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.