Sophia Mele
ENG 100 Assignment #3: Film-Based Argument Due: Final Copy posted to blog by 11:59pm on 5/7 Assignment #3: Film-Based Project Wealth and happiness can mean many things in many different aspects of life, but for Salim and Jamal wealth planned each of their lives so differently, but ironically based off the same thing. Now you might ask, is it the money that gave them their happiness or their choices? Hopefully by the end of this paper, you will see that your choices in life aren't inevitable and change is possible. It has been proven by many studies that money can subconsciously change your thinking pattern even if you are aware of it or not. People are very hot and cold when it comes to the topic of money, ultimately showing their true colors. Many People will either do whatever they can to gain that wealth and power or they'll just simply let live. But the question will always linger in the air; can wealth bring true happiness? In the movie Slum dog Millionaire written by Simon Beaufoy, he visually and purposely proves the oblivion to the value of money, and that it can happen to virtually anyone, upper, middle or lower class and even in other cultures. With such power comes great responsibility, no matter what. If not, terrible things may occur. The stories of Salim and Jamal, though divergent in terms of how they valued and pursued wealth, both illustrate that wealth by itself does not bring a person happiness; rather, the life choices these brothers made had the biggest impact on their well-being. In Salim’s case, money and power were the only things that kept his head high. Without it, his life would be in shambles. Morality and money can be a tricky match and again can ultimately show your true colors. According to an article by Eduardo Porter published by the New York Times Porter says “ Money sows mistrust, it ends friendships. Experiments have found that it encourages us to lie and cheat”. Which makes sense in this aspect due to the fact that Salim kicked Jamal out of his life for the sake of money and power. Sometimes I think that Salim threw Jamal out because Salim knew the bad intentions he had with Latika. I don't think we can blame his brutal actions on the surroundings he grew up in due to the sole factor of Jamal being right by his side the entire time, and they couldn't be more opposite. It is the whole nature vs nurture argument. “Poverty and crime combined together leave people with two choices: either take part in criminal activities or try to find legal but quite limited sources of income – when there are any available at all” (Ward). Poverty can lead to discrimination against the world and the people in it because that’s the world they knew to live in. But then there are others who strive to find the greatness in the world. The two bothers basically lived the same life until the age of about 15 or 16 then both went on their own paths. In every aspect of how Salim acts, is who Salim is, a power hungry, impulsive man that will stomp on anything and everything that comes between him and his evil power. However, when the realization of life comes into play and all else fails around him, Salim attempted to commit suicide. Ironically, he did it in a blood bath full of the money he made proved that he was not happy with the man he became. He wanted a refund for his ticket to life. That money had absolutely no value if he was not there to control it. The blood bath was a metaphor that interprets when he dies, his money dies with him. Money brought Salim the happiness he thought was fit for him, but in the end he realizes all the pain he's brought to the people around him. Therefore, deciding that him not being in this world would be the best solution to all the problems. All that street credit isn't all its hyped up to be now is it? Jamal was the younger of the two brothers and always looked up to his elder after his mother was killed. Come to think it he really had no choice. Salim was always a pain in his butt, but all he knew was Jamal, he was family. When the boys were kids they struggled throughout there childhood to buy things, eat and even sleep. The same aspect of poverty has the same affect on Jamal as is did on Salim, but Jamal took a slightly different path. Jamal only wanted money to do the right things, meaning to fulfill his hunger and find a place to sleep or even buy a one pair of shoes. Fast forwarding to his adult life, the movie shows Jamal being an assistant who serves tea to employees at a call center. From that alone I think we can conclude that money isn't an important necessity in his life. Jamal is a feeler, “Feelers are people who tend to make decisions based on their internal belief system that are more consistent with their values” (Gould). All Jamal wanted in his life was his true love, Latika and to just be happy. The entire reason Jamal requested to be on the show Who Wants to be A Millionaire was solely because it was the most popular show in his country and he knew Latika would be watching.“Money can certainly help you achieve your goals, provide for your future, and make life more enjoyable, but merely having the stuff doesn’t guarantee fulfillment”(Roth). Jamal did not go on this show for the money, he went for love. The other irony, every single question was automatically linked to his life in some way. Without Jamal even being money hungry or craving power he made this money fair and square. Many characters in the movie did not agree and tried to beat the truth out of Jamal because the norm was to be money hungry. Looks like Jamal beat the status quo. Money is a universal thing and there are unlimited amount of ways to have it, its just who you are and your morality that decides if the path will be good or bad. Lets be honest, money is a huge attention grabber in any context you put it in. Jamal lived a life of unpredictable events that ironically got him to win 20 million dollars. Jamal was brought true happiness through his past experiences and ratings on a TV show, not the money. Now the movie does not show the way Jamal spends his fortune, but from the information we gathered on his outlook on life we can foresee that this money would be spent well. Living in an environment of pain, death and poverty can have a huge impact on a persons perspective and worldview, but it is so important for each individual to decide how the rest of his/her life will end up being. There are people in this world who think that they are a product of their environment, these people tend to fall into the evil traps and even make themselves think they are not cut out for more than what they are born with, sound familiar? But ultimately thats not true. Just because your culture was already planned for you, does not mean the rest of your life is. Will these have an impact on some of the choices you make in your life? Yes, but it should not plan your future. It is your life and your life story. Overall,we know that money, wealth, and power are valued immensely all around the globe, but it’s our job to do the right thing with it and not make it who we become, but rather what we want to create. We are the ones who give power to the inanimate piece of paper, nothing else. With that said, I think we established the difference between wealth and happiness. There are some of us that can’t do that and end up with no money and happiness or a ton of money and no happiness, its a rocky rollercoaster. The point I am trying to make is that a piece of paper can’t determine our happiness but what we do with it most certainly can. There is a quote that sticks out to me personally and it can definitely portray well onto this topic. “We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future” -Robin Sharma. This is only possible if that someone realizes it first. Like I said before, with great power comes great responsibility, and most people refer that to the value of money. Not me, I was talking about the value of your life. Lets recap and see if your thoughts on choices are still similar to how you felt before you read this paper. If so, then maybe a real life example is awaiting in your future. If not, my work here is done. Porter, Eduardo. "How Money Affects Morality." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 June 2013. Web. 06 May 2017. <https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/how-money-affects-morality/?_r=0>. /.latest_citation_text Ward, Maurice. "Poverty and Crime." National Dialogue Network. N.p., 1 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 May 2017. <http://www.nationaldialoguenetwork.org/poverty-and-crime/>. Roth, J.D. "1. It's More Important to Be Happy Than to Be Rich [Book]." Safari. O'Reilly Media, Inc., n.d. Web. 06 May 2017. <https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/your-money-the/9780596809430/ch01.html>. Gould, Rachel Gillett and Skye. "Why This Personality Type Is Happy Making Less Money." Business Insider. Business Insider, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 May 2017. <http://www.businessinsider.com/personality-type-thats-happy-making-less-money-2015-8>.
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I worked with myself on this assignment as much as possible, I tried out a couple different prompts and topics to see which one flowed better. I thought this was a good approach considering I tested out a few before I jumped right into one full draft. The most difficult part of my writing process was determining how to bring the concept of money to each of there lives and at the same time make it the concept dramatically different and also not making the piece a 5 paragraph concrete draft. It was difficult because it was basically the entire point of the draft so I needed to make each point pretty valid. I began to write and test the waters before break, a little during break, and because I had a couple questions on the draft I didn't finish until the night it was due. I guess you can say it was a good approach because I did work on it for a while but the timing wasn’t superb. Next time I’ll plan my time a little better. The location of my writing took place at my home, school and a little at Panera Bread. I needed to write outside of my home for a different perspective and plus I was hungry. The reason I chose this topic was because I felt it snowballed for me, once I thought of a supportive claim, things just kept rolling out. Like I said before, this seemed to flow just a little better than the others. I believe that in the future I will ask more people to read and revise my work so I can receive more constructive criticism. I do think the time and effort I put in was accurate and acceptable but I like to say that there is always room for improvement.
Sophia Mele
ENG 100 Assignment #3: Film-Based Argument Due: Draft #1 posted to long by 11:59pm on 3/23 Assignment #3: Film-Based Project Wealth and happiness can mean many things in many different aspects of life, but for Salim and Jamal wealth planned each of their lives without them even knowing. Money can amazingly unite and tragically destroy lives, but can it bring true happiness? In the movie Slum dog Millionaire written by Simon Beaufoy, he visually and purposely proves the oblivion to the value of money, with a lot and that it can happen to virtually anyone, even in other cultures. With such power comes great responsibility, no matter what. If not, terrible things may occur. In Salim and Jamal’s eyes, they were only moving up from where they started and to see if wealth planned where they are now. In Salim’s case, money and power were the only things that kept his head high. Without it, his life would be in shambles. I don't think we can blame his brutal actions on the surroundings he grew up in due to the sole factor of Jamal being right by his side the entire time, and they couldn't be more opposite .The two bothers basically lived the same life until the age of about 13 or 14 then both went on their own paths. In every aspect of how Salim acts, is who Salim is, a power hungry, impulsive man that will stomp on anything and everything that comes between him and his power. However, when all else fails Salim attempted to commit suicide in a blood bath full of money proves that he was not happy with the man he became. He wanted a refund for his ticket to life. That money had absolutely no value if he was not there to control it. The blood bath was a metaphor that interprets when he dies, his money dies with him. Money brought Salim the happiness he thought was fit for him, but in the end he realizes all the pain he's brought to the people around him and decides that him not being in this world would be the best solution to all the problems. Jamal was the younger of the two brothers and always looked up to his elder after his mother was killed, come to think it he really had no choice. When the boys were kids they struggled throughout there childhood to buy things, eat and even sleep. Jamal only wanted money to do the right things, meaning to fulfill his hunger and find a place to sleep or even buy a one pair of shoes. Fast forwarding to his adult life, the movie shows Jamal being an assistant who serves tea to employees at a call center. From that alone I think we can conclude that money isn't an important necessity in his life. The show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, was just another huge metaphor due to the fact that Jamal only went on the show to find his true love, Latika. Lets be honest, money is a huge attention grabber in any context you put it in. Jamal lived a life of unpredictable events that ironically got him to win 20 million dollars. Jamal was brought true happiness through his past experiences and ratings on the TV show, not the money. Living in an environment of pain, death and poverty can have a huge impact on a persons perspective and worldview, but it is so important for each individual to decide how the rest of his/her life will end up being. Just because your culture was already planned for you, does not mean the rest of your life is. It is your life and your story. Overall,we know that money, wealth, and power are very important all around the globe. But it’s our job to do the right thing with it and not make it who we become, but rather what we want to create. We are the ones who give power to the inanimate piece of paper, nothing else. With that said, I think we established the difference between wealth and happiness. There are some of us that can’t do that and end up with no money and happiness or a ton of money and no happiness, its a rocky rollercoaster.The point I am trying to make is that a piece of paper can’t determine our happiness but what we do with it most certainly can. Assignment #3: Film- Based Project Assignment Sheet
Prompt: Please compose an argument based on the following questions:
Style: An argument that uses conversational and appropriate tone for the audience. Please use APA or MLA style to cite your sources. Purpose: To Persuade Audience: Your audience will be your classmates and your peers, people who don't know your morals or principals but reading it with no biased thoughts. It can also include you parents and family as well as a secondary audience. Focus: Please focus on your own experiences and history to configure an essay based on the questions above. Use real-life experiences to persuade your audience in the direction you want. Slumdog Millionaire had something unoriginal about it which made it very popular. This is a story about two brothers, Jamal and Salim Malik, who lived in the slums of India that fought as children to stay alive in many circumstances. They watched their own mother get killed right in front of them and even got sent away to a camp that really bad intentions for them. They managed to escape without Jamal's love, Latika, she made Jamal's heart beat out of his chest. As in the movie Jamal said to his brother “we can be the three musketeers”. I don't quite know what that book has entailed but to me it sounded as Jamal wanted Latika around all the time.
As the brothers grew older Latika was found again, being used as a sex slave. Salim found that interesting and made turn for the worst, he kicked Jamal out of his life and also took away the love of his life for money. Jamal never stopped looking for Latika after that and decided to be a contestant on the TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Surprisingly all the questions that were asked, he knew. You might ask how and why considering he was a slum dog and how much could one know, and thats exactly what the police had in mind. They took Jamal captive and beat and electrified him until he “caved”, but he really did know all the answers, all the police wanted to do was to figure out how he was cheating but not all the torture in the world could make Jamal lie. He said “I knew the answers”. The questions were all connected to moments from his past making him know them almost instantly. Jamal’s intentions were not to be a millionaire but to make sure that wherever Latika was she was watching him, he said it himself “ I went on, because I knew she’d be watching”. Overall, Salim who ended up being her pimp, released Latika to see Jamal and ended up killing himself because of the shame he showed. Jamal and Latika were reunited and he won the game show that authorized him to receive 20 million rupees which the host wasn't too happy about. I chose the movie Good Will Hunting, this movie isn't just an inspirational script but it touches the hearts of many individuals. Will Hunting is a man who believes that he has limits and hides his talent from the world, he is a brilliant mathematician. He lived in a row home by himself in a very rural part of Boston, Massachusetts. He is an orphan who has had a traumatic past that has effected the way he perceives the world and the people who surround him. He's too afraid to be wrong or too afraid to truly know himself that he makes cocky remarks to everything and everyone in his way. Hunting had a solid group of friends that would commit murder for his well being and a woman who challenged him to be better and taught him how to love. There were two men that saw his potential to break free of the history he’s had. One man was the professor who discovered his talent and the other man was the one who broke him free of his raw grudge against himself. After putting his aggressive actions behind and moving forward with his sessions with Sean, the psychologist, he realized that the life he was living did not fulfill him. His “soulmate” was a student at Harvard University and left to go to medical school in California. He broke up with her because he was too afraid to get too close to her before she left, but ended up leaving everything behind and move for her. Will learned to stop running from challenges but to embrace them and make his life something to live for.
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Who I am...I am me, and I will only strive to better myself and stand by my morals. I am am old soul with an empathetic heart and a loud mouth. I don't follow a certain path, I live every day with a purpose. I am your average 5'3 Italian with a big heart and even bigger dreams. Archives
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