F Carr's Online Journal

English Torture Coursework 

Is torture the right thing to do if to do if your saving hundreds of peoples life’s? Torture is a way of inflicting pain on someone in order to get key information out of them. Torture could be considered a good thing but it could also be considered a bad thing because you would be inflicting pain on someone mentally or physically. Some people may disagree with torture because of their religion believing that it is not right to harm other people in any circumstance. I believe that torture is a good thing but only in certain circumstances, for example; you should not torture if someone has committed a crime like robbery, but torture should be allowed to find out information about certain subjects such as; trying to find out about a terrorist attack and using torture to find out where the information behind the attack. I believe that torture should not be used as a punishment for a crime just a way of finding out information about a possible threat which could in the long run harm people. In this piece of writing I will address the idea of utilitarianism and whether or not it can be used to justify torture.

Torture could be considered being a good thing when you link it with utilitarianism. Utilitarianism means trying to get the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This means is torture could be considered a good thing when thinking about harming one person instead of allowing them to harm a larger amount of people. I believe that torture is a good thing when the outcome will save more people than your torturing.

How many people agree with torture? When looking at some facts and statistics about torture you can see that there are many people who agree with torture and that it should be used for a way of getting information. Here are two facts about using torture as a way of getting information out of people.

• A majority of people (61%) surveyed by Amnesty International disagree that torture is sometimes necessary and acceptable to gain information that may protect that public.

• Over a third (36%) believe that torture can be justified in some cases to protect the public. After reading this point it links with trying to get the greatest good for the greatest amount of people “utilitarianism”.

Recently the use of torture has been used in America. The CIA have released information about their use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques. These techniques were being used on the Al-Qaeda terrorists because of the the 9/11 attacks on the World trade centre in the US. Some of the methods of torture which were used were confinement in small spaces., and water boarding. After reading this from the CIA I believe this is the right thing to do. I believe this is right thing to do because they are using these methods to get information out of the people of Al-Qaeda, they use these methods to save the public from potentially more terrorist attacks in the near future. The CIA will use these techniques to save lives and I think that the people who disagree with torture do not no how it is being used, and how they are saving their lives and how effective these techniques are, also how much information can be gathered from this.

Many people disagree with torture because they may believe that it is not right to harm people, there are ways of torture used by government’s which do not hurt the person you are the people. Some of these techniques are called water boarding which is simulated drowning, and there is another method called sleep deprivation which is when you are depriving someone of sleep. If you are a person who disagrees with inflicting pain on someone there are many different ways the government can go around that.

Many people believe torture is inhumane but i disagree with this because what torture can accomplish. how it can save many peoples lives at the end of it. Overall, I believe that torture is the right thing to do to get information out of the people you are torturing, but it should not be used as a punishment for crimes such as; murder, and rape. I conclude that I believe that torture should be carried on as a method of gathering information and it should not be stopped in any country because of how effective it is and what i can do in the long run.

Frankie Carr IGCSE bare vexed

Dear Isabelle Kerr

After reading your article ‘bare vexed’, in which you wrote on slang, I agree with some of the points you have made. I think when the youth use slang to communicate. The use of slang brainwashes them into using it on a daily basis. In the article you wrote you mentioned that some of the words that the youth use are “bruv” and ” peak”. The way the youth communicate is embedded in their minds because of how often they use slang.

Using slang is a bad way of communicating because the youth become accustomed to speaking In slang. If you go to a job interview they will not give you the job if you speak in slang instead of correct English. Speaking slang could also stop you from getting into colleges In the future which could have an affect on your future. I agree with some of the points you have made In the article, for example: you said ” regardless, the future of the English language looks bleak.” After reading this I agree with the point you have made. With the generation speaking like this the next generation of kids will start to understand slang more than they understand the English language. There will be a chain reaction in the way people speak.

English in many countries such as: America, England, Australia. Slang has become the way in which the youth speaks on a daily basis. Slang has become the main way of communicating for the younger generation.
There are different points which you have made in this article which I have agreed with. When you’re growing up in London where most of the younger generation communicate using slang. Going to school has an affect on the way you speak to people. When you are talking to your friends you start to talk slang to your friends because you get use to the way they talk to each other to you, and you get use to it and start talking like this to other people because you are use to it. There is a point which I have disagreed with for example: “ASBO- wielding yobs who cannot communicate properly”. I have disagreed with this because the youth are able to understand what the others saying and they can communicate correctly just not in the way the older generation communicate. I think the point you made was not completely true, if they speak in a different way to others it does not mean that they cant communicate properly, they just use a different way to talk to each other maybe because it is easier or because it is quicker. It may be easier for some of the younger generation to understand than correct English, and they should be able speak the way they want to speak. In conclusion I think that there is good points about why slang is bad and how it affects the youth, but I disagree with the last point in the article. Overall I agree with the article itself.

Frankie Carr IGCSE transformation

The stimulus I used was a hawk roosting.

I’m a hawk who has razor sharp talons, a razor sharp beak and incredible eyesight to see what is going on in the forest around me. I have a huge wingspan that is held together by all of the feathers on my body.

Living on the outskirts of Alaska isn’t easy. The temperature is low and the small amount of animals that live here in the winter ensures that I work hard for my food. The bears, deer, wolves and moose that live here in abundance are far too big for me to hunt. The animals I can hunt are the hardest to catch because of the conditions of where they live. The water of the Yukon river freezes over in the winter because of the unbearable climate and makes it near impossible for me to hunt. Also, the mice and small rodents that burrow into the white frozen snow making their dens, which I am far too big to get in. The people who live in the area don’t make it easy, especially during the summer. The hunting season with the loud guns that echo throughout the forest, scares away the wildlife that I try to hunt.

During the winter the forest is covered in thick white snow as far as I can see. I start flying across the border of Alaska, flying through the dense fog that covers the ground and blocks my vision. Searching for hours for mice and other small rodents along the frozen, forest floor exhausts me. I watch other animals foraging for food before hibernation begins. I watch the fast flowing, white water rapids whilst flying downstream and notice the giant fish that inhabit the river, knowing they are out of my reach under the frozen solid water. Whilst I am flying, I spot the men and women fishing alongside the river, also stocking up for the winter. The sun sets under the horizon. Tired and hungry, I glide through the forest and try to find my nest to perch in for the night. The strong winds stop me from heading in the right direction, but the freezing temperatures surrounding me are almost unbearable to stay out in. With the strong snow weighing me down, I fight hard to reach my nest high in the trees, containing the food I have gathered throughout the month. Everything In the forest has a thick white coat of snow. I notice a small, grey mouse sprinting through the forest, over the crisp, snowy ground. Throwing myself from the branch, I release my talons and start to plummet to the floor at high speed. I level out and grab the fragile mouse which was running along in freezing temperatures. With the mouse in my claws, as cold as ice and as stiff as rock because of the unbearable temperatures, I fly higher and higher avoiding the surrounding trees. Whilst I am scouting through the high trees with the brittle leaves hitting against my delicate feathers which piece me together I try hard to keep hold of my prey. I try to stop flying, but the strong upwind carries me into the dense forest, I see the lights of the rushing traffic and busy city and can hear the noises of cars in the distance.

Whilst I am flying over the busy road I hear the bells in the shops that are busy with people getting all of their food for the winter. To get to my nest at the top of the tree, I have to travel past one more obstacle, the mass of dense, bushy trees lining the start of the forest whilst still battling the heavy snow and the strong winds that are pushing me back. With one final burst of energy, I glide through the sharp branches of the tree to reach my comfortable nest.  I release my prey and nestle down, fluffing up my feathers to keep me warm.  I slowly close my eyes and fall asleep, exhausted until the sun rises again in the morning.