Mama...They Took the Raisins, Every Last One of Them

Imagine gaining the ability to finally fulfill your dreams after years of struggling.  Then imagine this golden opportunity slip from your grasp in an instant.  This is how Walter Lee and his family felt in the play, "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. The amount of excruciating pain they went through is unfathomable; however, the family's strength at the very end of the play shows that you should never lose faith in yourself or your dreams.

Living in a crowded little building in the ghettos of Chicago, the Younger family lives a bleak life in which every character dreams that one day, their life will be better.  For example, Walter wishes to become a liquor store owner so that he can support his family financially.  Mama wishes to move out of the small house they live in to live in an actual house with their own bathroom and bedrooms.  These dreams suddenly become a plausible reality when Mama gets a check for ten thousand dollars.  Suddenly, everyone becomes more hopefully as Mama sets off to buy her house and, later, Walter goes off to buy his liquor store.  Just at the peak of their happiness, however, things turn for the worse.  Willy, one of Walter's business partner's, stole of the money he had that wasn't put into the house.  Heartbroken the family looks bleakly to their future.

The true theme of this entire incident is the family's response to their situation.  Despite losing all of their money, their hopes, and their dreams, the family still moves into the house in the white neighborhood.  Knowing very well that by moving there they put themselves in great danger, they still look hopeful to their future and to improving their situation.  This resilience is something that everyone can learn from: that even in the face of utter defeat, never give up hope.  

Great Gatsby: A final look

(A blog post inspired by the esteemed Gaurav Gadgeel)

Earlier, before reading the Great Gatsby, I had discussed what it meant to succeed and how it is different in every person's perspective; I now, however, see success in a completely new way having read a book revolved around success.  In my earlier post I was oblivious to one simple fact that was so evident in The Great Gatsby: wealth does not equal success.  Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby himself does not ever feel truly successful.  Why is this?  It is because he has not achieved happiness in life.  I now realize that success can only be obtained when someone has achieved true happiness.

Gatsby, a resident of West Egg, lives in a giant mansion, buys extravagant things, and throws many large parties.  He clearly is a very wealthy man; however, has he succeeded in life.  The answer is actually no, simply because he is not happy.  Even at his own parties, while everyone is having a great time, he stands off to the side and watches his parties instead of enjoying himself at them.  He does not even know half the people who come to his own house!  The only thing that can make him happy is Daisy, his golden girl.  After falling in love with her, Gatsby was sent off to the war.  While he was away, Daisy married to another wealth man.  Heartbroken, Gatsby gained wealth and became materialistic in hopes of getting Daisy back.  In the end, however, he is not successful and become very depressed moments before his death.  And so, since he never truly managed to find happiness, in my view, Gatsby has not succeeded in life.  

So all in all, do not get consumed with the idea of gaining wealth.  Even if you work hard to get good grades to get into that good college to get a good job to get a good income, make sure that you make time to "succeed" and find what will make you happy for the rest of your life.

Reading Between the Lines:  A closer look at The Great Gatsby

After reading The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald for the first time, it is easy to miss some of the subtle messages that Fitzgerald conveys throughout the novels. In fact, the after I read The Great Gatsby, topics such as women and gays completely alluded me; however, after a closer read into the text, I could suddenly and clearly see Fitzgerald's opinions on each of these topics.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, the reader truly only explores the story of three female characters: Jordan, Daisy, and Myrtle.  Of these three women, all of them are having affairs with various men and one of them is a mother who does not even care for her daughter.  By portraying these three women in a negative way, the reader can easily see Fitzgerald's sexist views toward women.  For example, Myrtle cheats on her husband, George Wilson, frequently when she goes out to town with Tom.  As Nick describes his experiences and opinions of Myrtle, it is clear to see that Myrtle is not a character to hold in high regard or esteem.  In fact, she is described several times as obnoxious.  Her ultimate fate best exemplifies Fitzgerald's sexist and negative view of women.  After her husband has found out about her cheating on him, she rushes out to the street and is killed when Daisy identically crashes into her.  By having Myrtle, a woman who commits adultery, killed, Fitzgerald shows that her behavior  and loose, easy-going morals are not to be admired.
Another hidden message (and Pranav's favorite by far) that Fitzgerald put into his story is that Nick, the narrator, is gay.  Although it may be a bit of a stretch, the "queer theory" could be seen in various parts of the novel.  One view of it is that all of the heterosexual relationships are shown to be corrupted with cheating, thus hinting that a homosexual relationship is not.  Also, in Chapter 2, one passage involving Nick and Mr. McKee suggests that Nick is gay.  When Nick is leaving the party with Mr. McKee, Fitzgerald writes, "...I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands" (38).  This "queer theory" may also suggest that Fitzgerald himself could have been gay; however, the book is open for anyone's interpretation.

Personal Image

Do we try to make ourselves look better than we really are?  While some may argue no, I believe that we as people consume our lives into doing this very thing.  Just look at many of the things people desire to have: big houses, fancy cars, expensive clothing.  All of these things are attempts to make one appear better.  

One of the biggest examples of this phenomenon is a person's Facebook profile.  On ever person profile, only the best photos are posted.  When people post statuses on Facebook, if they do not get a certain amount of likes, they delete the post all together.  Why is this?  It all roots back to the basic idea that people try to make themselves appear better than they really are.  When a status does not obtain a "satisfactory" amount of likes, it is deleted because to the poster, it makes them look bad, as if people do not care about what they have posted.  In order to maintain their higher appearance, they delete it in hopes that no one has noticed this lack of attention.

Another example of this is done by colleges and universities.  Colleges and universities but thousands and probably millions of dollars into making their sports teams and stadiums look amazing.  All of this is done to try to attract more students to their school.  Even if the school's academics are of low or high quality, one of their main focuses is to make their sports teams perform well to make the college or university appear a lot better than it actually may be.  All in all, almost everyone tries to make himself look better than they actually are at some point in their life.

Success

"Study hard so you can be successful in the future."  I am sure everyone has heard these words from their parents while going through school.  We work hard in school to get good grades.  We get good grades to get into a good college.  We go to a good college to get a good job.  We get a good job so we get a large income.  Sounds pretty dull and boring, right?  So what is success and why are we striving for it so much?  Well, depending on who you ask, success can mean anything.  

The American Dream is a very generic representation of what many Americans would call success.  Living in a safe environment, owning your own home, having a job, and being able to put food on the table every night.  However, if you are Mitt Romney, this vision of success means nothing.  Someone like Mitt Romney has no trouble with owning a house, let alone putting food on the table (although he might be having a little trouble with having a job right now).  This can be seen through the collegehumor.com video Mitt Romney Style, a parody of the famous Gangnam Style (due to profanity in the song, I will not be able to post it on my blog.  View discretion is advised:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCRwi71_ns)  So what would success mean for him?  I believe that success is measure in two different ways:  success is measured by the individual and by the society that surrounds them.  For example, I would consider myself as successful if I go to Stanford University and make 250,000 dollars or more a year.  However, Mitt Romney might see success as become the next President of the United States.  Thus, success is relative to the individual.

Success can also be measured in comparison to others.  In comparison to Mitt Romney, I am far less successful than he is.  If you ask anyone, they will give you the same answer.  This is another way to measure success: through comparisons to others.  By looking at ones income, possessions, and way of life, society as a whole often measures other people's success.  Thus, even though success if a very relative term, it is easily and often measured by society and ourselves.

And it's Over

After three weeks of reading through The Scarlet Letter, we are finally done! And just as quickly as our journey into the book has ended, so was the ending of the books itself.  In all honesty, I was a little disappointed in the very anti-climatic ending of The Scarlet Letter.  After battling daily and weekly to finish reading the chapters for homework, the ending of the book left a bitter feeling of disappointment with me.  Every night, when trying to read the book, I found myself falling asleep.  It really was like a battle, struggling to get through the chapters assigned before I would be too tired and to sleepy to read on.  Hawthorne's long, descriptive sentences also often left me wondering what he was even saying when I finally did reach the end of it!  Now, the book itself was very good.  The story of Hester's struggle to deal with her sin and raise her child while being shunned to the bottom of society was very interesting.  Also, Hester's strength throughout her struggle also was inspiring and left something for the readers to learn from.  Dimmesdale's struggle with his internal guilt and his battle with Chillingworth was very intense and intriguing   After such well written build up to this moment of climax, I was a little disappoint by how Dimmesdale finally dies.  After giving his speech at the Election Day sermon, he decides to finally face his guilt and suddenly, within 5 pages, he confesses his sin and dies.  In his final moments he says, "By bringing me hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people! Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost forever! Praised be his name! His will be done! Farewell!" (Hawthorne 252).  To me, it felt as though Dimmesdale's death was very sudden and random.  In fact, after reading the chapter, I wondered to myself, "Couldn't have this happened about 100 pages back?"  Now although my disapproval of the ending is quite evident, I would like to end by saying I did enjoy the rest of the book very much.  Although it was a bit tiring and sometimes hard to read, the story line was very interesting and it left lessons for all readers to take away.

Revenge

Anytime someone hurts you, makes fun of you, or affects you in a way you do not like, what is the first thing that pops into your head? For most, it's something along the lines of, "I'm going to get you back for this!"  This is revenge, to retaliate back at someone.  Sometimes, getting revenge is acceptable, such as when friends pulling practical jokes on each other.  For example, Amir and Streeter from collegehumor.com engage in a prank war with each other.  After Streeter pulled a prank on Amir, Amir decided to get his revenge by pulling a practical joke on him.  After Streeter got pranked by Amir, Streeter decided to then get his revenge and pull a prank on Amir.  And so, they constantly continue to be in a prank war with each other, all because of their desire to get revenge on the other.  However, in the case of Robert Chillingworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, revenge takes on an extreme evil turn.

After sending his wife to America, Robert Chillingworth was slow to follow suit and arrived in America much later than planned.  Unfortunately for him, he saw, upon his arrival, the site of his wife being displayed on a scaffold as an adulterer.  At this site he becomes filled with anger and feels the need for revenge.  This revenge soon consumes his very being, and it turns him into a very evil man who, in fact, mainly symbolizes the devil throughout the novel.  This is a case in which revenge is very bad.  Although revenge is a part of human nature and can make one feel good about himself, it is not okay to get revenge in such an evil way.  Instead doing something harmless such as pulling a prank on someone, Chillingworth wishes to find his wife's accomplice and ruin his life.  In this case, it would have been better for everyone to let go of their anger and move on.  If Chillingworth had done so, he would have not transformed into the evil figure he becomes in the novel and could have started a better and new life for himself.

Thanatophobia

Thanatophobia: the fear of death.  It is something that almost everyone fears at one  point in their life.  Am I going to die? How am I going to die? When am I going to die?  Why do I have to die?  All in all, death is a very frightening thought.  One moment, you are living, moving, and feeling; the next moment, you are forever immobilized, incapable of thoughts or feelings.  

I have personally experience this fear of death before during a family trip to Yosemite.  At Yosemite, my family and I had stopped to look at a waterfall.  At the spot, we were right next to the river as the water fell down.  While there, there was a slanted  piece of land going right next to the river right.  I went there to watch the river when suddenly i began sliding downward toward the river.  Because I was wearing flip flops, I could not get a good grip on the gravel-filled ground and I kept sliding.  Luckily my mom was right next to me and she helped me up.  Although I was 2 or 3 feet from the actually river, the thought of falling into the river and being swept down the waterfall was a thought that stuck in my head all the way to my home.  What if I had died?  

In "Thanatopsis," by William Cullen Bryant, Bryant takes on a positive outlook toward death.  In "Thanatopsis," Bryant describes how when one dies, he returns to nature.  By being buried, one becomes forever part of the Earth and helps new life arise.  He also points out that when you die, you will not be alone since, "Thou shalt lie down/ With patriarchs of the infant world--with kings,/ The powerful of the earth--the wise, the good..."  Overall this reflects his positive image of death and that one should not fear it. 

I agree with Bryant on the fact that one should not fear dying; however not for the same reasons.  While his are more transcendentalist based, I believe that instead of fearing death, you should go out and enjoy every moment of life until death.  Yes, yes, it sounds like YOLO, but it is true.  If you spend time fearing death, how will you ever enjoy life while you have it?

The Appeal of Appeals

Logical, emotional, and ethical.  These three persuasive appeals can be seen almost everywhere one looks.  But why do people use these appeals to persuade their audience?  In simple terms, they are used because they are very effective.  For example, in Thomas Paine's The Crisis, Paine uses many appeals in attempt to remind the soldier what they were fighting for.  When describing the atrocities of the British, Paine writes, "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared, that she has a right (not only to tax) bu "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER," and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon earth" (246).  By using words such as tyranny and slavery, Paine appeals to the audience's emotions by trying to stir anger toward the British.  This reminder allowed Paine to urge the soldiers forward and to keep them fighting.  Paine also writes to his audience not to fight for themselves, but also for the children.  By referencing children, Paine uses an ethical appeal, calling to people's morals and values to convince them that his position is correct.

These appeals were  used frequently during the presidential debates between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  Throughout the debate, both candidates used logical appeals by stating many statistics related to job creation and unemployment to convince the audience that they were the best candidate for the job.

The SPCA also uses emotional appeals very effectively in order to try to raise money for abused animals.  By flashing images of injured pets with slow and sad music in the background, the commercials make the audience feel bad for these animals and feel the need to donate money to their cause.

Identity

When you hear the name Superman, what do most people think of?  Most would picture the invincible and strong man who saves those in need.  This is his identity: it is what makes him who he is and defines him as a person.  Identity.  The word itself has so much meaning and so much importance for everyone.  For example, Chris Brown's identity was one defined by his good music and his thrilling entertainment career.  However, after his incident with Rihanna, his identity has been scarred forever.  His good name has now been stained with the domestic violence he committed.  So when someone's good name is put into question, is it worth one's life to save?  This is the situation faced by John Proctor.  During the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials, John Proctor himself gets accused of witchcraft while trying to save his wife and his friends from their imminent death.  After this turn of events, Hale, Parris, and others attempt to get a confession out of him-- a lie-- that he had seen and was with the Devil.  Proctor confesses to this after much internal conflict; however, he is then asked to sign his name --his identity--on the confession to show the townspeople that the court was right about all of the witches.  To this, Proctor refuses, as Miller writes, "Because it is my name!  Because I cannot have another in my life... How may I live without my name?  I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" (Miller.4.725-730). This leads to Proctor’s death, as he refuses to have his good name spoiled publicly.  I believe Proctor made the right choice in this situation.  If he had signed his name on that paper, he would give the court credibility it did not deserve and his name would forever be looked down upon.  He will be seen as someone who is weak, gives up his friends, and is a sinner.  This would stain his good name forever. He would have to carry this with him along with the guilt of his actions.  By refusing to sign, however, he will preserve his good name.  Even if this leads to his death, his legacy will still be a respectful one.

Mass Hysteria

Your thoughts are frenzied and fear fills your soul.  You and a crowd have banded together to fight off the unknown.  This is mass hysteria.  When a group of people are all suddenly afraid of someone or something and are driven to crazy and often irrational actions.  Mass hysteria can be seen throughout history and literature.  For example, in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the entire town of Salem is thrown into a state of mass hysteria when teenage girls and women lie about seeing Satan and knowing which people in town are witches. These girls then proceed to falsely accuse many innocent women in the town for their own personal gain.  Out of the townspeople's fear, the women accused are sentenced to prison and even to death!  Before these girls ruined their reputations with slander, some of the women accused were very well respected and were seen as pious, devote Christians; however, they,because of the hysteria which is rampant in the town, they face the death sentence.  This type of behavior can also be seen during the release of the movie, The Dark Knight Rises.  During the midnight premier of this movie, there was a mass shooting in a Colorado theater where many were killed.  After this event, everyone was scared to go to the movies.  Rules were made by theaters which stated that no one could dress up in costumes while in the theater.  Everyone was in a state of fear, worrying about their safety after the senseless shooting.  This reflects mass hysteria.  Although the actions taken by people were not crazy or irrational, there was a state of mass hysteria in which everyone was concerned about their safety.  

Stereotyped Society

It is said that in the first three seconds you see someone, you form an opinion of them.  Why is this?  Why is it so instinctive for people to judge people just by how they look?  This is the very basis of stereotyping.  Stereotyping is judging a person based on their appearance and associating them with a certain group because of these appearance.  For example, Asians are often associated with nerds, or African American with jocks.  Stereotyping, as simple and innocent as it sounds, can be very harmful.  For example, in John Smith's story, "The General History of Virginia," he constantly describes the Native Americans as savages, and always describes their ways as primitive or barbaric.  This stereotyping was very negative for since the Explorers and colonists only saw the Natives as savage, barbaric beings, they saw them as nothing more than obstacles in the way of their colonization.  This type of mindset stuck with Americans throughout the ages, allowing them to constantly push the poor Native Americans westward until there was no more land to push them off too.  The stereotyping that the Native Americans were simply barbaric savages led to the taking of their land and the beginning of tough reservation life for the unique and very interesting Native Americans.  When speaker Michael Fowlin visited Troy High School this past week, he revealed the negative effects stereotyping can have on students and their emotions.  For example he talked about the pressures of the Jewish student living in a non-Jewish community.  Being the only Jewish student at his school, Michael portrayed the realistic story of how being the target of stereotyping jokes led him almost to commit suicide.  This type of stereotyping is very bad for society.  After Mr. Fowlin's performance, ever student was thinking about the stereotyping they have done and that are present in everyday society.  Although not all stereotyping is bad, I think almost ever student in that auditorium now sees that there are limits to stereotyping, and I truly hope everyone thinks before he judges.  Everyone deserves more than a three second opinion.

Tricksters Characters in Popular Culture

A trickster is a character who relies on his or her quick wits to get them through obstacles that he or she faces.  These tricksters can be seen almost anywhere: in movies, television shows, and books.  These characters are  my favorite to read or watch and often drive the stories they are in.These tricksters, however, also show us how even if we have the opportunities and attributes to succeed, our flaws can hurt us, no matter who we are.  This is examined by Morning Dove in her story, "Coyote and the Buffalo."  In this story, coyote, the trickster character, narrowly escapes being killed by Buffalo Bull and gains his trust through trickery and quick wits.  Buffalo Bull then gives him a cow which can feed him forever with its fat; however, Coyote's lust for meat foolishly drives him to kill the cow.  Soon his vanity gets the best of him when an old lady tricks him and steals meat from him.  Soon, Coyote has no more meat and Buffalo Bull refuses to give him another cow. The story shows the trickster Coyote as the protagonist who after using his cunning wits, escapes death and receives a lifetime supply of food; however, his own vanity and foolishness costs him greatly as all of the riches he obtained vanished.  Tricksters also appear in popular culture.  One of the greatest examples of a trickster is Bugs Bunny from the Looney Tunes.  In most of the segments he appears in, Bugs must escape characters such as Elmer Fudge or Yosemite Sam who are trying to either kill him or steal from him.  Although most of the episodes show his witty and comedic escapes from these characters, he is often put into harmful situations because of his foolishness, such as being lured by a carrot.

I did it! I can blog!