Book

13 Reasons Why  (Jeon Min Woo Senior, Department of English Language and Literature)

  The book I want to introduce to you is '13 Reasons Why '. The novel begins as our narrator, Clay Jensen, mails a mysterious package to somebody named Jenny. Clay received the very same package yesterday, and now he is mailing it to the next person on “Hanna Baker's list". In the package, there are seven cassette tapes and thirteen stories. Hanna, who committed suicide after recording the tapes, tells the listeners that each listener is responsible for her death in some way and in the tapes she begins explaining why. After listening, those who are on Hanna Baker's list must mail the tapes to the next person. If anyone fails to pass them along, a copy of the recordings will be made public. I am going to stop telling you about the story so that I do not spoil your reading. I've given a lot of thought to the unfortunate girl in the novel after reading the book. Although there are 13 people who are partly responsible for Hanna's death, there is one more that made Hanna make this terrible choice; rumor is the 14th reason. More and more people are using social networking services such as Facebook and Instagram, and it only takes a few seconds now for you to say something to your friends even when they live thousands of miles away, meaning that messages can fly anywhere in a few seconds. However, the stories are not always true. More seriously, they can kill people; just like what happened in ‘13 Reasons Why’. Reading this book, you might think about how dangerous rumors could be and realize that you are not that careful when you are telling someone something. I recommend that you read the book and listen to Hannah Baker’s tapes which are available on Youtube. Lastly, I want to introduce one of my favorite quotes to you; “There are always three sides to a story. Yours, Theirs and The Truth”.

Music

4 your eyez only (Kwon Seoncheol Freshman, Department of English Language and Literature)

  “your daddy was a real nigga cause he loved you. For your eyes only”. This is the last phrase of the song that I am about to introduce. It clearly has some harsh language that might annoy some listeners, but I think, you can grasp the point that the musician is trying to deliver. This is a song by a rapper named J Cole, and the title of the song is “4 your eyez only” which is in an album with the same title. This song is basically about the harsh environment and the social structure that Black people face in ghetto. Since people in the ghetto are not educated, they have to break laws for necessities. However, even though they are in these tough and cruel surroundings there is love which strengthens family bonds. The speaker in the song knows what his friend, James McMillan Jr., had been through, and he is telling something to James’ daughter Nina. The girl’s dad was born and raised in criminal surroundings without parents’ care. He saw many crimes when he was young, and immaturely started committing crimes at a young age. He had a baby when he was a teenager, so he broke the law for his precious one who he gave birth to. Her father wanted her to grow up in better surroundings than him. James once asked his friend to tell his story to his daughter if he passes away and she is ready to hear that. As he heard about the tragedy of his friend on the news, he tells Nina that although he seemed pretty tough, he was a real man because he loved her. That is why the song ends by saying “your daddy was a real nigga cause he loved you. For your eyes only”.


Movie

Dead Poets Society (Jeon Da hui Sophomore, Department of English Language and Literature)

  I would like to recommend my favorite movie, 'Dead Poets Society', because it makes me realize what life really means and I hope you watch this movie. There are five students who are forced to live a life as their parents want and John Keating, an important character in the movie, who is a new English teacher. He teaches poetry in a special way such as ripping up a textbook. He objects to an institutionalized education and he starts to change it. He stimulates students' curiosity and the five students join a secret club named 'Dead Poets Society' which slowly changes them. At the end of the film, they realize what they really want and decide to live their own lives just for themselves. Schools that maintain a suppressed education and parents ignoring their children's opinions are rampant in Korea. A lot of students in Korea suffer from their parents' excessive enthusiasm for education with their own dreams neglected. Many people think that it is more important for teenagers to go to decent universities than to find and develop their own talents. As Keating says, however, students have to learn how to think for themselves and give their opinions to others. It is clear that all students have the right to make their own decisions. The movie encourages me to find my own life and gives me courage to push through hard times. I wish there were more teachers like Keating in Korea and that all parents respected children's dreams. I want you to listen to what your heart says as well. Carpe diem!

저작권자 © 충대신문 무단전재 및 재배포 금지