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.