kimberlyh

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has had one of the biggest hits in history and up to present day schools around the world are still reading this book. The book, on its own has a mysterious and dark feel to it but is also very intriguing and includes many different characters which are also incorporated into the movie except a few. The movie includes the main characters Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein and Elizabeth. Victor Frankenstein played by Kenneth Branagh who is also the director of the movie, Frankenstein by Robert De Niro, and Elizabeth Lavenza by Helena Bonham Carter.

The movie, compared to the book, contains many differences. In the book we’re told that Victors mother died when she went into the room in which Victors adopted sister Elizabeth laid near death from scarlet fever and healed her, in which she then got the sickness and became weak and died. In the movie we’re told that she died during childbirth. In another instance in the book we’re told that Elizabeth died from the monster strangling her on her wedding night while Victor was away making sure the monster was no where near their room. In the movie we’re shown that Elizabeth died because again, Victor was away making sure the monster wasn’t near and while he was out, the monster snuck into their room and when he heard Victor coming back, he ripped her heart out. Once Victor saw what the monster had done to her, he immediately took her body into his laboratory and attached her head onto Justine’s body and brought her back to life. The monster and Victor fought over who could have her which confused her more and eventually led her to kill herself. And lastly, another big change in the film and novel was the whole trial with Justine and the murder of William. In the novel were told that Justine was found in a barn sleeping with the necklace found in her pocket. She was then given a trial in which she was found guilty for killing William and was executed. In the film once they found the necklace William was given, in her pocket, the townspeople took her and lynched her in front of the whole town.

These little details show that the film and the novel are very distinct from one another. Although they have the same plot and meaning as each other, the movie misses out on details included in the book such as the strong connection between Victor and his mother, Henry Clerval’s death and Victor being accused of his death as well as Victor creating the monster a companion and the anger the monster had towards him. Another big part I feel they missed was the monster confession to Victor how alone he felt and how hated he was just because he didn’t look a certain way.

The film was a bit more interesting and amusing than the book in its own way but if someone didn’t read the book then I feel like they would be confused about what was going on. The movie contained a lot of twists and turns than the book which made it better but the book contained intricate details that made it great on its own.

In conclusion, I did enjoy the movie a lot, I liked that it took me back to the time period its set in and I enjoyed the way the actors portrayed the characters but I did enjoy the book more just because it explained the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster in great detail and it is relative to the movie as well. I do recommend reading the book if you like the movie and watching the movie if you like the book because in the end, they’re both great.

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a frame story in the viewpoint of Victor Frankenstein, The monster Frankenstein and Captain Walton. The beginning of the book contains a series of letters exchanged. The story is about Victor Frankenstein and his obsession with sciences and where it took him. Victor was a fortunate child growing up. He had his family as support, they loved him very much and he loved them. His mother passed away when he was a teenager when she risked her life for his adopted sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Victor got along very well growing up. When his mother died, they promised her they would be wed to take care of the  family for her. When he was at the age to attend college, instead of marrying Elizabeth right away, Victor left for college at Ingolstadt. This is where his experiments came to life, everything he worked for when he was a child. His professors were vital to his learning. He became fascinated with life and death, so much that he wanted to create life himself. He used his apartment and a small laboratory to create what he was longing but once his creation came to life, he regretted everything. The monster envied the love and family his creator had, because he had none of it. He attempted to create contact with humans when he ran away from Victor. He met an old man named De Lacey and his family. He spent months spying on them. Here he learned to speak and communicate with De Lacey. He was blind therefore when the monster went to speak to him and ask for help the old man offered help. When his children came back they saw his horrid appearance and struck him and ran away. This broke him and was when everything changed, this is when he killed William, the death in which Justine, Williams nanny was blamed and killed. The monster offered a deal with Victor, he would stop attacking his family as long as Victor created him a monster. Victor agreed but as soon as he started creating her he destroyed her because he was so enraged with what the monster did. Furious, the monster confronted him and told him he would be there on his wedding day. Shortly after he killed Victor’s best friend, Henry Clerval. Scared of what would happen to the rest of his remaining family, Victor returned to his home, Geneva and promised to marry Elizabeth in which he did. On the night of their wedding the monster kept his promise and killed Elizabeth. Victor’s father also died from his sadness. Left with no one, Victor went to search of the monster to kill him. There he came in contact with Captain Walton and Victor died. The monster found him and died with him, because Victor was the only family he had. In conclusion I believe the actual monster in Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein for all of what happened. Victor was so repulsed by his creations appearance that he left him to fend for himself. The creation he made had no idea what was going on and Victor should have expected his appearance and the lack the monster had to think and speak on his own.

The creation explained his experiences to Victor after running away and it began alone in the woods. By observing a family through a small hole, Frankenstein was able to learn about himself and everyone around him but before that he was alone and had to learn most on his own. When he first left Victor’s apartment the monster stated, “A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish between the operations of my various senses.” This meaning that when he was first on his own, he had no idea what was going on with him and experienced it all on his own and had to deal and learn about what was going on with him, by himself. He also told Victor, “It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened, as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate. Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes; but these were insufficient to secure me from the dews of night. I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” This was all of Victor’s fault. He did nothing to contain the monster or look for him, knowing that he had created something no one has ever thought of creating. This proves that what he did, was not his fault, he could not understand what was going on, he wasn’t capable of learning yet. Since Victor did not look for the monster or taught him anything before the monster left on his own, his sadness, anger and confusion was all of Victor’s fault, the monster was unaware of how to control his emotions and how to be among other people or ask for help on his own.

In another point in the story, Victor had promised the monster a companion, someone to make him happy and keep him company since the monster had come to the realization that he will never be loved by humans. Victor had begun to create this companion and when he was almost done, he noticed the monster had followed him and was watching his every move, and therefore destroyed her. Enraged the monster went to Victor and told him “The monster saw my determination in my face, and gnashed his teeth in the impotence of anger. “Shall each man,” cried he, “find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn. Man! you may hate; but beware! your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever. Are you to be happy while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness? You can blast my other passions; but revenge remains–revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food! I may die; but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. Man, you shall repent of the injuries you inflict.” Here the monster opened himself to Victor and asked him why did he want to see the monster so horrible and alone, why did he have to take away the only thing that was going to make him happy and at peace. The monster also told Victor, “It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night.” Meaning the monster warned Victor what would happen for what he did. It was Victor’s fault the monster felt the way he felt. He had no one and Victor crushed the little bit of hope he had left in him. Victor then revealed, “A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife.” The monster had killed Elizabeth. I feel like Victor really was the one who killed her because the monster had warned him he would kill her for what he had done to him and Victor still left her alone.

By rejecting the affection and care the monster needed, he made the monster a hateful, vengeful person. The reason the monster was so hateful was because everyone he came in contact with, especially his creator, were disgusted by his appearance and refused to help him. It was the worst when he attempted to help De Lacey and his family and the little girl drowning because he was actually doing something right and nice, something that made him happy and come in contact with his emotions, yet everyone refused to hear him out and just assumed he was there to kill them. If Victor had stayed after he created him, he would have known how to feel affection and care and learn to speak and communicate. This would have saved Victor and his family. Even after all of that happened when Victor’s brother and Justine were killed, Victor still had a chance to change everything and save his best friend, future wife, father and brother Ernest but last minute changed everything. He was only looking out for himself because the enraged monster even told him from after that, he would kill everyone else and Victor still refused to listen. This is why he is to blame for all of the murders in his family. I think the big idea or the hidden meaning to the story is basically not to judge someone from appearances because you never know where they’ve come from or what they’ve been through.

When the name Valentine’s Day comes up, most people just think of chocolate candies, balloons and hearts, but no one knows where the celebration really comes from. In “History of Valentine’s Day” by History.com, they give an overview of the history of this famous worldwide day. The name Valentine comes from the Catholic Saint Valentine. There are many different stories and legends connected to the name Valentine. One of the most famous says that Valentine was a Roman Priest back in the third century. It states “When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death” Meaning in this legend, the reason for Valentines famous death was that he did what he felt was right for the people and married people although the ruler of the land felt that was wrong and in the end, considered him a degenerate for not following the rules of the land and executed him for feeling he could do whatever he pleased. In the second legend of Valentine, people believe that the reason for his death is that he helped people escape the Roman prison. Which means in both legends, people believed that the reason Valentine was executed was because he was intransigent towards the higher power of the land when he found out what the emperor was doing towards the people and he defied the higher power of the country. You could say Valentine was inciting a fight with the emperor and knew what he was getting into, but he did it purely for love. Valentine greeting cards came from the idea that while imprisoned Valentine wrote letters to his young lover. In the legend it says, ” Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed,“From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today” This is what he wrote and sent to his lover before his death. He was solicitous towards what would happen to his lover after his death and wrote her letters to assure her of his love and her well being after he passed. Even knowing that he was going to be killed, Valentine didn’t seem perturbed because he knew what he did was good for everyone. After his death, people assumed that 14th of February is the day he died and is why we celebrate it as Valentine’s Day. Some people believe its Valentines feast day celebrating Lupercalia. In this festival it is said they did, “The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year.” Following a couple years this celebration was cancelled and forbidden to be celebrated from there on out. Since then, Valentine’s Day is still celebrated. Companies, including greeting cards, receive billions of dollars on this day.

I admire Valentine’s Day because I feel like it’s a day to connect with your loved ones and show them your deep admiration towards them. I feel like it’s a day in which you can engender your true love towards everyone and everything that makes you happy. It’s a day in which you can just give and feel love and a day that you can make someone feel great and thank them for all they do for you. I kind of see Valentine’s Day as Thanksgiving or any other holiday a side from the religious factor because you’re basically thanking those you love for being there for you throughout everything you do every day of your life. It’s a day to me in which you can transfigure all your love into actions because most people don’t do that on a daily basis or don’t emotionally like showing their love, but on this day they can without feeling embarrassed or any other feeling.

Some people don’t enjoy the day at all and don’t think we should celebrate it as we do. In, “OPINION — Why I don’t care about Valentine’s Day (and why you shouldn’t, either)” by Amy Cunningham she writes about reasons why we shouldn’t bother with the day as much as we do. She writes, “Yet, the older I become, the more I see my friends depress themselves because they don’t have a valentine each year.” This is one of the reasons why some people are refusing to even pay attention to the day anymore. Some people realize they won’t have a significant other on this day and depress themselves but I feel like if you don’t have someone to express love to, don’t take it out on the world and those who enjoy the day in their own special day, take time for yourself. I’m saying this because a lot of people like to inveigh online about other couples on this day and make jokes but some people like to enjoy this day and I feel like everyone should. Pamper yourself and express love to yourself more than you would any other day. She also included in her article, “The average U.S. consumer is expected to spend $136.57 on Valentine’s Day this year, according to the National Retail Association, and more than $18 billion will be spent across the country on this holiday.” This is another reason people don’t like enjoying this day. They feel as if to express their love they need to spend all the money they have to make their loved ones feel loved and that’s not it, it’s not about material things. Some people just want to be pampered through love and be there for one another. I know personally that on Feb 14th all I want is for those people that love me, to say it and show me, but I don’t need material things as proof. She also included a connection, “Does that mean we don’t love each other? Of course, it does not. However, we decided early on in our relationship that we want to express our affection on our own accord, not just on a random day in February that means nothing to us because society says so” Following saying that in her relationship they don’t celebrate this day she said it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. In a way I know where some people are coming from when they say that they celebrate their love everyday of their lives to each other because that’s how it should be, it should be an innate feeling in which you don’t have to express yourself, but it doesn’t hurt to join in the fun and do something a little more special on this one day just to make your partner feel special or even remit someone for some wrongdoing they did towards you.

History of Valentine’s Day

Sweet Kid’s Valentine’s Day Cards

When thinking about new inventions in modern day, we don’t really think about where all of these innovations started from, from who they were created by. Scientists now are finding new types of ways to advance our medical innovations with theories from centuries ago which could effect the following new eras. Charles Darwin was a scientist in the 1800’s who believed in process called “natural selection” which proved that species changed and evolved over time due to several changes. In “Inventors and Scientists: Charles Darwin” by Big History Project, they stated that “Darwin’s father steered him first into medicine, then into the ministry, but Darwin had wanted to become a naturalist.” Naturalist meaning he refused to believe that the world was created by anything other than nature itself. In the early ages of his life, Darwin went through a peregrination among many areas of the world including the Galapagos Islands. Darwin came back to his hometown with very distinct animals and birds with similar features. After examining the birds further he found, “When Darwin examined the variations in their beaks, he saw how they were adapted to eating the different kinds of seeds available on the birds’ various native islands. The design of each type of beak had developed from the need for food.” meaning, although all the birds came from the same area and were all the same type of birds, they had small differences depending on what they needed to live. Darwin came to a fruitless decision on whether or not to tell people of his discovery because he felt as if he would offend those who believed in the divine creation. When he found out that some scientist were coming to the same conclusion as him and he was not alone therefore he came to the fruition that concluded,  “Darwin presented three kinds of evidence in support of his theory of “natural selection.” First, fossils showed that species have changed over time. Second, geographical distribution showed that species are descended from local ancestors, even if the environment is similar elsewhere. Third, he identified unexpected similarities between species. For example, cats, whales, bats, and humans all have fingers. The finger bones showed that these species are all related to each other, despite their huge differences.” meaning that all these things he found out, all came together to prove natural selection was true. In the new era, scientist are taking Darwin’s old theories and experiments to create new ones. In “Doctors 3D-print ‘living’ body parts” by James Gallagher, Scientists are naturally recreating body parts for those who need it. The bones and muscles being made have been tested on animals to see if they’ll react the same way on humans and make sure they work for their function, which is connected to Darwin’s theory that humans and animals come from the same place and is why we have similar structures. This is how it would work out, “The Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System – or Itop – combines a bio-degradable plastic which gives the structure and a water-based gel which contains the cells and encourages them to grow…When the structures were implanted into animals, the plastic broke down as it was replaced by a natural, structural “matrix” of proteins produced by the cells.” meaning the cells would be implanted into the plastic for them to grow and when they adjust to the area that is damaged, the plastic falls off and the rest grows together again.

In “Doctors 3D-print ‘living’ body parts” by James Gallagher, the article included “goose that really does lay golden eggs” which was said by other experts towards the idea of making body parts from technology. The reason this was included in the article was to explain how this theory is actually starting to play out. Most of the time, new inventions take a while or years to actually start working or just don’t ever work but this new 3D printing invention is actually working which is why it is given the name golden goose. The project had broken through and the progress is going much faster than expected although there are still some perks to it. Adding this point to the article aggregates the whole experiment as a enormous achievement in modern technology and medicine. In the same article it was written that “The prospect of printing human tissues and organs for implantation has been a real one for some time, but I confess I did not expect to see such rapid progress.” Professor Birchall states here that he didn’t expect all of the success in the project furthermore explaining the golden goose statement. Scientist just want to make it idyllic in the future in case someone needs an organ and there are none available for those who are ill. It was important to include these quoted words in the article because it makes the reader see how successful 3D printing is coming to and to share and spread hope for people who need it. The effects of these quotes give us hope for future medicine and loved ones because this is only the beginning.

Doctors 3D-print ‘living’ body parts

Inventors and Scientists: Charles Darwin

Bullying has been around for a while now but has only gotten worse. Many people push away the topic because they think they don’t know anyone who’s been bullied or believe they haven’t bullied anyone else but researchers took a poll with about 8,000 student in North Carolina and found out, “In that group, about half the students were white and a third black. Most lived with two parents. The average student was harassed by 0.72 students during the spring term, but among victims, the average number of attackers was 2.2. Girls had higher rates of victimization. The researchers noted that there could be differences in other populations.” So the question is, why are we ignoring the fact that bullying is a real big problem and not only outcasts are being targeted? In “Even popular kids are bullied in high school, researchers find” by Mary Maclean, Researchers Robert Faris and Diane Felmlee find that according to polls, those who are more popular than others are the ones who are bullied the most. This is because according to Faris and Felmlee, the outcasts who bully usually are trying to replace those people they’re bullying, they want to become popular like them. They found that, “The aggressors, too, often “possess strong social skills,” and bully others to move up the social ladder rather than to “re-enact their own troubled home lives.” meaning the bullies know what they’re doing, they have everything planned out from the start. Most of them bully to become more popular, they think because they’re bullying someone they’ll be viewed as having more power over other people and stronger. Most of those kids and teenagers that are bullied feign being bullied to avoid being bullied even more. Now, when teenagers report other teenagers for bullying, the kid that reported the bullying gets more hate yet no one does anything, for example in schools when administration are told someone is getting bullied they usually suspend the bully but in reality how does that help? Why does the bully not get in more trouble? The reason why kids being bullied don’t tell is because of that reason, there’s really nothing we do to protect them more and that’s what needs to change. Kids now take it as a joke and claim they’re joking around but behind closed doors, it could’ve really affected someone. In, “Two girls arrested on bullying charges after suicide” by Doug Stanglin and William M. Welch they wrote about a horrifying story about a young girl’s suicide. Rebecca Sedwick, 12 years old from Lakeland, Florida committed suicide on September 9th from jumping off of a cement factory tower. Sedwich was reportedly constantly harassed by as much as 15 girls within a couple months through messages. Two girls were arrested a 12 year old and 14 year old for admitting they harassed her and did not feel remorse towards her death. Following the change of school, the same degenerates from her last school continued on harassing her. Justin Patchin, a professor states, “…the actions in the Florida case were extreme because of the length of the harassment, the number of teens involved and the seriousness of their postings.” meaning the case was so much bigger than normal cases of bulling because there were so many people involved and the posts online included serious death threats such as “drink bleach and die”. This occurrence caused much controversy because normally kids around those ages aren’t normally filled with criminal charges. Sedgwick’s death engendered concern for many parents and opened their eyes to realize this is a very really topic and we need to take care of it and worry about our children when we know something is going on. Police found “Judd said the “red flags” for possible suicide were there. On her computer, police found search queries for topics including “what is overweight for a 13-year-old girl,” ”how to get blades out of razors” and “how many over-the-counter drugs do you take to die.” One of her screensaver also showed Rebecca with her head resting on a railroad track.” meaning there were obviously clues Rebecca was not happy with her life but why didn’t anyone do anything, where were her parents? This is why parents should be more involved in the lives of their kids and schools should handle these problems with more care.

Rebecca Sedwick-Bullying Death (click on link to watch video)

In the story about Rebecca Sedwick authors Doug Stanglin and William M. Welch included the line “Kids have been bullying each other for generations. … What makes it different is the long-standing nature, the permanent nature of statements online.” stated by professor Patchin. When Patchin said this to the authors he was pointing out that this generation bullying and generations before are cognate, the only difference is that now kids and teenagers have technology. Technology is now innate since their birth, parents are also starting to give their children cell phones and exposure to the entire world through these medias which most parents don’t know their children have. When these parents give their children this type of “freedom” they become more vulnerable for cyberbullying, such as Rebecca’s story. Some of the stories about people being bullied involve pictures that were meant for one person to see but get leaked and this is what I believe Patchin means when he says that what we do and say is permanent online. If you attack someone with words online, everyone can see and no matter if you erase it, there’s always a way to find it again there is no way you can transfigure what you had said and how you said it. 

These two stories were very interesting and very eye opening and I know there’s always news that we aren’t told when these stories are put online but if I was a mother and I noticed a change in my child’s behavior I would do something about it instead of just ignore it. Teenagers go through a lot of emotions and stress and definitely anxiety throughout our teenage years and we all deal with bullies whether we say it or not but there are some people that constantly get bullied and it’s not a joke to them and really affects them so it’s important to communicate always with you child even small talk can change their whole day. It’s extremely sad to hear stories about children committing suicide because they’re being bullied. I feel as if parents just don’t care enough about what their children do, I feel as if they give us a little too much trust which isn’t always good. I just think if the parents of these 15 kids saw what their children were saying to this little girl and stopped them immediately, none of this would’ve happened. I don’t think school systems are helping enough either. I think administrations in schools think they handle it all but suspending the kids or in this case switching classes but I feel like it just goes way more deeper than that and either way, they’re all coming back to school eventually so in reality, do they really think it’ll stop? In conclusion, I think handling bullying should be a lot more stricter, I mean in the article it even said that bullying isn’t considered a felony and I think parents should talk to their children and if they’re not talking back, find a way to communicate with them. We should avoid this at all costs, this shouldn’t be happening ever to anyone.

Even popular kids are bullied in high school, researchers find

Two girls arrested on bullying charges after suicide

There is extreme controversy going around about the recent presidential election but the main question is, can this past election be the cause of this new outburst of fake news? Editors and writers of news pages and magazines have been taking advantage of this past presidential election and of us, the citizens of United States, and writing fake stories. People have been believing these stories and taking them seriously. In “The very real consequences of fake news stories and why your brain can’t ignore them” by Nsikan Akpan , Edgar Maddison Welch traveled from Salisbury, North Carolina to Washington, D.C on a Sunday to Comet Ping Pong. When he arrived, he walked into the pizzeria with a AR-15 Assault Rifle and shot once in the air. The police were called and once investigated Welch told police he had traveled far because he read online that Hillary Clinton had been running a child-trafficking ring through the pizzeria. Thankfully no one was injured but this is a serious example and consequence of  fake news being leaked. This incident perturbed the people in the pizzeria because they thought this man was crazy and was potentially going to kill them. Before the Pizza Gate Scandal, there were tremendous amounts of fake news stories about the virus Ebola. Kaci Hickox was a volunteer nurse who traveled to West Africa to help treat those who were sick and infected with Ebola. Once Kaci returned from her volunteer work, Ebola news had already spread everywhere and everyone was so worried about getting the infection that Kaci was sent to quarantine upon arrival. Her tests were sent for assay to make sure she had not contracted the virus. When released her tests came back clean yet the mayor kept assuring the people that Kaci would be sent for another test just to make sure she was completely clean. He stated that “There’s no question the woman is ill, the question is what is her illness.” meaning that everyone was believing that since she had been around infected people, she had to be infected also. Following this statement, news about Kaci contracting the disease, spread with great celerity. Since the citizens were so solicitous towards their well being and the well being of their families, they started complaining about Kaci as well as her boyfriend.

One of those concerned citizens being Kaci’s landlord. Kaci explains, “Before I left for Sierra Leone, she was very supportive, and she told me how amazing it was that I had the skills to go help respond to the Ebola outbreak,” yet following her return home her landlord asked her and her boyfriend to move out. Everyone was intransigent towards believing Kaci wasn’t infected because horrible stories about Ebola had been circling around for a while then. Kaci had tried to stay positive during this horrible, turbulent situation. She said “Hickox heard rumors from the police department about physical threats against her, and her partner ended up dropping out of nursing school because they wouldn’t allow him to attend while he was living with her” therefore this situation, this fake news not only affected her, but also her boyfriend. In the end, after the whole Ebola epidemic passed researchers found, “When the dust settled, America notched four imported cases and one death during the entire course of the epidemic, while in contrast Africa experienced around 30,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.” meaning that while we were all thinking that so many people were contracting Ebola, really only about four people had it in America which did not compare one bit to how many people got it in Africa.

Author Nsikan Akpan used numbers and statistics to engage the reader into the topic and furthermore prove his point. Akpan wrote, “Irrational fears of the Ebola virus in the U.S. arguably drove web interest in this fake news story, as it likely did for any number of legitimate articles written during the outbreak. When the dust settled, America notched four imported cases and one death during the entire course of the epidemic, while in contrast Africa experienced around 30,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.” meaning that while everyone in American was thinking we could all have been infected with Ebola, statistics prove that the controversy and fake news was all dramatized. Only four people were diagnosed and one person passed away. Our numbers also proved that it had no comparison to those in Africa and who we really needed to be worried about was them and we should’ve helped them more because they needed it. Akpan also mentioned, False stories on National Report like “Texas Town Quarantined After Family Of Five Test Positive For The Ebola Virus” feature elements like author biographies and video shorts embedded in the page to give the feel of authenticity, Menczer said. Whether those attributes or the “satirical writing” mislead people is hard to say. But the Texas story, which lacks a disclaimer in the body of the text that clearly identifies it as satire, was shared more than 330,000 times on Facebookaccording to MuckRack’s WhoShared algorithm.” to further explain that back when Ebola was a big deal, people such as politicians took advantage of these fake stories for political gain. It also shows that people actually believed the story about a family in Texas and spread it even more. It all goes to show that even though a writer can write satire on their blogs, people will ignore and believe what they read so in the end, why create fake stories in the first place.

Personally, I have been a victim of fake news, I blatantly believe everything I read and its horrible but I’m the kind of person to think that if you’re writing stories as a job and they’re supposed to be real, why would you use fake news. I would read it either way if it’s about a favorite artist or about the sake of our country so I don’t like when people write lies. I also very much like to discuss what I read so when I don’t know whether its truthful or not, I feel as if I don’t know what I’m talking about. My acquaintances and friends are much like me so when they use to discuss topics with me about politics I would ask them if they thought what they read was true or when I knew it wasn’t true I would tell them they were wrong and they refused to believe me because they wanted to keep believing what they wanted to believe and they would tell me that I was wrong. Its hard to believe what you’re reading now because there’s so much satire and fake news and I believe it should be controlled and stopped because its more serious than people think it is.

The very real consequences of fake news stories and why your brain can’t ignore them

Fake news author is fired; apologizes to those ‘disappointed’ by his actions Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article127391619.html#storylink=cpy2016 Lie of the Year: Fake news

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