Adnan Syed’s Guilt

After I listened to the first and last episode of the podcast series “Serial”, I had to think about if I believe Adnan is guilty or innocent. After thinking about it, I concluded that I believe Adnan Syed to be guilty of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.

“Serial” Podcast

In the last episode of the series, Sarah Koenig goes over the past evidence that was revealed through out the podcast to remind  the listeners of everything that was discovered in the past 12 episodes. I found this to be very helpful because I was reminded of all the details and would not forget anything.

The biggest piece of evidence of Syed’s guilt to me was his friend Jay’s statement about everything that happened that day. Jay told the police that Adnan told him that he was going to kill Hae and then later had Jay go with him to dump Hae’s body (Koenig). Although Jay’s story consisted some holes and the times varied, it is pretty consistent with Adnan’s call log. Also, Jay would have no reason to get involved in the case unless her knew something because he was very good friends wit

Adnan Syed

h Adnan. Jay’s friend from work, Josh said that Jay was very scared after the murder (Koenig). Jay was not scared of the police, he was scared of Adnan, actually it was more described as terrified. This leads me to believe that Jay was scared that Adnan would kill or hurt him since he knows he can since he murdered Hae. Now there is also Hae’s current boyfriend, Don who appeared in the investigation. Don and Adnan met just a few days before the murder when Hae’s car broke down. Don said that it was a civil meeting but since they were teenagers jealousy would have been very high and potentially could have caused Adnan to act out knowing that his ex-girlfriend has moved on (Koenig). Also, one of Hae’s best friends, Aisha stated that she remembered Adnan as being very possessive over Hae.

 

If you take a look at Adnan’s call log on the day of the murder, you will notice how just after midnight, Adnan made two very short phone calls to Hae and then in the morning called Jay which is probably when they were meeting up to go to the mall (Koenig). Just after 3:00pm and 4:00pm there was multiple incoming calls made. I believe one of them is when Adnan called Jay (he had Adnan’s phone) from the Best Buy pay phone, which is what was stated in Jay’s interview (Koenig).

Therefore, I strongly believe that Adnan Syed is indeed guilty of murdering the young Hae Min Lee on January 13th of 1999. After listening to the first and last episodes of the podcast I processed all the evidence to come to this conclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

Cresswell. “Serial Podcast: Episode 1 ‘The Alibi’.” Leanne Cresswell. N.p., 05 Dec. 2016.                    Web. 28 July 2017.

Everett, Cristina. “5 Key Findings from ‘Undisclosed’ That ‘Serial’ Missed.” EW.com. Time              Inc, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 July 2017.

Koenig, Sarah. “Season One.” Serial. This American Life, n.d. Web. 20 July 2017.

Feminism in The Birth House

Throughout Ami McKay’s The Birth House, different attributes of the feminist literary criticism are demonstrated. The novel is set in the early 1900’s which was a time where women were not given equal rights as men and were just there to cook, clean, and look after the children. While reading the novel I noticed how women like Ms. Babineau and Dora stand up against the norm of how women are supposed to behave in their society (McKay). This will be further explained in the video below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash, Rick, Murat Yukselir, and Jerry Johnson. “Time Machine: What Life in Canada Was          like before the First World War.” The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail, 11 Nov.                2014. Web. 19 July 2017.

McKay, Ami. The Birth House a Novel. Sherwood Park, AB: SCL, 2012. Print.

“Stock Photos, Royalty-free Images & Video Clips.” IStockPhoto.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July         2017.

 

“Serial”: The Case of a High School Murder

Sarah Koenig’s podcast series, “Serial” investigates the murder of the teenage girl, Hae Min Lee that is thought to be committed by her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. Fifteen years after the 1999 murder, Koenig digs up the case to investigate Syed’s guilt. Throughout the first episode of the podcast, Koenig interviews Adnan and his family friends who believe he is not guilty while digging up old interviews from other people involved in the case (Koenig).

“Serial”                                                   http://www.lsbu-multimedia-journalists.co.uk/cresswell/2016/11/02/serial-podcast-episode-1-the-alibi-summary/

A podcast is an audio file that is usually part of a series and is able to be downloaded and listened to (Dictionary.com). This specific podcast explores the investigation of a murder of a teenage girl (Koenig). After listening to the first episode, I feel that a podcast is a good way of illustrating the investigation. Throughout the podcast Koenig uses recordings of different voices which helps to bring the investigation to life. I was able to connect voices to different people who helped me better understand the different points of view on the murder. While Syed was talking to Sarah over the phone about his innocence, I could hear the frustration in his voice. This made me believe that Syed was telling the truth (Koenig). On the other hand, when Sarah plays the recording of Syed’s friend, Jay being interviewed by the police, I felt like I could believe that Jay is telling the truth when he says that Adnan told him that he was going to kill Hae Min that day (Koenig).

Koenig explores how hard it is to remember a certain day and everything that you did that day. She explains to the audience how this is what Adnan had to do. He had to remember January 13th, specifically what he did for thirty minutes after school that day.

Adnan Syed (left) and Hae Min Lee (right) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11303390/Its-time-to-tell-it-like-it-is-the-Serial-podcast-was-rubbish.html

Can you remember what you had for breakfast yesterday? Let alone remember what you did for thirty minutes after school months ago? I would find this very hard to give specifics of my whereabouts if I was Adnan. Koenig also brings up how it is way more easy to remember a day when something big happened. A question came to my mind while I was thinking about this. Did Adnan actually remember every part of the day because it was the day he murdered his ex-girlfriend or does he actually not remember because it was just another normal day? Is he telling the truth or is he a pathological liar?

Over the past few years, “Serial” has become a very a popular podcast series with two seasons. This podcast goes into the intimate details of the tragic murder of a teenage girl.  For the family of Hae Min, this podcast brings up the memories of the fear they had when she went missing and was found murdered days later. If I was the family of Hae Min, I would find it very hard to have my loved one’s murder case reopened for the whole world to listen to. I would feel like her murder was being made into a reality show of some sort.

Overall, I found “Serial” to be a very interesting podcast series. I feel the audio tapes make it even more interesting, as I can hear the people’s voices but cannot see them. This allows me to create images of what I think the people or settings are like.

 

 

 

 

 

Koenig, Sarah. “Season One.” Serial. This American Life, n.d. Web. 20 July 2017.

“Podcast.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 20 July 2017.

 

The Birth House: Mother, Mentor, and the Innocent

In the novel The Birth House by Ami McKay, I found the archetypes of the great mother, the mentor, and the innocent (Gorden 2) are all illustrated half way through the novel. The  Birth House is the story of a teenage girl named Dora Rare, living in a small town known as Scots Bay, Nova Scotia during the early 1900’s. Dora goes on a journey of learning midwifery from her mentor, Ms. Babineau, and triumphs the stereotypes that come with the job in that time (McKay).

While I was reading this novel I found that Ms. Babineau whom is a very old lady that has studied witchery and has lived alone her whole life. acts as a mother to the whole community (McKay 7). The great mother is someone or something that provides people with religious and spiritual uplifting (Crisp 1). I strongly believe that Ms. Babineau fills this role for the community with her midwifery and healing powers. “Some say she’s a witch, others say she’s more of angel” (McKay 7), the women of

“The Art and Practice of Midwifery”

Scots Bay come to Ms. Babineau with their deepest and darkest secrets and problems and she acts as a healer to them. I can also see Ms. Babineau as an archetypal of the great mother through her midwifery. As I read this story I realized that the women other than Dora Rare, only go to Ms. Babineau when they are expecting a child or ill, other than that they stay away (McKay 24). Through out the pages I have read in this novel, I got the sense that midwives were persecuted even though they were needed. Even through this persecution, Ms. Babineau continues to heal ill women and deliver their children.

On the thought of the character Ms. Babineau, I found that she also illustrates the archetypal as a mentor to the teenage Dora Rare. The archetypal of a mentor is someone who everyone knows in the community and is trustworthy. They are usually a misfit of society but was once in their student’s position and their goal is to make the student realize they are gifted (Frazier 1-8). I can see Ms. Babineau trying to get Dora to start helping her with her midwifery right from the beginning of the novel, “‘mary-be. I was half your age when I first started helpin’ to catch babies. You’ve  been pesterin’ me about everything under the sun since you were old enough to talk. You’ll do just fine'” (McKay 7). I first thought of Ms. Babineau as a mentor at this point because she was once a young girl like Dora learning this practice and now she is passing it on to her. While I have been reading this novel the past few days, I have noticed the way Ms. Babineau is looked at. Ms. Babineau is an outcast in society. She lives off by herself and even though everyone knows her, no one is really friends with her (McKay). With Ms. Babineau’s old age and Dora is just about to become a woman, it makes for the perfect time for Ms. Babineau to start mentoring.

Better Novel Project

Dora Rare is what I consider to be the main character of the book because she is going on journey as Ms. Babineau mentors her. I believe Dora is an archetypal of innocence as she is an optimistic young girl that wants to help others (Mamchur 1). I first realized Dora’s innocence when she attended Mrs. Ketch’s birth. The baby did not survive the birth and

“The Birth House”

Mrs. Ketch did not want to see it. Ms. Babineau and Dora had to take the baby to bury it. In this time Dora named the baby Darcy and grew a connection with him (McKay 18-19). I believe this incident shows Dora’s innocence because she cares so much for Darcy and grows an attachment to him so fast. I can see Dora following in Ms. Babineau’s foot steps through out the rest of the novel because she shows so much care to the children and mothers when she is looking after them and practising midwifery. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the novel to see how Dora’s character develops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crisp, Tony. “Archetype of the Great Mother.” Dream Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July         2017.

Coffey, James R. “The Art and Practice of Midwifery.” All Articles RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10          July 2017.

Frazier, Christine. “10 Traits of the Mentor Character Archetype: Hagrid +                                  Haymitch.” Better Novel Project. N.p., 27 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 July 2017.

Gorden, Carl. “The 12 Common Archetypes.” The 12 Common Archetypes. N.p., n.d. Web.         09 July 2017.

Mamchur, Carolyn. “Archetype.” Archetype Innocent. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2017.

Is English Necessary for all University Programs?

I believe that grade 12 Universtity level English should be required for all University programs. This may not be everyone’s favourite course to take, but comes in hand in the future. No matter what road you choose to take in University, Professors will always find a way for you to write a report or essay and you will be happy that you were forced to sit through grade 12 English.

I was never one to enjoy reading Shakespeare or writing essays the past three years, but I have realized that I have been able to apply what I learned in English to other courses I take. Research done at Stanford proved that good English teachers improved the grades in students’ math scores. “These teachers not only produced higher-than-expected test scores during the period they taught their students, but those students went on to score better in those subjects in future years” (Parker, Clifton B). I feel this article enhances the idea that grade 12 University English can further help students achieve in University.

I have never been a big fan of studying Shakespeare the past three years alike many of my classmates but it does enhance our knowledge of literature. Shakespeare increases our vocabulary and understanding of history which can help high school students succeed in University. I personally feel that in the past, enacting parts of Shakespearean plays has increased my self-confidence when speaking infront of groups tremendously. Being able to speak infront of large groups is a very important skill to develop in high school for University and in the workplace as well.

I strongly believe that grade 12 University English should be made a mandatory prerequisite for all University programs as it will enhance the learning in all programs. English teaches you to discuss topics and analyze which can increase the level of learning in University classrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parker, Clifton B. “Stanford research shows long-run benefit of English instruction.” Stanford University. N.p., 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 July 2017.