LanVu Introduction

 Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. Women were forced into roles of domesticity and were not given the chance to discover themselves and to reach their highest aspirations. As Nora in The Doll House, she was forced to live in a place where she was tied up to her role as a typical woman at her time. She has to the mothers to her son and servants to her husband and father. However, unlike many other women at the time, Nora decided to change her situation and leaves her family. Something that not many women did.

 One of my favorite movies is Kong: Skull Island. I was very fond of scientific films and arts. I first saw one similar movie like that one which is King Kong with my parents. Therefore I always Kong movies always have a spot on my list. Another reason I like Kong: Skull Island is that the movie's settings were in Ha Long Bay. Filming locations also include UNESCO World Heritage site Tràng An and the Tú Làn Caves System. Those are places in my home country Vietnam. When I watched Kong, besides from fantastic scenes of monster fighting, I also love the nature scenes of the movie. It gave me a familiar feelings when seeing my home country.

 To be honest, I don't listen to English music much. But I do have some favorite songs and one of them is "Leave the Lights On" by Tom Walker. For me, this is such a powerful song about hopes and hard times. The song has many strong images and it did help me through some tough times. "If you look into the distance, there's a house upon the hill Guiding like a lighthouse it's a place where you'll be safe". These lyrics have helped me a lot especially when the pandemic spread. This is quite similar to "Acquainted with the Night" by Robert Forst when it both talk about the darkness of each person "Lighthouse" is the guide for lost boats to find their way home, it's also the things that keep people sane in the sea. I think the "lighthouse" can be anyone around us, someone that we can trust to help us get through things. Or we can be another "lighthouse", guide them to a safer place.

 The metaphor I got from "The Socks" is that the socks represent the emotions of a person who is in a relationship. First, the speaker "matched" the socks, with show kindness, but then the tone change in the last line as it is more dark and combative as if they were in a fight. I think the socks in the poem represent to the relationship status of a couple.

 The image that represents me is a picture in a wooden frame. I used to a big picture in my room and every time I look into it, I can see different things. It means that I see my life as endless possibilities and imagionations. But a picture needs its frame to protect it from dust and damage. That frame is the love my parent has for me. It does not matter how weird or ugly the picture is, the frame is always there to protect it. This image was inspired by "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell. In the first line of the poem "From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State", his mother's sleep as I understand is his protection from his parents, and when he "fell" out of that, he has to face danger by himself, just like the picture without its frame.

 I think my tone in life so far is calm and peaceful. Although I have had some up and down, when I see people around me, I find myself having a chill and peaceful life. I notice that I have so much better than many people. Therefore, I have always been trying to appreciate my life, but sometimes it hard for me to figure out what I want and need to do with my life. I haven't try very hard in life and did not take anything too seriously. But now, with so many things going right now, I should do something with my life.