best novel” by the 1985 Nebula Award and the 1986 Hugo Awardin the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
Book Summary
This is a story about a boy named Ender who lives with his mother, father, and two older siblings, Peter and Valentine. All of the children are intelligent, but Ender, unlike his siblings, seems to have the potential to be a brilliant military leader. As a result, he is taken away to be trained by Colonel Graff for the war against the buggers, an alien race looking to invade Earth.
When Ender arrives at battle school, he is put through a series of tests and introduced to various battle simulators, video game-like simulations of space battles. He performs excellently and is assigned to one of the several armies. He is initially advised to remain out of the war games, but he discovers a superior winning strategy. Despite his success as a tactician, Ender is despised even more, but he does teach those who want to learn from him on the side.
Meanwhile, Peter and Valentine create fake personas and begin political discussions on the net.
After graduating early from battle school, Ender is trained on a dedicated battle simulator. And when that becomes too easy, he trains with Mazer Rackham, an old war hero.
Under this new training, Ender is pushed to the limit and nearly breaks down as his battle simulations become increasingly more difficult.
Ender finally has one last battle simulation that involves a planet and several thousand ships. He wins the game, but then is told that all of it was real. That he was commanding real ships in what he thought was a simulation.
Ender is proclaimed a hero, but still fears Peter, who has great political influence on Earth. In the end, Ender finds a bugger cocoon and takes it with him as he travels in space with Valentine.
Analysis
There’s a lot to say about this story, but what draws my interest and attention is the idea of using children in intergalactic war.
Throughout the story, it is sometimes difficult to remember that most of the main characters are children. In Ender’s society, children are often forced into maturing quickly for military endeavours.
But why children? Isn’t it more practical to train more physically mature people to fight? The explanation given is that the military wants individuals who are willing to react to situations without thinking about the consequences. Children are able to act this way because they haven’t lived long enough to understand the scope and bigger consequences of their actions.
While cruel, this type of thinking is valuable and necessary in the battle against the buggers because of how the buggers learn and adapt.
Also, a lot of the battles are battle simulations, or at least perceived as battle simulations to the children. It’s this perception of a game that allows the children to learn, strategize, and take risks that would not be possible had they known it was happening in real time, which says a lot about how children learn and how humans learn in general.
Bridge to Terabithia is one of the most classic books you may ever read about friendship, imagination, and loss. And, with all of these elements, the book won Katherine Paterson her first Newbery Medal in 1978 (she won another for Jacob Have I Loved in 1981). The novel won a lot of other honors, too, including being named an ALA Notable Children’s Book in 1977 and a School Library Journal Best Book of 1977.
Summary
This is a story about a boy named Jessie who lives with his family in a small town called Lark Creek and has a hard family life. He likes to draw and to run, and is kind of lonely; he’s out-of-place in his family and the only person he really gets along with is his little sister May Belle. He’s about to enter the fifth grade and has been training all summer to be the fastest runner in school.
The Burke family moves in next door. Their daughter, Leslie, is creative and smart and becomes Jessie’s classmate.
When the big day of the race arrives at school, however, Jessie gets beaten by Leslie. And, at first Jess is crushed, but later he and Leslie end up becoming good friends.
Since they’re both outcasts, Jess and Leslie spend a lot of time together. They take over a part of a nearby forest that’s only accessible by swinging on a rope over the creek, and name it Terabithia. In this imaginary land, they are king and queen. They can escape from the bullies and the boredom of fifth grade, and dream all they like. When Janice Avery, the resident bully, takes May Belle’s Twinkies, Jess and Leslie get revenge by writing her a fake love note and humiliating her.
The most of the school year has passed. Jess gives Leslie a puppy for Christmas, and she becomes a member of their Terabithia kingdom. They also assist Leslie’s father with the construction of their new home. When they discover Janice the bully is truly upset, they work together to comfort her.
By Easter, it’s been raining continuously for a month and crossing the creek to Terabithia has gotten more difficult. Leslie attends Easter service with Jess’s family. After the service, Leslie and Jess, along with May Belle, debate whether people who do not believe in the Bible go to hell.
One day after Easter, Jess thinks it’s too dangerous to go to Terabithia, with all of the rain that’s been coming down. But he forgets about it when Miss Edmunds, the school music teacher, calls and invites him to a museum with her. He goes and has one of the best days of his life. However, when he returns home, he discovers that Leslie had gone to Terabithia without him and died while attempting to cross the creek.
At first, Jess refuses to believe it. In meeting with Leslie’s parents and spending time with her dog, he slowly begins to understand what he’s lost…but also what he gained by having Leslie in his life at all.
He goes to Terabithia to try to figure out what’s going on, but his younger sister follows him and nearly drowns in the water. In rescuing her he realizes that he has gained some of Leslie’s bravery.
Later, Jess returns to Terabithia and constructs a bridge across the creek. When May Belle follows him again, he welcomes her to Terabithia and guides her across the bridge.
Review
Despite portraying the power of imagination and the innocence of childhood, this is not really a children’s book in my opinion as it touches upon various adult-related themes and challenges many of the social conventions established in society. It displays unusual relationships that children may not understand. Of course, by that fact alone, it does not make the book false or bad, just, shall we say, unique.
And of course, there is death. One of the main characters in the story dies. How is a child supposed to react to this? How do children react to the death of someone they know? There doesn’t seem to be a real answer presented to us from the author, but maybe the lack of an answer through Jessie’s struggles to come to understand his situation is relatable enough for children.
All of these may fly over the heads of children. I do not know how children would take the book or what they would think but other than that it is a great read!
Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1892, during Tagore’s “Sadhana” period (named for one of Tagore’s magazines) from 1891 to 1895. This story is one of the best stories written by Rabindranath Tagore.
This is very emotional and sensitive story which portrayed a father’s deep love for his daughter. This story is adapted many times as a Bengali and Hindi movie in 1957 and 1961 respectively and also as a part of television series named “Stories by Rabindranath Tagore”.
SUMMARY
The story opens with the narrator describing his five-year-old daughter Mini, who learned how to talk within a year of being born and practically hadn’t stopped talking since. Her mother often tells her to be quiet, but her father prefers to let her talk, so she talks to him often.
One morning, Mini chats with her father while he’s working on an adventure novel. She looks out the window and spots a man and starts calling him “Kabuliwala, Kabuliwala!” The man she’s shouting about is an Afghan named Rahamat in baggy clothes, walking along selling grapes and nuts. However, when he comes over, Mini runs into another room, convinced that his large bags are full of children, not goods.
A few days later, our narrator finds Kabuliwala sitting next to Mini with a pile of raisins and nuts in her lap, paying close attention as she talks and talks. He has given her some grapes and pistachios, so the narrator gives the Kabuliwala half a rupee and tells him not to give her any more treats.
Later, Mini’s mother finds her with the half-rupee and asks where she got it, and is displeased to hear she took money from the man.
Mini and the Kabuliwala develop a close relationship, spending time together every day joking around and talking. The narrator enjoys talking to Kabuliwala too, asking him about his home country of Afghanistan, and all about his travels. But Mini’s mother is alarmed by her daughter’s closeness with the man, worrying that he might try to abduct Mini. The narrator does not agree that there is any danger.
Every year in the middle of the month of Magh, the Kabuliwala returns home. Before making the trip, he goes around collecting money he is owed. But this year, the Kabuliwala gets into a fight with a man who owes him money and staggers him. As a result of this, he spends the next many years in prison, during which Mini grows up and starts enjoying the company of girls her age. The narrator more or less forgets about the Kabuliwala.
A few years later, the narrator and his wife are preparing for Mini’s wedding day. But on the day of Mini’s wedding, the Kabuliwala appears at the narrator’s house. Without a bag or his long hair, he is barely recognizable to the narrator, but he eventually welcomes him in. The narrator is uneasy, thinking about how the Kabuliwala is the only would-be murderer he’s ever known, and tells the visitor to leave. He complies.
But shortly after, the Kabuliwala returns, bringing a gift of grapes and pistachios for Mini. The narrator doesn’t tell him that it’s her wedding today, but simply repeats that there’s an engagement at their house and he must go. But Kabuliwala pulls “a crumpled piece of paper” out of the breast pocket of his shirt and shows the narrator the handprint of his daughter, Parvati, that he carries with him while he travels for work. He explains that he has a daughter back home in Afghanistan, and that Mini helps him deal with the heartache of being so far from her. The narrator is touched and gets Mini.
Mini and the Kabuliwala have an awkward exchange during which the Kabuliwala suddenly realizes that his daughter, like Mini, will have grown up and be different from the little girl he once knew. As Kabuliwala thinks about Afghanistan and his daughter, the narrator pulls out some money and asks Kabuliwala to use it so that he can return home to Afghanistan to see his daughter. He tells Kabuliwala that, “by your blessed reunion, Mini will be blessed.” Giving Kabuliwala the money means that Mini’s wedding party is not as grand as it might have been, but the narrator is happy with it, believing that “the ceremony was lit by a kinder, more gracious light.”
Analysis
There are two central themes in this story, and Tagore masterfully plays them against each other to build tension in the narrative. The first key theme is otherness, with Kabuliwala standing as a clear outsider who speaks broken Bengali and dresses in a way that situates him outside of typical Bengali society. The narrator is fascinated by him in part because of the fact that he’s seen parts of the world that are so different from Calcutta, while the narrator’s wife distrusts him precisely because he is a foreigner, and perhaps one who will kidnap her child, which she thinks Afghanis are wont to do.
The other theme is doubling, as the narrator and the Kabuliwala are construed as mirror characters of one another. They are both shown as storytellers, and each is fascinated enough by Mini to listen to her talk for hours. But most importantly, Tagore reminds us that they’re both fathers, and the narrator seeing the Kabuliwala as a man who is heartsick over a daughter that he has not seen in years helps the narrator see the man as a human being, not as some would-be murderer.
The genius of the story is the fact that the climax seems to come when Kabuliwala stabs the debtor, which would confirm the narrator’s wife’s worst fears that this outsider is dangerous. During what seems like the denouement of the story, the Kabuliwala returns and the narrator, who has clearly spent the intervening years considering the man a would-be murderer, tries to brush this outsider off.
But then the real climax comes. The Kabuliwala pulls out the piece of paper with his daughter’s handprint inscribed on it. This image draws a link between the narrator and Kabuliwala as men with daughters they love dearly. With the move to bond the narrator and the Kabuliwala, Tagore crafts a tale about finding common humanity despite all of the differences that two men may have.
It’s worth noting here that one of the things that makes Tagore such an innovator given the context he was writing in was his unconventional narrative structure. Indeed, this story doesn’t play out over some sort of conflict and resolution like a typical narrative (or the adventure stories that the narrator writes) might. Instead, Tagore develops a set of relationships and shows us how those relationships play out when tempered by the sands of time.
The Book Thief is a historical novel by the Australian author Markus Zusak, and it is one of his most popular works. Published in 2005, The Book Thief became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 million copies. It was adapted into the 2013 feature film, The Book Thief.
SUMMARY
The majority of the novel takes place in the fictional town of Molching, Germany, near Munich, between 1939 and 1943. Death narrates the story of Liesel Meminger, beginning when she is nine years old and suffering from the death of her brother and separation from her mother. Liesel goes to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann at 33 Himmel Street in Molching. When Liesel arrives, she can’t read and is made fun of in school. She realizes how powerless she is without words, and so Hans, a painter and accordion player, teaches her how to read during midnight lessons in the basement, reading from the book Liesel took from her brother’s burial: The Grave Digger’s Handbook. During Liesel’s early days with the Hubermanns, she has nightmares and Hans sits with her through the night. With his gentle demeanor and his accordion playing, Hans gains Liesel’s trust as she grows close to him and comes to associate his presence with safety. She becomes very good friends with Rudy Steiner, the Hubermanns’ neighbor. Rudy is constantly trying to get Liesel to kiss him, but she always refuses.
For a while, Himmel Street is a happy place for Liesel. She helps Rosa collect the washing from different wealthy inhabitants of Molching. One house, in particular, catches her attention: 8 Grande Strasse, the home of the mayor and his wife, Ilsa Hermann.
The Nazi Party’s presence becomes increasingly apparent in Molching. In addition to the destruction of Jewish shops and yellow stars that have already been painted on door fronts and windows, Liesel and Rudy are required to join the Band of German Girls and Hitler Youth, respectively. To celebrate the Führer‘s birthday, the people of Molching gather for a bonfire during which they burn enemy propaganda, including books. Liesel sees one book that survives the fire and hides it under her shirt. She’s beginning to realize that Hitler is responsible for her brother’s death and her mother’s absence, and she hates him for it. Ilsa Hermann sees Liesel take the book and decides to share her own love of books with Liesel by inviting her into her library. To Liesel, the library is the most beautiful sight she’s ever seen.
Meanwhile, Max Vandenburg, a Jew, is hiding in a storage closet in Stuttgart and receiving help from his friend Walter Kugler. Walter has been in touch with Hans and asks if Hans is willing to keep the promise he made to Max’s mother after World War I. It was Erik Vandenburg, Max’s father, who saved Hans’s life during World War I and taught Hans to play the accordion. Hans promised Frau Vandenburg that if she ever needed something, she could contact him. Hans agrees to hide Max in his basement and sends the key to his house inside the front cover of Mein Kampf, a book written by Hitler. In an ironic twist, it is this book that holds the key to Max’s life.
After Max arrives at 33 Himmel Street, Liesel is curious about the man in her basement but also somewhat afraid of him. She begins to realize that they have much in common. They both have nightmares, they both are fist-fighters, and they both have lost their families. They also share the same view of Hans Hubermann, namely that he and his accordion are sources of safety. Liesel does the best she can to bring the outside world to Max, describing the weather to him, bringing him snow, and delivering presents to the foot of his bed when he falls ill. She continues to play with Rudy and go to school, all while keeping Max a secret and listening to his stories about his past at night. Max, too, loves stories and shares these with Liesel.
Max also understands the power of words. For Liesel’s birthday, he paints over the pages of Mein Kampf and makes a book for Liesel called The Standover Man. It is the story of his life, how he had to leave his family, about his journey to the Hubermanns, and about Liesel, who has become his friend and watches over him. In addition to his nightmares, Max also starts having daydreams about boxing the Führer, but Hitler always uses his words to incite the crowd and turn the people against Max.
Because most of the people on Himmel Street are struggling for money, Rosa Hubermann loses her washing jobs, including the one for Ilsa Hermann. Meanwhile, Liesel and Rudy join a gang of youths who steal apples and potatoes from farmers. One night, Liesel takes Rudy to the mayor’s house and earns her title of book thief when she sneaks in through the window and takes The Whistler from Ilsa Hermann’s library.
The summer of 1942 is primarily a happy time for Liesel. She spends it mostly with Hans as he blackens the windows for homes and shops in Molching in preparation for air raids. He tells her stories and plays his accordion, and at one home they even share a glass of champagne with the residents. Rudy continues training for the Hitler Youth carnival where he hopes to win four gold medals like Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics. He wins three, but he gets disqualified from the fourth race, which, he says, he does on purpose.
On another late-night visit to Ilsa Hermann’s house, Liesel and Rudy take the Duden Dictionary and Thesaurus, which appears to have been placed by the window as a gift. Liesel finds a letter inside from Frau Hermann, saying that Liesel is welcome to come in the front door, too.
Shortly after these somewhat lighthearted days, the air raids begin. Liesel and her family, along with Rudy and his family, take shelter in the Fiedlers’ basement because they’ve been told their basement is not deep enough to protect them from the bombings. They must leave Max behind. On one occasion in the Fiedlers’ basement, Liesel begins to read from The Whistler. Everyone gathers around her and the words calm them as they calm Liesel. Those in the basement stay even after the all-clear signal has been given to hear the end of the chapter. Liesel realizes that books are her accordion.
Parades of Jews come through Molching on their way to Dachau. Liesel sees their suffering, and Hans tries to help one of them. Because of Hans’s actions, they must send Max away because Hans is afraid the Gestapo will come to search their house. The Gestapo never comes for him, though; instead, they come for Rudy to offer him a place in a special school. The Steiners refuse. Eventually, both Hans and Alex Steiner are punished for their actions. Hans is sent to serve with the LSE, an air raid unit, in Stuttgart, and Alex goes to Vienna, Austria, to serve at an army hospital. Himmel Street becomes a very forlorn place.
Rosa gives Liesel a book called The Word Shaker, which Max made for her. It contains many of Max’s stories, thoughts, and sketches. The fable about the word shaker catches Liesel’s attention. In it, Max describes a girl who is able to use words like some of Hitler’s most skilled word shakers, but she uses her words to help her friend and remove small bits of hate from a forest dominated by cruelty. Her words are for good, not for evil.
Meanwhile, Hans Hubermann avoids a fatal accident while on an LSE truck. Reinhold Zucker, who holds a grudge against Hans because of a card game loss, takes Hans’s usual seat on the truck and dies in the accident. Hans gets a broken leg and is sent home.
In 1943, the Jews continue to march through Molching, and Liesel always looks for Max. One day, she sees him and runs to him, but a Nazi soldier tosses her from the parade. She gets up and enters the parade again, reciting words from The Word Shaker. She is whipped, and Rudy has to hold her down to keep her from going back for more punishment. Afterward, Liesel finally tells Rudy about Max Vandenburg.
Liesel returns to Frau Hermann’s library and becomes angry with the words, how they can fill her up, but can also bring so much hate to so many people. She tears the pages from a book and then writes a note to Frau Hermann to apologize and say that she won’t come back. Three days later, Ilsa Hermann shows up at Liesel’s front door and gives her a black journal so that she can write the words of her own story.
Then, in October 1943, bombs fall on Himmel Street while everyone sleeps. Liesel, though, sits in the basement writing her story in her journal. She survives. When she emerges from the basement, she finds the bodies of those she loves — her Mama and Papa, as well as Rudy, whom she kisses on the lips. She is taken away by air raid officers, and it is at this moment that Death finds and takes her book, The Book Thief. This is how he knows her story.
Ilsa Hermann and the mayor collect Liesel from the police station and take her home with them. Alex Steiner is relieved of duty after he hears about the bombings and finds Liesel. She tells him about Rudy, about kissing him. They spend a lot of time together, going for walks and hiking to Dachau after its liberation. She spends a lot of time with Alex in his shop, and one day, in 1945, Max Vandenburg shows up. They have a reunion mixed with much happiness and great sadness.
Death ends the story by telling us about Liesel Meminger’s death, how she lived a long life in Sydney with her husband, three children, and many grandchildren. When Death goes to collect her, he sets her down so they can walk together for a while. He shows her The Book Thief and wants to ask her so many questions about humans. He cannot understand them, how they can contain so much lightness and darkness. He doesn’t ask these things, though. All he can tell her is that humans haunt him.
The master of romance Nicholas Sparks returned with another novel titled Every Breath in 2018 after a break of two years. Every Breath is Sparks’ 21st novel. It is a touching story of Tru and Hope who are undergoing their own issues in life. They have a chance meeting at Sunset Beach, North Carolina and fall in love under hopeless circumstances but, fate has something else in store for them.
Tru Walls is a 42-year-old safari guide from Zimbabwe; Hope is a 36-year-old emergency room nurse from North Carolina. Tru travels from Zimbabwe to Sunset Beach, North Carolina for the first time in his life to discover his late mother’s early years, after he received a letter from a man who claims to be his biological father. While Hope Anderson is going through a personal crisis—she has been dating her boyfriend for six years with no wedding plans yet, and recently her father was diagnosed with ALS—and decides to take a break and to make some important decisions of her life at her family’s cottage at Sunset Beach, North Carolina. Their paths cross during a chance encounter on the beach, and there is an instant connection between Tru and Hope which changes their lives forever. But, Hope is divided between her feelings for her boyfriend of six years and Tru, whom she falls in love with.
What’s interesting to note is that though Tru and Hope are fictional characters, the story is inspired from a real-life mailbox ‘Kindred Spirit’ which is located on a secluded part of Sunset Beach in North Carolina, where people have left their love-letters for many years for others to read and share. Sparks also reveals on his website that Tru’s character is inspired from his recent trip to Africa, as he writes, “I then came up with the character of Tru when I was travelling in Africa. I was so impressed with the welcoming people, the exotic landscape, and the natural beauty and wildlife that I wanted to find a way to include a character from Zimbabwe into one of my books.” Spread across many years and continents, Every Breath is a bittersweet contemporary story of love at first-sight, circumstances and destiny which will warm your heart.
How critics view the book:
USA Today writes in a review, “What makes “Every Breath” rise above mere pleasurable manipulation is its unpredictability and strong character development, especially with Tru.”
Sara Lawrence for the Dailymail.co.uk writes in an article, “The tussle between Hope’s head and heart is deeply moving and I was captivated.”
The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.
In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to their awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.
CHARACTER SKETCH
SANTIAGO
Santiago is the protagonist of the novella. He is an old fisherman in Cuba who, at the beginning of the book has not caught anything for eighty-four days. The novella follows Santiago’s quest for the great catch that will save his career. Santiago endures a great struggle with an uncommonly large and noble marlin only to lose the fish to rapacious sharks on his way back to land Despite this loss. Santiago ends the novel with his spirit undefeated. Santiago represents Hemingway himself searching for his next great book.
MANOLIN
Manolin is Santiago’s only friend and companion. Santiago taught Manolin to fish, and the boy used to go out to sea with the old man until his parents objected to Santiago’s bad luck. Manolin still helps Santiago pull in his boat in the evenings and provides the old man with food and bait when he needs it. Manolin is the reader’s surrogate in the novel, appreciating Santiago’s heroic spirit and skill despite his outward lack of Success.
The Marlin
Although he does not speak and we do not have access to his thoughts, the marlin is certainly an important character in the novella. The marlin is the fish Santiago spends the majority of the novel tracking, kiling, and attempting to bring to shore The marlin is larger and more spirited than any Santiago has ever seen. Santiago idealizes the marlin ascribing to it traits of great nobility, a fish to which he must prove his own nobility if he is to be worthy to catch it
Summary and Review
This is a story about an old fisherman who is on somewhat of an unlucky streak. The only other fisherman who still believes in him is a young boy who has helped him fish in the past. The boy often takes care of the old man, who lives in a shack and often goes hungry.
The old man goes out, as he does every day, and tosses his line over the edge of the boat. He waits until something sharp pulls on the line. The fish is so strong that it begins to pull the boat.
The fish is resilient and continues to pull the boat further and further through the night. On the second day, the old man realizes he needs food and catches a dolphin, which he eats.
On the third day, he finally outlasts the fish and harpoons him. He drags the marlin to the side of the boat and is happy with his catch. However, he has to defend his catch against the slew of sharks.
He manages to kill several sharks, but by the time he makes it back to town, the marlin is nothing but bones. Exhausted, he barely makes it back to his shack, where he is greeted by the boy.
While other authors have dealt with man against nature, this story concentrates on that theme through its length, as well as the narrative. Hemingway often puts the reader into the mind of the old man with dialogue, but also internal monologue. This may present the old man as crazy, but it also reveals his emotions as he battles the fish over three days.
This, of course sets up the tragic ending where he is left to fight off the sharks from his prize catch that nearly took his life. The guy spent three days out at sea and had nothing to show for it when he got back. The ending is somewhat questionable as well. The old man is still poor, but the boy, and the other fishermen, have newfound respect for him. You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but he may still be able to impress you.
I have been fascinated by the Japanese and their culture for at least ten years now and I have learned a lot from them. Some of the things I am most fascinated by about the Japanese are their longevity (the Japanese have the longest lifespans of any race in the world), the high importance they place on teamwork, social connections and social responsibility, and their incredibly healthy diets.
If you ask someone the reason why the average Japanese lives so long, the answer you will probably receive is, “because they have a healthy diet”. And that answer is mostly correct. But, as it turns out, there might be more to it than simply a healthy diet. It may also have to do with the fact that the Japanese believe in and adhere to something called “ikigai”, which loosely means “reason for being” or “reason for waking up”.
The Japanese take their ikigai seriously and this motivates them in many ways. It is somewhat akin to the word “passion” in English. It may relate to a person’s career or job, but it does not have to. In fact, only about a third of Japanese profess that their ikigai is related to the type of work they do.
Very often, the Japanese will cite social connections and responsibility as their ikigai. For example, the older generation is respected and highly appreciated. Their opinions and experience are valued by society and this allows them to feel a sense of purpose and responsibility towards others. In other words, their lives matter.
Unlike in the West where our passions mostly take into account what we love to do, ikigai also involves doing something that we love, but it also places a lot of emphasis on a group and fulfilling a role that benefits that group as a whole. Many Japanese are part of formal groups called “moai” and they consider their connection to these groups to be very important in their lives.
A fisherman’s ikigai might be to hone his craft so that he can help successfully feed his family, his moai, or the town, village, or city. A grandmother’s ikigai may be to impart wisdom to the younger generation. A traditional chef’s ikigai might involve preserving ancient recipes and passing them on so that every new generation can enjoy traditional Japanese food. A man who conducts the church choir every week might cite that as his ikigai.
Interestingly enough, a lot of research shows that the earlier a person retires, the higher the risk of an earlier death. This could have something to do with inactivity and being sedentary. It also could have something to do with losing one’s “raison d’etre”, or ikigai.
Some people in the West compare ikigai to happiness, but the two are not synonymous. Ikigai refers to finding happiness and joy in the small, day-to-day activities rather than reaching some final goal that promises bliss. It encompasses finding meaning in the small things. In fact, a person’s ikigai gives them a reason for living even when they are unhappy or miserable in the moment. It is what Victor Frankl wrote about in his epic book, Man’s Search For Meaning. In other words, one can still experience his or her ikigai during times of hardship or suffering. It fosters resilience.
How to Find Your Ikigai
Simply put, your ikigai is where what you are good at, what you love, and what your values are, intersect. When all three of these factors are in line and congruent, it is likely that you have found your ikigai. Try to recall a time when you were doing something and were so engrossed in it that you lost track of time and forgot to eat lunch or dinner. This is often referred to as being in the “flow”.
When you pay attention to tasks that seem to “flow” to you, you will find your ikigai and even deepen your association with it. You will find your life to be more meaningful and enjoyable. Once you notice the things that have meaning to you, you must then take the additional step of incorporating more of those types of tasks into your life. In other words, it requires some action and will not just happen on its own.
This also involves eliminating some things that are not harmonious with your values, that you are not good at, or that you do not like to do. Of course, this does not mean that you can get rid of every single task or activity that you do not like (some people do not like to brush their teeth, but it needs to be done anyway). But it does reduce the amount of tasks that are meaningless to you. Some people delegate these “meaningless” tasks to others to create more time for the tasks related to their ikigai.
One important point to note is that, once you find your ikigai, it will help you see the bigger picture and make even some mundane tasks more meaningful. For example, helping others by conducting research and writing this blog is very meaningful to me. I often experience “flow” and lose track of time when I am writing a blog post. However, I have also come to see that proofreading and correcting my mistakes (not my favorite things to do) are necessary in order to create an article that my readers like and can benefit from.
Knowing what your ikigai is (you can have more than one, although I would be suspicious if a person had more than four or five) not only creates more happiness and meaning in your life, it also can help you live a longer and healthier life. It makes sense if you really think about it: a person is more likely to jump out of bed each morning with vigor if he knows that the tasks he has to perform will make him more proficient at it, happier, and make a difference in the world. Knowing your ikigai also increases the likelihood of you taking better care of your health because your life has meaning.
Knowing your ikigai can be one of the most rewarding things in a person’s life. What is yours?
Book Three of the After series—now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!
Tessa and Hardin’s love was complicated before. Now it’s more confusing than ever. AFTER WE FELL…Life will never be the same. #HESSA Just as Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes. Revelations about first her family, and then Hardin’s, throw everything they knew before in doubt and makes their hard-won future together more difficult to claim. Tessa’s life begins to come unglued. Nothing is what she thought it was. Not her friends. Not her family. The one person she should be able to rely on, Hardin, is furious when he discovers the massive secret she’s been keeping. And rather than being understanding, he turns to sabotage. Tessa knows Hardin loves her and will do anything to protect her, but there’s a difference between loving someone and being able to have them in your life. This cycle of jealousy, unpredictable anger, and forgiveness is exhausting. She’s never felt so intensely for anyone, so exhilarated by someone’s kiss—but is the irrepressible heat between her and Hardin worth all the drama? Love used to be enough to hold them together. But if Tessa follows her heart now, will it be…the end?
5 stars(this review contains spoilers for After and After We Collided)
The After series keeps on getting better and better! After We Fell is by far my favorite of the three! At the end of After We Collided we were left again on a cliffhanger with a rather unexpected turn of events, Tessa is trying to find a way to break the news of her impending move to Seattle to Hardin when she runs into her estranged father outside a tattoo shop… I hope you guys are fond of rollercoasters because, this book like its two predecessors, is nothing short of one, so hang on tight!
It’s no surprise when I tell you that as soon as I started I was already frustrated.Tessa is going ahead with her plans to relocate to Seattle with Vance Publishing, Things are rocky with Hardin though not completely called off.Hardin is wayyyyyyyy frustrating though, when one thinks that he is starting to understand that a relationship takes compromise and that it’s not all about him and what he wants, he turns into the most unreasonable person ever. He doesn’t have a valid reason at all to not want to move with Tessa to Seattle other than his insecurities, but yet even when he knows this he still chooses to be a total idiot about it.Tessa talks him into coming on a weekend trip with her and his family, in an effort to try and mend things and have some fun together.The trip will prove to be anything but fun! I felt like jumping into the book and screaming at Hardin I just couldn’t even process what he was doing!
Once again the Hardin from the past surfaces and it’s like we took 10 steps backward rather than forward, again he proves he can be overly controlling and inconsiderate. I was seriously pissed with him when I found out the lengths that he went to in order to try and get his way. I couldn’t blame Tessa for being tired of his antics, when over and over he screws things up and then expects her to just forgive and forget.
I was glad though to see that Tessa didn’t give in to Hardin’s wishes, and put herself and her career first. I think Hardin needs to learn that not everything can go his way.Though while super smart for some things Tessa can be soooo dense for others. She gets invited to a “going away” party at the frat house out of all places. Why would she even consider going there and hanging out with all those people that were nothing but horrible to her? I was screaming at the top of my lungs in frustration, ok fine maybe I was screaming into my Goodreads updates, but seriously Tessa!!
This is the point when things start getting really screwy and my heart was racing out of my chest, I mean we have seen betrayal before and I really didn’t think I would see anything that would have me totally flabbergasted again…! I was crying angry tears for Tessa, I had to put the book down and walk away from it for a bit… I was in total and absolute disbelief…
I don’t want to give you tooo many details but just know that there is drama, frat house drama, Tessa’s dad drama, Tessa’s mother drama oh! and if you didn’t guess it? Yeah, there is plenty of Zed drama!I mean I get it Zed is hot, he is nice, he shows up at the right time and at the right place but come on Tessa!!!! How much more are you going to push Hardin? Again I found myself wanting to slap some sense into this girl.
In After We Fell, like After We Collided, we have Hardin’s POV which again is crucial to the story because while he still makes you mad you can understand why he is the way he is. I cant deny the growth in him, trying to control his temper, trying not to be impulsive and especially being much more considerate with Tessa, even his relationship with Landon makes you smile in this book. Again you see the wonderful guy he can be if he can learn to love himself.
But, it’s Hessa we are talking about here so drama doesn’t stay at bay for too long and the last part of the book will prove to be jaw dropping totally unexpected drama, and for this I won’t drop even a hint because you really need to experience this for yourself. All I can say is that it was unexpected and devastating, I’m scared for Hardin and his state of mind and him falling into that downward spiral he seems to often flirt with. What he will face will definitely be a very tough pill to swallow.
The last line in this book left me hyperventilating and in disbelief…
and in need of wine.. lots and lots of wine…
It has been a very long time since I’ve had a book hangover, years even. I finished After We Fell and couldn’t stop thinking about it, let alone start another book right away.
The fourth and final installment will be hitting shelves on February 24, yup that’s 49 days from today (but who’s counting), I can totally wait, because I’m so not dying to know what happens next….
We have heard people telling us to read books for improving ourselves. There are a number of different books that people read so as to be in the habit of reading. Sometimes people read to entertain themselves and other time they read to pass their time and further some might read to improve their knowledge of certain language. There can be a lot of reasons of reading books and all of them are certainly justifiable. But very often it has been observed that people don’t actually read but they just put it in their resumes to look more apt for the jobs they apply for. But why do people insist on including the reading habit in their resumes even when they don’t really read? The answer is that people know the importance of reading but they hardly care to actually read. Some people believe it to be highly boring when they have to read and thereby completely ignoring the benefits of reading.
With reading our knowledge of a certain language improves. There are examples where people who are indulged in reading are better off in communicating their thoughts in a particular language as they read in that language. When people read in one language they usually start thinking and then conversing in that language. They get a hold of a certain language just by reading in that language. Reading not only improves their vocabulary but also help them enhance their overall knowledge. Reading just not mean reading novels, or books but it might also mean reading blogs, news etc, which enhances their knowledge and makes them smarter than they were before they started reading. Reading gives a person a sought of confidence that they get because of the knowledge which they achieve as they feel more comfortable in participating in intelligent conversation for they have their own say now.
The habit of reading as some might believe or some might not but teaches the art of patience. For to complete a thriller novel you cannot skip to the end or reach to the climax as some might do in movies and web series, for you need to follow the story word by word, sentence by sentence and page by page, so as to feel the euphoria of finally getting to the end. This euphoria can be achieved only by the art of patience as taught by reading. Reading improves our level of concentration for it is important to focus only on the story while reading it for we would be lost if we lose if slightest of our attention away from it. Reading improves our attention span and gives us some major focus goals. We see people reading while travelling in metro, while waiting for someone, just before going to sleep, all of this and more proves how entertaining reading could be. The best possible thrill, excitement, emotions of happiness, sadness, love, hate and others that reading make us feel are surely something we cannot even experience through some movie or other digital works.
Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all. People may describe a spiritual experience as sacred or transcendent or simply a deep sense of aliveness and interconnectedness.
Some may find that their spiritual life is intricately linked to their association with a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue. Others may pray or find comfort in a personal relationship with God or a higher power. Still others seek meaning through their connections to nature or art. Like your sense of purpose, your personal definition of spirituality may change throughout your life, adapting to your own experiences and relationships.
Reading is an immersive experience that often rewards you with a great story and good vocabulary. There are books across several genres one can choose from to indulge in a wonderful reading experience. But there are some books that fall under the category of ‘classics’ as their themes, characters, and plot lines become relevant for ages to come. These are written by some of the brilliant literary minds that became popular and they went on to influence many modern works of literature.
The story begins with a typical farm being run by a human with a variety of animals living in it. The farm animals are often mistreated, overworked and ignored by the human which agitates them. Hoping to overthrow the human race and reaping all the benefits of their work, they drive the human out of the farm. What follows is a satirical allegory to the events that happened during and after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Although the story revolves around farm animals, its themes of corruption, slavery, dicatorship, class distinction, and characters, makes the readers draw parallels with the current political scenario. It is a must-read for a better understanding of the Russian revolution and an engaging experience.
The Great Gatsby- The Jazz age novel
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It follows the life of a self-made millionaire named Jay Gatsby who is in pursuit of his long lost lover named Daisy Buchanan. The novel however, has little scope for romance and represents America in the 1920s. It highlights the era of unrivalled wealth and materialistic access.
The novel upon its release didn’t gain commercial success. Critics believed that it did not amount to Fitzgerald’s earlier novels. However, it began to gain popularity during World War II as free copies were distributed among American soldiers who were serving overseas. The Great Gatsby went on to become an important part of America’s educational curriculum and pop culture.
The novel continues to attract scholarly attention and is a contender for the title of ‘The Great American Novel’.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone- You Know Who
This book can be considered as J.K Rowlings’ stepping stone to success. After being rejected by 11 publications and finally being published by Bloomsbury publication, upon the request of the chief executive’s 8 year old daughter. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone went on to be translated into 73 languages and sold 120 million copies. Becoming the second best-selling novel of all time.
The story follows Harry Potter and the readers’ introduction to the world of magic, following Harry’s discovery of his magical heritage and acceptance into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As the readers alongside Harry manage to grasp the revelation of a whole new world of possibilities, worthy opponents and dangers show up on whom magic must be used to defeat and protect.
Reading is an immersive experience that often rewards you with a great story and good vocabulary. There are books across several genres one can choose from to indulge in a wonderful reading experience. But there are some books that fall under the category of ‘classics’ as their themes, characters, and plot lines become relevant for ages to come. These are written by some of the brilliant literary minds that became popular and they went on to influence many modern works of literature.
The book thief is a 21st century novel that uses the Nazi regime in Germany as its background. Although it has its fair share of horror and despair. The Book Thief delivers hope to its readers through love and tranquility among family and friends.
The novel follows the life of Liesel, who moves into her new foster parents’ home following her brother’s death. As she goes on to witness the dangers posed by the Nazi regime, Liesel adopts her newly found passion for reading by stealing books from the rubbles and also the Mayor’s house. One of the pivotal characters in the novel is death itself as it narrates the entire story.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe- A world of fantasy
Open the book to a whole new world of fantasy, mythical creatures and magic. When 4 siblings are relocated to a large house in the countryside due to wartime evacuation. They discover a wardrobe in the house which had more than just clothes hanging inside. The 4 siblings venture into the world of dreams upon entering the wardrobe. They go on to encounter the witch and the lion, and participate in an impending war to end the evil’s oppression over the good.
This fantasy novel was the first to be published among the 7 volumes known as The Chronicles of Narnia. C.S Lewis wrote this novel as a dedication to his goddaughter named Lucy Barfield.
Here are some of the classic novels from the 20th century across different genres to enhance your reading pleasure.
Let’s begin by knowing what Mass Media or Mass Communication is. Mass media refers to the media technologies such as movies, songs, news, podcasts, advertisements and photos, that are utilized to carry information to the masses.
Importance of Mass Media
This blog you are reading is helping you gain knowledge about Mass Media and communication. Hence this blog becomes a media technology and educating you in the field of Mass Media defines its importance. From applying for a job to reaching out to a friend on your phone, everything becomes a portion of Mass Media as they help users pass on information from one place to another or one person to another.
Here are some advantages of Mass Media to highlight its importance.
It becomes a voice for the voiceless: Mass Media provides every individual with an opportunity to practice their freedom of speech and spread their ideas among the world. YouTube is a great example of Mass Media. As a platform in this 21st century it helps both small and large creators publish their videos for everybody to watch.
Enables widespread communication: Today, the world is often referred to as a global village. This is made possible due to several types of mass media technologies such as social media, internet, and other digital content. It helps governments, businesses and organizations to communicate with each other and stay connected.
Diversifying culture: Mass Media helps in diversifying languages and cultures beyond its place of origin. A good internet connection and a mobile phone or a computer is all you need to learn a new language or gain knowledge about a new culture. You can even take a peek around the world without leaving your home.
The Evolution of Mass Media
Mass Media can be traced back to the 800 AD which consisted of prehistoric arts, writings and some basic printing technology. The introduction of Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1450s helped art and literature gain a wider reach among the people.The year 1605 witnessed the publishing of the first weekly newspaper in Antwerp, known as ‘Relation’. This was followed by the inventions of radio and television in 1895 and 1925 respectively. Finally in 1990, the world wide web was introduced by Tim Berners Lee.
The number of people benefiting from these media technologies witnessed a steady growth from a handful, to thousands, and millions with the introduction of newspapers, radios and televisions. Today, due to the internet, these numbers are reaching billions. In 2018, the number of World Wide Web’s users was estimated to be 4 billion.
The 21st century has introduced the ability for even individuals to broadcast a customised message for thousands across the globe. You no longer need to be a part of some huge networking channel to do so. A good internet connection and a hand held device can do the job.
The functions of Mass Media
Mass Media, in the form of writing, podcasting, and publishing, has a significant effect on the masses. Commercials on television, billboards and social media influence the audience into buying a product or availing a service. Hence companies across the world look for suitable mediums such as social media, blogs, forums, or video streaming platforms to convey their messages based on their businesses. Once they find the right mass media technology, they conduct campaigns to communicate their ideas.
Majority of the companies today create and maintain their social media pages, maintain blog posts on their websites, and run advertisements on video streaming platforms to educate viewers about their products or to entertain them. These define the functionality of Mass Media.
Courses in the field of Mass Media and communication
After addressing the ‘Wh’ questions of Mass Media, let us dive into the courses one can opt for in the field of Mass Media and communication. There are three kinds of courses available for aspiring students in the field of Mass Media and communication. Courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma levels.
Both the course levels familiarise students both practically and theoretically in the field of Mass Media and Communication.
Eligibility for courses in Mass Media and communication (UG PG)
A student aspiring to seek admission in a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication course, he or she must fulfil some eligibility criterias.
The applicant should have completed senior secondary schooling (10+2) from a recognized university.
The applicant must have scored a minimum of 50% from the aggregate in their senior secondary schooling.
Similarly, students aspiring for seeking admission in the Master of Arts in Mass Communication course must fulfil the following eligibility criterias.
The applicant must have a Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized university.
The applicant must have scored a minimum of 50% from the aggregates in their Bachelor’s degree.
Institutes may also require you to give an entrance exam to fulfil the admission process.
Here’s what you will learn from Mass Media and Communication courses
Courses in Mass Media helps you get acquainted with subjects such as Public Relations, Design and Graphics, Digital Media, Reporting and Editing for Print Media, Data Journalism, Photojournalism, Event Management, and Media Law and Ethics. The courses are inclusive of Computer based learning, Guest Lectures, Seminars, Workshops, Massive Open Online Courses, Individual and Group projects, and community based projects.
Scope for Mass Media courses under employment prospect.
With an increase in media technologies following new inventions and establishments such as Television Channels, Radio Stations, Advertising Agencies, PR Agencies, etc. Scope in this field is also parallely increasing. Here are some of the job profiles candidates can look out for upon completion of the course.
Journalism
Public Relations
Advertising
Media Planner
Broadcasting and Production
Event Manager
Conclusion
Mass Media and Communication as a field in academics has a great scope in India and overseas. Freshers with expertise in specific areas and sufficient experience will be hired by prominent media companies for different job profiles. Individuals with good communication skills, writing proficiency, and passion for learning can pursue an undergraduate or a postgraduate course in Mass Media and Communication.
References
Ritika Shrivastava, May 17, 2021 09:36 IST, shiksha.com
To kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. The book was published in 1960 and was successful right away. It was Harper Lee’s first novel which sold more than 30 million copies all over the world and was also given the Pulitzer Prize. This novel is a classic among and outside of the bibliophiles for some very valid reasons. Let’s explore them
Plot
The story is set in a fictional town of Maycomb in Alabama and narrated by a 6 year old girl, Jean Louise Finch, the daughter of a righteous and virtuous lawyer Atticus Finch.
The story begins with Jean Louise and her brother Jeremy Finch talking about their esoteric neighbour Boo Radley who never went out of his house and that fascinates the Finch siblings yet they are scared of him too much. It revolves around the adventures of the Finch siblings in the beginning.
These adventures are followed by some worries that rain down on the finch household by virtue of a case their father is working on, the case of Tom Robison, an African-American fellow who is accused of rape of a young white girl Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch is fighting in favor of Robinson. This story is set up in the 1930s, when discrimination against African Americans was prevailing, a good evidence of that is provided in the book when different churches are mentioned for the white and African American people. Because Atticus was fighting for Robinson, he was looked down upon by the people of Maycomb, especially some of the more powerful figures of the town. Atticus Finch and his children are threatened all this while but he didn’t deter, he refused to step down until Robinson was given a chance, but he didn’t stand a chance.
The trial takes place and Tom Robinson is convicted of raping the girl even though all odds favor him. He is pronounced guilty because of the color of his skin. Nevertheless, an African American man being given the chance to explain himself was a huge leap for that town, all because of Atticus’s determination and skill. This case affects the finch siblings as well.
A deeper look
At first glance, the story seems about the escapades of Jean Louise and her brother Jeremy Finch but after a close look one will discover that this novel explores more profound issues in Maycomb which parallels the issues that 20th century and to some extent even 21st century America faces. First and foremost it addresses racism, in not the best of ways but you can’t blame the author considering the times it was written in. it doesn’t deal with racism nor does it offer any solution to deal with it. It simply mentions the bizarre laws that existed or rather lack of any laws. Understanding is a thing that Atticus does very well, he possesses the ability to understand even his enemies even When a mob is about to attack him. “A mob’s always made up of people, no matter what” is what he says to his children when talking about the same incident. His empathy is something that keeps the readers wondering.
It touches on the subject of gender roles and how Jean Louise who was a tomboy was told by her aunt to act ladylike. And it talks about subjects that can only be realized when you read and think about it yourself
If the moon smiled, she would remember you. You leave the same impression of something beautiful but annihilating.
This quote is from one of my favorite Sylvia Plath poems “The Rival”.
If you read Sylvia Plath you would find that her poetry wasn’t about the beauty that surrounded her, the fruity aroma of the garden flowers or blistering sun shining on her face or the wind sweeping her way. No, it was about none of that. Her poetry style was confessional.
LIFE
Sylvia Plath was born on october 27 of 1932 in Boston Massachusetts. She was a poet and a novelist who shaped American literature to a great extent. Plath published her first poem at the age of 8 in an American newspaper under the children’s section.From then on Plath went on to write and publish multiple poems in different magazines and newspapers. At the age of 8 Plath also faced a great deal of personal loss, her father passed away due to untreated diabetes. Her father was also a subject for a lot of her poems that she wrote in her later years.
Plath was a good student, she excelled in academics and attended the Smith’s College in Massachusetts. Plath also suffered from depression, which she elaborates in her poems. She underwent electrocution therapy for her depression. We are talking about the year 1950, when mental illness was not a socially acceptable concept. No points for guessing that the electrocution therapy did not work in fact it made matters worse for plath. In 1953, at the age of 21, the feeling of which she describes in one of her works as “blissfully succumbed to the whirling blackness that I honestly believed was eternal oblivion.” plath made her first suicide attempt by taking her mother’s sleeping pills. After this incident she remained in psychiatric care for months.
Career
In 1960, Sylvia Plath released a collection of her poems, entitled the colossus and other poems.. In this collection she talks about death, suicide, her father, and her depressive periods and thoughts.
Sylvia Plath’s poetry wasn’t particularly happy and that is because it was confessional or even autobiographical in a sense and Plath herself was deeply depressed. Here is an excerpt from one of her poems called Lady Lazarus;
“Dying is an art,
like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.
I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I’ve a call”.
If it wasn’t clear until now, then these lines give us an idea of the intensity of torment that her own mind was subjecting her to.
Marriage and the aftermath
Plath married Ted Hughes, a poet and writer in 1956. They had 2 children together. The two later separated in 1962. The couple did not have a great relationship, some controversy and rumors surrounded Hughes even after Plath’s death.
During the last few years of her life Plath published exceptional work, some of the best work ever written. This vey period of Plath’s life is the one that shaped literature and inspired the future confessional poets. Plath poured her heart out on the pages during these years. She published a novel “the bell jar” in 1963 which did exceptionally well. But her career was cut short when at the age of 30, in 1962 after what is described as “a burst of creativity” she took her own life. Her posthumously published collection of poems “Ariel” also attracted a lot of readers and to this day transcends her.
A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” (in Bloom’s original title) and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.
The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.
A statement of a learning objective contains a verb (an action) and an object (usually a noun).
The verb generally refers to [actions associated with] the intended cognitive process.
The object generally describes the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct. (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001, pp. 4–5)
The cognitive process dimension represents a continuum of increasing cognitive complexity—from remember to create. Anderson and Krathwohl identify 19 specific cognitive processes that further clarify the bounds of the six categories.
The Cognitive Process Dimension – categories, cognitive processes (and alternative names)
The knowledge dimension represents a range from concrete (factual) to abstract (metacognitive) (Table 2). Representation of the knowledge dimension as a number of discrete steps can be a bit misleading. For example, all procedural knowledge may not be more abstract than all conceptual knowledge. And metacognitive knowledge is a special case. In this model, “metacognitive knowledge is knowledge of [one’s own] cognition and about oneself in relation to various subject matters . . . ” (Anderson and Krathwohl)
The Knowledge Dimension
Factual
knowledge of terminology
knowledge of specific details and elements
Conceptual
knowledge of classifications and categories
knowledge of principles and generalizations
knowledge of theories, models, and structures
Procedural
knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
Metacognitive
strategic knowledge
knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
self-knowledge
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Model
Note: These are learning objectives – not learning activities. It may be useful to think of preceding each objective with something like, “students will be able to…:
The Knowledge Dimension
Factual
The basic elements a student must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.
The Knowledge Dimension
Conceptual
The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.
The Knowledge Dimension
Procedural
How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.
The Knowledge Dimension
Metacognitive
Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Remember
Retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
Remember + Factual
List primary and secondary colors.
Remember + Conceptual
Recognize symptoms of exhaustion.
Remember + Procedural
Recall how to perform CPR.
Remember + Metacognitive
Identify strategies for retaining information.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Understand
Construct meaning from instructional messages, including oral, written and graphic communication.
Understand + Factual
Summarize features of a new product.
Understand + Conceptual
Classify adhesives by toxicity.
Understand + Procedural
Clarify assembly instructions.
Understand + Metacognitive
Predict one’s response to culture shock.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Apply
Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.
Apply + Factual
Respond to frequently asked questions.
Apply + Conceptual
Provide advice to novices.
Apply + Procedural
Carry out pH tests of water samples.
Apply + Metacognitive
Use techniques that match one’s strengths.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Analyze
Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.
Analyze + Factual
Select the most complete list of activities.
Analyze + Conceptual
Differentiate high and low culture.
Analyze + Procedural
Integrate compliance with regulations.
Analyze + Metacognitive
Deconstruct one’s biases.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Evaluate
Make judgments based on criteria and standards.
Evaluate + Factual
Select the most complete list of activities.
Evaluate + Conceptual
Determine relevance of results.
Evaluate + Procedural
Judge efficiency of sampling techniques.
Evaluate + Metacognitive
Reflect on one’s progress.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Create
Put elements together to form a coherent whole; reorganize into a new pattern or structure.
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