The play contained many situations in which the surface appearance of things did not always match reality. Laertes challenged Hamlet at a fencing match, but he was actually planning to revenge for his father. When Claudius sent Hamlet to England, he said that he was trying to protect him; however, it was Claudius’ plan to get rid of him. Young Fortinbras even took over Denmark while they were just thought to be crossing the country. What I heard in a couple of phone calls could also represent this kind of situation. There was one day I picked up a phone call and was told that I won a million dollar from a lottery. At first, I almost believed whoever at the other end of the phone had said. But, I hung the phone without hesitated as soon as I heard that I needed to pay ten percent of the reward in order to get the money. Surface appearance can be very amazing, and so as realty.

At first I thought Hamlet is a crazy person, but I felt so sorry for Hamlet after everything that had happened to him in the play. It must be hard for him to believe that the person who killed his father was actually his own uncle. I would be frustrated if the same thing had happened to me. I would even lose my mind if I found that a member of my family was planning to kill me. Although Hamlet lost his control and murdered Polonius accidently, he still found his way to make avenge. For a man who lost a father, trust from his mother, and love from his girlfriend but still could manage to make his move, Hamlet should be one of the bravest man I’ve ever known.

Although I’m not a believer of ghost, I find characters in the play are so brave when facing ghost. Do they see them all the time or they just not scared of them? There is no way for me to follow and listen to what they say if I see one of them. Hamlet is so brave that he is actually looking forward to talk with a ghost even his friends are trying to prevent him from following it. If I were Hamlet, I would assume that the ghost was not my father but there was a devil inside of it, and I would run away from it as far as I could. I may be coward enough comparing with people like Hamlet or other main characters in a horror movie; however, I think this is not only about bravery but what we believe. When I was a kid, I was so scared that one day I would no longer sheep with my parents, and had no idea what would happen if the day had came. But now, I’m still alive and everything is just fine. To sum up, people are usually scared of things they don’t believe and is opposite with things they do. For me, I believe that I can sleep well even with my parents two rooms away from me

Once my father gave me his advice before I went to high school, and I found it useful in many ways. He said that if you had any problems, you always have your face smiling and your mouth sweat. At first, I couldn’t understand what it meant, but I start to realize he was right in every way as I got into more troubles. There was this Sunday, the day for me to do the dishes, that I forgot to do my job. My mother was so mad and was asking me why I didn’t do the dishes when she found that the kitchen was a miss the following day. I didn’t use my dad’s little advice. So, after I asked her to give me a break, I was punished to do the dishes for the next seven days. However, things were absolutely opposite when the same incident happened again. I told her, with a big smile on my face, that the spaghetti last night tasted so good that I forgot to clean the plates up. She ended up being so quiet and did all the dishes for me. Advices from our parents could be boring and unbelievable in the beginning, but it would make more sense once you gain more experience.

Jason is a teenager in the story, and he has many character traits that make him a leader. Jason is a good thinker. He gives lots of thought towards things he sees. For example, he says that water is everything and life wouldn’t exist without water, so they should worship the water tower. Jason is also a good debater. He actually has convinced three of his friends, so far, to join his religion. It is really hard to make people believe in things which are imaginary, but it is a piece of cake for Jason to do it. Finally, Jason is a caring person. When one of his friends, Shin, is bugged by the bullies from the school, Jason can’t ignore things that are happening. He is eventually beaten up, but Jason stands up against the others and protects the ones he cares for. To sum up, Jason has characteristics of a great leader, and I hope that he will do well as the Founder and Head Kahuna of Chutengodianism.

Other then providing me warmth and love, I’m really thankful that neither my dad nor mom has a religion. It really drives me crazy to pray before meals and to go to church every weekend after living with my uncle, who is a Christian, for a month. I remember I was, once, so hungry that I rushed to cut my steak and stick a huge chunk of meat into my mouth, and then suddenly found that everyone at the table was staring at me as if they were watching a horror movie. It is one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. However, Jason is not the lucky one and he needs to follow every order from his parents. I can probably understand why Jason wants to invent his own religion because I also had such a bad experience with religion that I wanted all the rules to be destroyed and have new ones formed. Again, I want to thank my parents for having no religion.

Jonas is a good learner. He is chosen to be the “Receiver of Memories” which requires qualities of intelligence, integrity, and courage. During his training with The Giver, Jonas shows full attention and “[is] very interested to hear the story of [The Giver’s] life, and to listen to [his] memories” (p. 77). Jonas is not only being positive to learn things that he never experienced before, but also has a marvelous attitude. He is so polite that Jonas apologizes for being late, rude, and even “for [his] lack of understanding” (P. 75). Honestly, Jonas is the type of student that every teacher dreams of teaching.

He is also kindhearted. When Jonas sees his friends participating in a war game and firing at one another, “he [is] struggling not to cry” (p. 134). Jonas doesn’t want them to feel the same pain as he does, and warns the others to stop what they are playing, which also shows his sense of justice. At the very end of the story, Jonas becomes really sympathetic and selfless after he escapes with Gabriel, a baby who is about to be released from the community. Jonas even “[weeps] because he [is] afraid now that he could not save Gabriel” (p. 174). Being benevolent is his gift, and a task can never be done by Jonas without this gift.

Finally, Jonas has mature thoughts. As he receives more and more memories from The Giver, Jonas realizes that “if everything’s the same, then there aren’t any choices” (p. 97)! Differences may cause confusion; however, he learns that sameness can’t provide warmth, spirit, or love. Jonas is also a responsible person. He doesn’t just think, but actually acts. Jonas knows that “there must be some way for things to be different…” (p. 128), so he takes Gabriel out of the community to save an innocent baby and hopes to give him a better life. Nothing can be solved, unless people try to confront their problems, like Jonas does.

When people have troubles, they tend to avoid them and run away as far as they can. But, Jonas doesn’t hesitate to solve problems and is always looking forward to find solutions. He has character traits that can’t be found in most people. Overall, Jonas is brave as was proved when he risks his own life to protect what he believes and loves, and this makes him an appealing protagonist.

The image was set in the near future, while the young boy sat at the corner was the son of the narrator. So, it was irony that he couldn’t show anything to his child. The reason I made the newspaper gigantic was not only to fit the poem in, but also symbolized the boy’s imagination and something that was not real. He was depressed that he couldn’t understand the meaning of the poem, but could only imagine “the beauty of a sunset” or “… [walking] into a forest.” The paint on the wall and the image on the television were just something from the past, but the factory and “somg filled skies…” were only the  things which the boy could see.

They have different behavior. David is an independent person. No matter what happens between Amy and him, David is the same person throughout the story. He will “… [keep] who [he] [is], and it is what [he] will always be.” (27) But, Amy changes with the surroundings. When Amy and David first met, she is such an affable little girl who sticks with him every time. After she is affected by her popular female friends who carry gossip around, Amy becomes cruel. She starts to ignore the person, who is used to be her best friend, and “… hardly [speaks] to [him] at school, ever.” (11) Amy and David both reflect ones characteristics that the other one doesn’t have.

Their sociability is dissimilar. Amy is an outgoing person, who makes David hangs around with her after two hours they met. She is also the kind of person who will “… [go] to every party, every football game, every prestigious event at school.” (20) David, on the other hand, is lonely. He never gets to have a date and only has “… a few acquaintances good enough to talk to….” (16) David is always working alone on his art, which is another reason that explains why Amy chooses to leave him behind.

Their focuses in school are different in many ways. David is academic. He’s the type of hard working man who is straight-A’s and “… [goes] though the motions of studying, dreaming of college.” (19) Yet, Amy is self-indulgent. She can’t focus in school while “… [she] leaves her house every evening” (18), and eventually causes her grades to slip. David is thinking that he was still immature and Amy was the person who had grown up. Nevertheless, he is actually the one who is showing responsibility for oneself.

Even though Amy and David are once being so close to one another, they are eventually separated because of their own behavior and attitude. Amy becomes one of those perfect girls who once “… dated ten guys a month.” (20) David, on the other hand, is the artist who “… lived in the worlds that [he] drew.” (17) Everyone has their own decisions to make, and the relationship between Amy and David will never remain the same when each of them chooses to move on a special and unique path.

In the most specific contrast, China is a massive country unlike the island Taiwan. China is the third largest country in the world while Taiwan only has about the same size of the Vancouver Island. There are one point three billion people living in China which is sixty times greater than Taiwan. For China, Taiwan is really just a needle in a haystack. If there is a reason that people couldn’t tell the difference between the two countries, it would be that they couldn’t find Taiwan in the world’s map.

Moreover, Policies in China and Taiwan are also dissimilar in many ways. Taiwan is a free country, but civilians in the communist China have none of the following rights; include having free religion, business, right of speech, or being free for voting their own leader. Governments in China could be very powerful. For example, the One Child Policy shows their success in controlling. On the other hand, people in Taiwan have more influence with their governments, which is another strong reason that explains why Taiwan is independent from China.

Finally, there are lots of differences between the lifestyles of the developed country Taiwan and the developing one, China. There are severe poverty gap taking place in China. People in the major cities, like Beijing and Hong Kong, have better life expectancy, but most of the people are suffering. Because child labor is overflowed, the literacy rate is low in most of the parts of China. However, Taiwan is a wealthier country. It puts more emphasis on education than the Chinese does, which would make a difference of how people think and how they act.

To sum up, it might be hard for most of the people to identify a Chinese or a Taiwanese by how they look or what they say; however, we should have better understanding of one’s background before our judgments are made. In addition, Taiwan is a different country so I really hope that more and more people would realize that not everything is “made in China”.