Loathe to Learn

 This weeks discussion on the prompt about Orwell's thesis had sparked a great level of personal thought. I had always dismissed it as a silly concept simply put in place to inspire a dry novel whose sole destiny was to find its way onto the summer reading lists of "aspiring" high schoolers. However reading more about Orwell's theses, and its mysterious, "equally chilling" counterpart, Huxley's vision. A story depicting a world where rather than the pursuit and distribution of knowledge be controlled, knowledge is so readily available that it is simply drowned out in itself. It is seen as irrelevant and unneeded, as society would eventually find its way of making knowledge and its ever importance obsolete. What was most thought provoking about this prompt however, is how disturbingly true it feels. I myself can claim to be a guilty victim of overlooking the vast amount of knowledge in-front of me. I am constantly drawn away from learning by the skewed pyramid of personal importance that I and society have spent years to build in my head. And even me and those alike in our very distracted state of minds, are only one generation, with many destined to follow. So if this is the road society seems to be going down, is Huxley's vision our unfortunate end destination?

Correctness

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Or at least so the saying goes. Clearly however this saying is lost in translation from being spoken of theoretically to the actual world we live in. Through the sound emitted by ones vocal chords should not have a way to harm another. We have found a way to take offense to this. And thus, the concept known as political correctness is born. It is odd, that a method of thinking supports that such decibels audible to the general population be altered in written and spoken form to simply preserve one's "feelings." The true harm towards one another is distributed emotionally, or physically. But verbally? And even speech not intended to spite another. Could someone truly take offense to Lincoln not using "foremothers and forefathers" but rather just "forefathers" in his famous Gettysburg Address?  Could someone really listen to one of the great speeches in our nations history and think nothing of its purpose, but simply of its inclusiveness? It is quite a path that our society has taken, where even the smallest thing that could be found offensive, is found offensive, and this is something that I hope to see reversed, or resolved throughout the course if my life. 

Priorities..?

The needs of many vs the needs of a few. This is an issue that the government probably faces every day. It is unfortunately difficult to cater to the needs of every last citizen in the country. For every group of people that is watched over, it unfortunately breeds another group that is neglected, as after there are so many of us and so little change inducing eyes. This is something that personally I have been thinking about a lot since reading The Clan Of The One Breasted Women. I find if very sad that the very uncovered hidden population of mormons were the ones that the government found it rightful to expose to the harmfulness of their bomb testing. Their valued secluded nature was what made it so that they were prime targets to the horrible side effects that came from the bomb testing. So simply them living like they were raised to and keeping quiet, by the members having "listened, observed," and "rarely asking questions" caused them to have to suffer, which I found to be very sad and very thought invoking. I certainly hope that silent injustices such as the bomb testing we read about ceases to exist and we can all be a peaceful, "unmarking" race! 

What isn't marked?

So marking. Marked vs unmarked. Its an odd way of looking at a topic that's been hit many times in this class, which is women and their societal roles and "limitations." That everything a woman is to do is judged and goes down under and against her image. That society has placed barriers on how it is that a doll (COME SEE GUYS AND DOLLS) is to act in public. However this same society places its own views on the actions of guys as well. It is not true that we both live in different worlds, it is the same cruel yet beautiful world that judges both sexes. It may seem like "our colors are duller" but it is true for both sexes. In fact I don't believe that there are things that are marked and unmarked. I think everything and every action is marked and all together contributes to our image in society and amounts to who we are. Much like how a girl could be judged on what she wears, the same goes for a guy. She may dress "too scandalously" but he may dress "to feminine" at the exact same time. There isn't much that goes for one without going for the other, and no matter how dull our colors may seem they will always appear that way until you choose to see them with light and realize that every action inevitably will be marked. (OH AND COME SEE GUYS AND DOLLS)

Gendered space

So is it true that there are spaces out there that seem to attract one gender more than the other? Perhaps. Is it true that there are spaces out there that cater more to one gender than the other? Perhaps. Is it true that society however places standards on certain places and professions that make them seem more viable to one gender than the other? Most Definitely. Now there are probably many examples of this throughout the course of history, and even in our modern day (Ex. Logging workers, auto repair, etc. are all considered to be male professions) however the most common “gendered space” that I run into in my daily life, is playing flute. Why is it that there are seemingly, at the high school level, only female flute players? What is socially considered so feminine about the instrument that in troy high’s symphonic band there are zero male flute players? I guess maybe there is just nothing seemingly “rugged” or “macho”(Ehrlich 571) about the instrument, and it is usually is seen in a much more delicate and gentle light, which is typically what is associated with females. However it is still much more uncommon to see a male playing flute (Which in troy high at least you simply don’t see) as opposed to a female playing drums, or a female playing trumpet, or any other primarily “considered to be male” instruments. I wonder if this is simply due to the constant push for women to take part in “primarily male” roles, the opposite (aka men doing feminine stuff) is never truly considered.

Love or Naw?

Love or naw?

So how deep really is love? It can only be an emotion so deep in the end if the illusions that accompany it truly yield its results. But what about five minute marriages? Do they really do the ever lasting emotion that every fable ever written by man seems to be centered around? It is odd, how much marriages have come to be about much more than just the love that they were formerly driven off of. Maybe love is just a grand emotion. Perhaps love truly deserves an over the top introduction into the lives of every newly married couple. Perhaps consumerism is truly what is meant to be loves eternal companion in the lives of every soon to be married couple. Every weeding I have ever been to seemed to be larger than the one prior, and- like many others I am sure- truly do find the the gaudy and flashy nature of a wedding to be an important aspect of the function itself. But perhaps I'm wrong. After all I am young, and without a solid understanding of both love and marriages. Perhaps a five minute wedding truly could be "just as nice" as any couple "hoped and dreamed it would be." Wishing everyone a great rest of the break~!

Chasing Class

It seems everywhere I stick my neck out these days, all I hear about it money. Im not sure if its how the world has changed in front of my eyes as Ive grown from a small boy, but it truly does seem that the coveted green bill really is what makes the world go round. Its odd however, because I don't think that my parents think about money the same way. As a matter of fact whenever they talk to me about my future (although they still hold the stereotypical  indian "you will become a doctor on an engineer, take your pick" stance) they attempt to make me want to choose one of the two due to their class. That, I believe, is the largest difference between indian and american culture, and their views on each other. The two have very different definitions of "class." When I think of class, as a child born and raised in america, I instantly think James Bond. Fine wine, elegant suits, and a lifestyle of luxury (minus the killing). And all of those things are all derived from money. However on the other hand in indian culture occupation is the primary derivative of "class." Being a university professor, for example-though financially separated from many other professions- is one of, not the most respected jobs in india. It is odd however, having first generation parents, who growing up in india have all their values, but push for their children to pursue careers based on net income. Its the same way the typical indian take on america is about its excessive consumerism, yet they mold themselves to fit that same new template that they criticize. Even through my own observations from my last trip to india, all the hype seemed to be surrounding the new McDonald's that just opened, or the line at pizza hut, or the express that was just added to the mall. As critical as Indian are of American lifestyle, and its depiction of "class," its seems that they are coming ever so closer to following the same path. So to that extent, why does Indian view on American culture even matter? We're all headed towards consumerism and the eternal chase of wealth either way, and is hazlitt is right, we will all be passing "through life with little credit or pleasure" anyways.

Outta Time

It was weird growing up. He was always getting me up in the mornings. He was always taking me to the track on the weekends. He was always making sure I ate healthy, drank tons of water. I heard "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" from him before I ever even went to kindergarten. He was always keeping me moving, keeping me on my toes. It always seemed harder for him to sharpen my mind, as "his words were physical" with very little to offer in the mental. So to compensate he he kept me light on my feet. He games me memories that he never had outside his studies in India. However times have changed. I have a lot less time, and a lot more responsibilities, and sadly my physical movement has less impact on my college degrees. Its hard to see my dad struggle to find a grip in my life. He feels as boxed out of my life as I do from his. We're both trying but its just as hard for him as it is for me. But its all right, I know the day to hang out again is soon. I just hope when it comes along its not his turn to say "I can't."

Our disability to recognize

In a world as perception driven as ours is today, most people tend to take in events exactly how they see them portrayed through media etc. And in their defense the media does tend to do a few things right, such as showing what's going on in the world as far as news and politics is concerned. However as a side effect the media also creates an example of a model life, as it is something we are always looking at. However there are some things in the media that we do tend to miss out on, a couple parts of society that are purposely excluded. Among the excluded tend to be people with disabilities. The fear of showing something like that in media, that unfortunately is something that could happen to us at any moment, simply doesn't give the momentary and temporary emotional drive that we are all seeking. Grasping the reality of their lives, and their existence alongside us requires a level of maturity and acceptance that the media isn't willing to go through with, casting aside all moral reasons for bringing humans as a people together. This "denial of disability"(Mairs 15) is something that plagues our society, creating a facade that the uninformed and the closed-minded choose to live under, which simply further distances us between ourselves. Disabilities are something we need to accept and something we shouldn't be ashamed of showing in our media, as even stated by Mairs they want to be seen just like the rest of as, as in the end we truly are all humans. This is an accommodation we should make, and one we can if we are all just willing to open our eyes and deepen our hearts a bit.

Discrimination

Despite what we may see depicted to us through the eyes of the law, people of different culture are definitely still not treated equally. This inequality comes in many forms, from disputes at work or school, down to even simple social daily interactions. As shown in the first video, A Trip to the Grocery Store, there is still much racism even in places where you wouldn't expect it to be, such as a local supermarket. I personally accept the fact that though everyone may be seen differently by one another (For example no matter what may be depicted as right, I still will not appear white to someone that is white) such extreme action taken solely upon the stereotypes associated with a physical trait just seems both pathetic and silly to me. Especially for blacks, this type of pathetic treatment may be a cause with root from this nations history. For example in the second video, the injustice done to Blacks, in which they were intentionally scammed and treated wrongly and unfairly in the housing system is simply disgusting. The fact that the interviewed man talked about how he had to work significantly more than he should have, and ended up being a "stranger in his own house" is just sad and wrong to me. If the land owners simple wanted money, perhaps they should inflict their prices upon those that can shoulder them, and not try to make some twisted statement that they deep correct by causing an already struggling group of people more harm.

Blindness, or Clarity?

As a class, this week we all picked out and analyzed one of many viewpoints on the Great Gatsby. They were all written through unique lenses and viewpoints, most of which I failed to even recognize as I was reading the novel for myself. By even narrowing down Gatsby's sexuality to the color of his suit that he was wearing on an outing, It made me question if I was not analyzing enough, or if these viewpoints were simply skewed towards their method of thinking. In fact, to question on a different level, I also wondered how much of what we discussed in the viewpoints was truly intended by Fitzgerald. For example did Gatsby truly only feel attracted to Daisy in order to "imagine what it would feel like to be part of her word" or was that simply a stretch by the author of this approach. In fact I wonder if even Fitzgerald wondered of intended any of these secondary meanings that years of analysis and breaking apart of his works have yielded. In fact I feel almost as if we look at a novel under a certain lens for long and hard enough, we can force our own viewpoint to shine though that of the novel. Are we truly analyzing more in detail, or is our attention to detail blinding us?

Favorite part of "The Great Gatsby"

Through the whole novel, “The Great Gatsby,” by Scott Fitzgerald, there was a plethora of both action packed and emotional scenes. Between all of these scenes, I found that my favorite part of the novel occurred on page 110, at the very end of the second chapter. After Daisy had just left Gatsby’s house, Gatsby talks to Nick and is worried that Daisy may not have enjoyed their dance, and Nick sais in his thoughts that all Gatsby wanted truly was to know that Daisy had truly never loved Tom. However in an attempt to talk about the reality of his current situation, Nick mentions to Gatsby that he “can’t repeat the past.” This is my favorite portion of the novel, however, due to Gatsby’s response.

“Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”

This shows a lot of how Gatsby tends to think and shows a lot of insight into him as a character. He has blindly placed his faith, as well as his own well being and happiness in his ability to recreate something he cannot, which is his past relationship with Daisy.

After saying this, he goes on to gesture around him wildly, “as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house” which is ironic as we come to know the placing of his house across the water from Daisy’s house was no coincidence. It also shows that his entire fortune and wealth that attracts so many people was all made with the “shadow of the past” in his mind, as his love for Daisy was all that really mattered ho him, and though it may have made him successful to the eyes of many, proved meaningless to himself, and ended as tragic as the unrecoverable love he had lost.

Modernism, Yay or Nay

As the modernist era began to approach, many things began so change. The very viewpoint of things so basic such as literature and knowledge began to change with how widespread they were soon able to become. This draws me to a discussion on a brief question addressed in class, how did authors feel about the modernist era. Personally I can not even begin to imagine how much they must have hated it. With general knowledge becoming more common spread, the value of their individual contributions to the history of american literature must have decreased. Their works must have simply become other pieces of literature to the common person, as they are slowly exposed to more ways to obtain knowledge. Alongside this the greater availability of transportation to people and the more active and present transportation of knowledge and ideas must have also given Authors works less sincerity in their recognition. The more "sudden breaks in viewpoints" that the common man was given took away from the breaks in viewpoints that literature was primarily used to give. Also this must have created the effect that we see so often in today's world where one individual is inclined to feel a certain way based of how another, or how common people tend to view the same matter. Modernism must have created way to the loss of differing and unique individual values and viewpoints.

Pecola's Friend

Throughout our discussion for the past few weeks on Toni Morrison’s Novel, “The Bluest Eye,” we spent class time discussing how Morrison talks to her audience about the horrible impacts of racism and beauty standards. Even if I personally could not make every connection that was talked about in class, The connections that we made in class were both thought provoking and insightful. However, should this have been or Morrison’s intentions or not, there was yet another message I managed to take from the closing moments of Morrison’s Novel, from the final chapter, when Pecola talks with her imaginary friend. As a personal take away from this chapter, I found a message in the importance of friendship, and in having someone being there for you, which is a theme that I found to have been relevant throughout other sections of the novel as well, including the telling of Soaphead’s tale, and the chapter on Cholly. I believe that Morrison managed to tell the importance of company in how it shapes someone specifically in the chapter involving Pecola and her imaginary friend, as this is where we first begin to see the shattered state of mind that Pecola is left with. By having no one but herself to bounce her negative thoughts around, they simply settled and were watered by her surroundings, and they eventually polluted the earth that was her mind. Until the only positivity she could focus on were her eyes, so blue, so pure, and so beautiful, that she was the only one that could see them. Her lack of companionship and support trapped her negative emotions, planted by her society, and caused them to grow into dandelions, killing off the joy that had still yet to grow into beautiful flowers nearby. Pecola’s aloneness caused her to eventually “step over into madness” a very real madness that loneliness always drags around with it. 

The Hussars that we are

This week in 11AP we discussed many different things but at the end of the week we brought our Friday to a close by talking about Baroque and Rococo forms of art. Of these art forms however, we specifically discussed the painting, "Officers of the Hussars," painted by Kehinde Wiley. This specific painting still follows the dramatic and grand details that are usually seen in Baroque art forms, however the most noticeable part of the picture, the black man on the horse, is what truly makes it stand out, and also what conveys the message that is is trying to deliver. In the center of such a grand picture, encompassed in red and gold and covered with gaudy and royal details, Wiley painted a casually clothed black man dressed in, as stated in class, "A wife beater and some timbs" in the center of the piece. I believe that this shows that anyone can be a hero, no matter what our current interpretation of a hero is, or what the public and society's concert of a hero is. This also relates to the discussions we held on the bluest eye, as despite what we associate and brand beauty as being, and the people we associate the word with, it truly is something extensive that can be found in everyone and everything.

Different Races, Different Faces

 As discussed over the past two weeks in class, beauty standards are something that we are made to grow up with in today's current society. Everyone seems to have an image of how the ideal person should look. Through movies, posters, magazines, and of course, toy barbie dolls, the picture of beauty manages to stay constant throughout all of this. However do different races have different beauty standards? After all, despite her white surroundings, it is certainly a stretch for a black female to grow up wanting to have "pretty blue eyes." Personally speaking (Despite not being able to speak from a females point of view) I do not believe that beauty is limited to only those who have blonde hair and blue eyes. Especially seeing that these two traits (in hair color and eye color) are entirely genetic, and are unable to be changed by someone. However I do believe that the sought after definition of beauty is slightly different to every race. After all the Indian definition of beauty is certainty not the same as the American definition of beauty that we are all to similar with. Of course they are not totally different concepts, and many aspects of both are bound to overlap, but much like the different culture in India there is a different set of standards for beauty that accompany that, and though suffering from the same issues that we discussed in class, it should be stressed that people should not get too caught up in images that they were never meant to be able to be in the first place.

The Perfect Image

Once upon a time, long and far ago, perhaps even back to the time of Jesus, there must not have been ideal social images than women were forced to fit. However in today’s modern day and age, everyone is physically expected to fit into our perception of beauty in order to feel liked by others for who they are. For example as portrayed even by something as simple as a toy doll that girls grow up with, the concept that they must be long legged, sleek, or have a “Thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three-inch waist,” are simple norms that are faced in growing up in today’s day and age. This leads to much insecurity within ourselves as we struggle to inch closer to images that are created through shaping plastic, or extensive computer editing. Though irrational, the train of thought is very simple. This is how people on magazines look; this is how I should look. This train of thought is what sets today’s standards as high as they are, and what keeps them always just one step above our reach. Even when considering standards set for males, it is still hard to expect everyone to consist of: A chiseled face, sharp jawbone, abs, and so on. Overall today’s beauty standards are as unreachable as pink elephants, and no matter how much we try to chase the perfect image, or how much of ourselves we sacrifice for it in the end it will always be just another step away from us.

The seen and Unseen

In our daily lives, our race and ethnicity and two very different things that end up determining a lot about us as people, both to all of those around us, and also to ourselves. As concluded in our class discussions this past week, race tends to be knows as how an individual is referred to by other people or how an individual person is stereotyped by public views and perceptions. On the other hand, Ethnicity tends to be seen as how we are viewed culturally or religiously within ourselves or within or families and friends. The public tends to create how we are seen from the perspective of race, often through categorization through skin color or looks etc. In that sense it is not possible for us to change our race, as we are simply to make due with what is given to us and how it is publicly acted upon. Our ethnicity however is not something that we are born with or bound to. It is something that we learn from those close to us in our upbringing and something we look to for internal self definition through our lives. Our ethnicity is not decided for us by society unlike, how as we concluded in class, our race often times seems to be. However despite the social constraints to something as key to our identity as our race, "It doesnt define who we are as a person, because any way of defining it is easily constructed."

Artie's emotional Comic

In Art Spiegalman’s story Maus, the author tells the story of a mouse Arthur and his father’s experiences in the holocaust as repeated to him by his father.  His father tells him how he lived through wartime and the era of the Nazi’s and all the challenges that he endured as his son takes notes in order to create a comic he hopes to sell about the suffering faces by Jew’s during that historical period. During his father’s stories however, there generally seems to be a rift in tone between Arthur himself and his Father. At points it seems as if both of them are each on their own extremes as far as what they want out of their conversations with each other, where Arthur seems to simply want a story, and his Father seems to need company and someone to talk to. However much more of Arthur’s emotional side is revealed when his old comic “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” is found by his Father and Mala. As the comic is shown to the reader, it reveals the struggles that a character (seemingly portraying him) faces when having to cope with his mother’s suicide. This comic is very insightful to the character of Arthur himself in the story as it shows that despite the attitude that he takes on in front of his father, that he feels immense guilt at the death of his mother due to how he treated her the night before, as he stated he “Turned away, resentful of the way she tightened the umbilical cord,” and also how in his comic the voices in his head were given life under the form of other people that told him how it was “His fault” and how he “Had better cried while your mother was still alive.”

Dreams vs. Reality

Dreams vs. Reality

            As perfect as a situation may be in our head, many times it never carries over into the real lives we live in our everyday life. As shown in Kingston’s vision in the chapter “White Tigers”, she views herself as being ferocious, brave, and fearless. She is seen climbing a mountain to meet a new family and to learn techniques to become strong warrior. I believe however that this was simply her way of coping with the issues and injustices that she faced in her real life; Her dream of her being a ferocious warrior was how he managed to compliment the emotional strength that she lacked so much in her real life. This is seen in the difference in how the author addresses herself in her dream as opposed to how she addresses herself in real life. For example how Kingston sais “I leapt on to my horse’s back and marveled at the power and height it gave me”, it is her own subconscious way of giving herself power, and she goes on to imagine all that she would do with this power given to her. She however in reality is forced to submit too many others in her life due to her own lack of power. She is treated poorly by her parents and by her boss at work, and even though it helped her find how she can create long term change for those in her position, no amount of wistful dreaming could help her gain the power and strength to successfully demand what she wanted out of others, unlike her warrior self who was able to.