Representing America - American Literature AP - Blog

TomBoy vs GirlyGirl

 

Growing up, every other weekend was spent at my dad's house in northern Illinois. It's a small town where the people talk with country accents, and everyone listens to country music. It's mostly alot of farms and forests, so for fun, me and all my older cousins (mostly boys) would go swim in the lake, climb trees, or race our three-wheelers. I used to really love this song, and would always sing along when it was on the radio in our truck. The video is really interesting because the beginning is basically what we'd do every Saturday. We'd come home really muddy after playing with the dogs or driving the three wheelers over the muddy hills in the forest trails behind our house. However, later in the video, Gretchen Wilson has shed her "tomboyish" look for a much more girly, made-up outfit for stage. It's interesting how she can pull off being both really well, because that's how my childhood was growing up between my dad's, and my mom's, here in Chicago.

Body Image

I was really intruiged by all the websites, especailly "F-Bomb" There were two very similiar articles I found Here and Here... 

They are both about women looking in the mirror and having some disturbing, and empowering thoughts. At first, they admit to having confidence, but when taking a closer look at thier bodies, found many things to complain about. They were confused about thier own opposing thoughts and came to the conclusion that neither of them is too sure how exactly they feel about thier physical appearances. 

This is sad. Women need to be just as confident in themselves as men. Women with low self esteem are easily put at risk by men who will abuse or take advantage of them. I personally think the media is partially responsible for the abuse rate because of how they make women feel about themselves. Appearance has become something so important to a women, that it can affect the rest of her daily life.I just feel that there are many other things that women could be doing with thier time than stressing out over their appearances.

Stolen Valor Act

In one of my classes last week, we discussed ethics and how it affects people in our society. This specific situation deals with a man who claims he had gotten medal of honor in award for his duties in the military, and because he lied they accused him of  violating the "Stolen Valor Act."

 

He pleaded that this was a violation of the 1st ammendment (which I agree). The stolen valor act, to me, is quite controversial because this act is attempting to make speech, like satire and parody potentially a crime just because they arent truthful (4:50-5:05). Is this act justified under this certain situation? It doesnt seem realistic considering tv shows like Tosh.0, Daily Show, Colbert Report are fueled off this type of humor.

Violence Against Women Act

In 1994, The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was created. It is the first U.S. federal legislation acknowledging domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes. Since 1994, much progress has been achieved toward women's rights. Obama recently signed to expand the act, targeting expansions to address the needs of vulnerable populations, and help prevent problems in upcoming generations.

I agree with his actions on this newly expanded act, considering the statistic that 1 in 5 women are raped in their lifetime compared to 1 in 71 men who are raped in their lifetime. This shows women are more vulnerable to abuse, rape, stalking etc. and can use these acts to help them and keep safe.

I do believe that these acts are a great idea to help women be aware of their rights and not be afraid. They can speak out about domestic abuse and feel safe, but it is ridiculous and petty that we have to enforce these acts to protect the women of our society. I believe the reason men (and rarely women) rape is due to how they've grown up being abused, and they simply repeat the abuse they've been through. The acts help to stop  this vicous rape/abuse cycle. Also i believe the way women are depicted in advertisements/ music videos/ movies helps give women a vulnerable image to men with harsh intentions.

Obama is giving women a greater oppurtunity to use these acts as a lifeline and protection like he says in this speech. Obama also uses the technique we talked about in class, starting off his speech through humor for a serious situation, pretty cool

Obama's speech VAWA

Racism In America Today

 In Toady's society we live in a world that has been taken over by the media. The media plays a big role in out lives today because we allow it to influence us to believe in anything it says. Television shows also has a big influence on our kids lives because they watch it everyday for multiple hours. The shows that most parents do not want their kids to watch is Family guy or South park. Those shows have found to be very racist but in a humorous way. I believe that Henrietta Berdanine's thesis is in a way correct because of the view that society has on race.

    Hennrietta Berdanine believes that popular culture is lagging behind and the this harsh and damaging stereotypes are still occurring in today's society. She is true even if society does not think what they are doing is wrong it still is. Society does not know what people of other race been through and to just throw them under this category because they do not like other people is wrong.

    People in today's society uses comedy to cover up the damaging stereotypes. They use them in Family guy to attract viewers because of their funny racial slurs. Mostly they are white comedians and some black people do not care and laugh with the comedians. Other blacks' feel bad and stricken by the fact that they are on television talking about the stereotypes and people are laughing at it. 

      Thus proves Hennrietta Berdanine's thesis that society has taken steps backward and until we can eliminate al of those stereotypes and learn that those stereotypes hurt people and affect people deeply. People thought they have strayed away from basis ideas but they are still occuring in our media today.  

Elephant Irony

The following story in this link perfectly fits the definition of Irony, it is just like the goldilocks example that Mr. Heidkamp used in class today. The story makes you think that its going to be a happy story with a happy ending, but all of the sudden it slaps you with the good old irony, check it out. pretty funny

READ THE STORY FIRST!!

Man and Elephant Irony story

 

 

Love Is Her Drug

 Almost as cliche as the title of this post is, so is Mac and Johns relationship. They have the classic marriage and "love" I have witnessed so many times not only on tv but in real life too. Johns clear intents are Mac's "goodies" and he cheats on her and doesn't treat her the way she should. And the word love has learned Mac into thinking its definiton is her relationship with John, but she has yet to learn the true definiton of it, if there is infact one. This cliche of love has been spread all over our modern world. For example, a couple that holds this would be Rihanna and Chris Brown. Just a couple years ago, as every one knows, Rihanna took a very bad beating from Chris Brown, and it was all over the media. But only a couple of months after this event they have been back together, and currently are back together at this moment. Chris Brown is also currently in a realtionship with another girl, who is not Rihanna, and she is aware of this, but she still continues her romantic relationship with him because she claims she loves him. If love means getting hurt over and over by the person who means the most to you and you trust the most and constantly getting cheated on and lied to I, for one, want absolutely nothing to do with it. As said in the poem Infedelity "sometimes you learn words by living them and sometimes words learn you by defining who you are", Mac, John, Rihanna, and Chris all have yet to learn this word and all of their relationships are a sick joke. But not the kind of joke you laugh at, but the kind of joke where someone ends up hurt in the end.

Fake Friends

    One song I would defend as poetry is the song, "Super Rich Kids" by Frank Ocean from his album Channel Orange. This song is from the first person point of view of a rich kid whose parents are not around and has fallen into bad habits. He has found fake love in his fake friends, money, and material things and is now "searching for a real love." The occasion is one day when he wakes up normally and starts his day on the roof, and by the end he is dead. 

    In the song Frank is trying to portray that the life of a "super rich kid" is not all it is cut out to be. The refrain of the song says,

Too many bottles of this wine we can’t pronounce
Too many bowls of that green, no Lucky Charms
The maids come around too much
Parents ain’t around enough
Too many joy rides in daddy’s Jaguar
Too many white lies and white lines
Super rich kids with nothing but loose ends
Super rich kids with nothing but fake friends

His diction helps get his point across that this life is overboard and too much. He repeats the word "too" severaly times which shows how its just superflous amounts of everything, and it is not good. Also in the song it seems as if Frank is not exactly happy with his life, but he is not complaining about all the riches and materials. In my favorite verse of the song it states, 

Sleeve rips off, I slip, I fall
The market's down like 60 stories
And some don’t end the way they should
My silver spoon has fed me good
A million one, a million cash
Close my eyes and feel the crash

This is the part when the super rich kid is dying and Frank states "my silver spoon has fed me good" and even though the whole song is complaing about how alot of money leads to kids doing bad things and parents not being around enough, the kid is still happy with their life and satisfied. And the very last lines of the song of him closing his eyes and feeling the crash it is as if he is just accepting his death. Also like he has accepted his lifeystle, there's nothing he can do about it so he just goes with the flow. 

    Finally, the third way he uses poetic language is when he is talking about searching for love. Frank writes,

Real love, ain't that something rare
I’m searching for a real love, talking bout real love

The rich kid has tried to find love in his absent parents, expensive items, in the drugs he does, and in his fake friends but he is aware that all these "loves" are false. The word searching also enhances the song because it makes you feel as if this rich kid is a good person trying to do the right thing, but he just doesn't know how or where to do it at so he is currently searching for it. 

This song is just overall amazing and a perfect example of poetry. This super rich kid is just in search of what is real in the world, but he was not able to complete the search. Although he was not completley unhappy with his life, he was just searching for someting better and something real.

"Ghost Town" By: First Aid Kit

Ghost Town Lyrics

The writer of this song is trying to portray the experience of leaving someone you care about to move away and keep on the road as a successful musician. She feels that it's her job to continue along traveling without a permanent home, and it's unfair to anyone she falls in love with. They'll move on once she's gone, and so it's best for her lover to forget the past, and just know that she'll come back to visit again. She attempts to reassure him that it's not really the end, even though she knows he'll just move on once she's gone.

A line that I really love is right in the beginning of the song, where she says, "blindsiding me to you"... To me, this is just a really creative way to say that basically all she can see is him, so she's like stuck to him, making it even more difficult to leave him behind, even though she feels like she has to. She explains this in the line "I found myself attached to this railroad track" When I first heard this line, I simply took it as she had to constantly be on the move as part of her career and lifestyle as a nomad. But after reading the lyrics as a poem, I thought of how in old western movies, the damsel in distress is always tied up on the railroad tracks, and the cowboy defeats the villian, and unties his bride just before the train hits her. So, maybe in a way, she's saying she knows that this time, he can't save her from the train (as in she'll get on it and leave him).

However, I must say my favorite line overall is "I'm lost somewhere in your mind"... This is just a very beautiful way of saying, "you'll forget me". I love how the writer uses such eloquent diction to paint a very sad picture in our minds when we read the words. What's even more interesting is tha the song itself is almost happy and dreamy sounding, not at all sad or depressing, as the lyrics are.

 

Time To Pretend- MGMT

The song "Time To Pretend" by MGMT seems to really portray postmodernism well, and as I was listening to it, and reading the lyrics, I was shocked by how much it relates to both "Goon Squad" and the conversations we have in class. Look it up on YouTube if you can, I'll post the lyrics. It really captures the "What if all there is to do is pretend?" question posed by Mr. Heidkamp. 

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and f*** with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

 

 

 

 

 

Say What?

I love the stories so far in, "A Visit From The Goon Squad"... But I was feeling a bit uneasy as to what exactly we're learning about. What is Postmodernism? How does it affect me? Is this a real thing or is it just another school-related topic of discussion?

After googling a bit, I came to realize that it's definately way more than just another silly class term. It has meaning. It's such an insanely deep concept, no one can even grasp the entire understanding of it completely. Postmodernism has the potential to alter your world if you let it. If you need something to ponder over, just think about this: Every person in the world has their own views on everything, right? We all see the world as we know it, in different ways. We believe the people who see differently than us are wrong. We know the truth. We have the capability to separate fact from fiction, because we know what's real.

But... What if it isn't? What if there truly is no "real"? There is no fact from fiction. Quite possibly, there is nothing but blurred lines, and smudges of a past reality. What can we make of this? Why live in a world of damaged truths and maybe even, lies? 

I think the idea of Postmodernism is absolutely spectacular. It causes you to be more skeptical of what you think you know. So much so, that it will gradually open your mind, if you let it. I think it's an ingenious way to make others question thier morals, and have interest in others' views and opinions. I love that it causes you to think, and learn, and question. 

I feel like I now have a pretty good understanding of Postmodernism, and why it was created, and how we can use it .If you have any thoughts/feelings/questions on the topic, please feel free to add them, as goes along with the Postmodern beliefs of welcoming new ideas and wanting to know what others think. 

The Truth About Reality

In class today, we came up with an extremely provacative statement that I understood as, "There are three truths to every reality. What we portray to the world, what we keep in our minds, and what we hide from even ourselves." This opens up a world of questions. Who are we? What is "real" and what isn't? How do we define "real"?

This picture seems to sum up how this topic makes me feel about the world. It has shattered everything I once thought I knew, including who or what I am. How do we define ourselves? Who are we and what are we actually keeping from ourselves?

I also think there has to be a state of mind where you no longer hide things from yourself anymore. Perhaps it is what we consider insanity or genius. Perhaps it is already in all of us. What do you think we keep from ourselves? Can others see it? If so, who is capable of doing so?

Horses and Bayonets

The final debate before the election was held, and in my opinion Obama takes the win again. It seemed to me he was as aggressive as the second time and he knew how to get his facts and points across. On the other hand, it seemed to me as if Mitt Romney had not put in his best effort, and handed this one over to Obama. For example when Romney congradulated Obama in the killing of Osama Bin Laden he said you cannot however solve all the problems by killing people. He then contradicted himself my saying his plan was to find the bad people and kill them. Romney did not seem as aggressive, or his usual outspoken self. He even told Obama that the debate was not about attacking him. Although, as usual, he still based his arguments on attacking the president.

    Even thought the topic of this debate was foreign affairs, everything seemed to lead back to the problems of the economy. For example, Romney mentioned how since Obama has been president the amount of people on food stamps has increased. I think that the president and governor were trying to get their last words in, and win over the last undecided voters before theh election coming up. It is undeniably evident that both these canidates are well educated men. But I think Obama would make the better president because he knows where he stands and is true to his words. I feel as if Romney always changes his position on certain topics as Obama has called him out for. In the third debate, Romney even agreed with Obama on Iraq, and said Obama brought us back from the brink. Also, Romney is always to busy bashing Obama to tell his plans to make the country better. All in all, Obama was the clear winner for round three and Americas best choice as president.

The Face No One Can Resist

Recently, we have been talking about pathos, and how it is the appeal to emotions. When I am arguing with my parents, or trying to persuade a friend, the best way I can think of to get them on my side is the famous "puppy dog face". This pathos because it causes the audience to feel sad for you and it hurts their heart that you are hurting so they eventually are persuaded your way. Although he is not a puppy, Puss-in-Boots from Shreck is a master at this face. Everytime I watch Shrek and he makes this face, I never fail to say the words "awwww". It makes me just feel sad for him and want to give him anything this wants. I bet if Obama or Romney made this face at the end of a speech they would instantly recieve more voters.  

Obama's use of Ad Populum

An article from Obama's first presidential election explains Obama's usage of the logical fallacy Ad Populum on the topic of tax cuts. Obama publicizes to the country that he will he extend the tax cuts that president Bush started, including to the benefit of the middle and higher class. The writer explains thought that this may not be to everybody's benefit. It is explained that any American that hears the phrase tax cuts will automatically agree because they believe it is saving them money, when they are really taking on massive debt that will effect social security, medicare, education and the military budjets. While these would be deal breakers for the majority of Americans, everybody continues to go along because they are not aware of these issues because Obama publicizes the tax cuts by making it known that the American people agree with him and for that reason people just continue to follow along. Ad populum is really just peer pressure by others, and people agreeing to ideas because they believe that is what the majority of their common group is doing.

What the deuce?

Oskar Schell is a very curious, intelligent, and sometimes rude young boy. He kind of reminds me of Stewie Griffin from "Family Guy". Although Stewie is only one, he is beyond smart for his age, just like Oskar. Both characters are very curious, and could tell you everything about anything. Stewie’s famous catchphrase is “What the Deuce?” Almost similar to Oskar’s “What The…?!”

One thing they also have in common is the order they love their parents. Both view the dad as the best parent. Stewie even goes as far as trying to kill his mom every episode. Although Oskar still loves his mom, she comes third in his list of people he loves, with his dad being first.

They both are also very rude and blunt. Sometimes their jokes and comments can come off a bit as racist or offensive. Some of them may be unintentional, but a lot of them are slightly aware of the offensiveness, but they both still insist they are not racist. 

Wait, I Thought Lenny Kravitz Was Black

Everyday we either check boxes in which we categorize our self’s to what race we belong or where we live. Does it really matter? It seems that identity no longer weighs into how we view ourselves. We either get stereotyped or discriminated against based on what color we are or where we come from. Culture, Religion, Technology, Gender and Class are categories into which we put ourselves and others into daily. These criterion are synthetic ideas that we come up with to create identity. I think by removing these titles that we link to our persona we can establish a true identity. If we merely speak of what material things make us, we'll become people who are ignorant to what truly makes us unique, our ideas.

I saw an old chappelle episode the other day where there was a skit that involved different races drafting biracial celebrities to 100% fully become a part of their own race. This totally embodied how we judge people especially celebrities based on appearance. I thought that its interesting that Chappelle used the concept that a race would what to own a person completely even though the people genetically belong to another race.

 

Sorry If the text is backwards, I think the user had problems uploading it. (it was the best one i could find)

 

Titanic: a Romance or a romance

 

Holding the spot as the number 2 top grossing film of all time Titanic is known by many people around the globe.  The surprising thing is that the Producers of Titanic used Romantic characteristics when creating the story.

The movie is based around a upper class girl named Rose and a lower class boy named Jack.  Rose is engaged to a rich man named Cal to earn back her families good name and money for both herself and her mother.  However, on their journey to America on the Titanic Rose meets Jack and already feeling trapped in her life starts to rebel against her mothers and societies standards.

The Romanticism characteristic of individualism is expressed through Rose's rebelling against the expectations everyone puts on her.  Rose not physically rebels in Titanic by being with Jack but also rebels through education.  

In one scene during dinner Rose gets so fed up with the repeated topics of discussions that she brings up a new topic which some of the men do not even know of.  This illustration on how well educated Rose is shows how she rebels against society's expectation that women were not as educated or as well-read as men were.  

Rose rebels against the expectation of society by what a lady should act like.  Rose has Jack teach her how to spit off the side of the boat and when her mother and the other women come they look down upon her.  As with many other scenes the spiting scene demonstrates the improper and unlady-like way Rose acts.

Titanic also uses Romanticism with Jack's character.  Jack is extremely poor and only gets on the Titanic because of a lucky poker hand.  The idea of the individual is used because Jack is able to support himself and get onto the Titanic to head back to America.  Also the way Jack is able to get Rose to notice him shows the power the individual has.

The appreciation of everyday life is also used throughout Titanic because of the plots basis around the sinking of Titanic.  Titanic creates the message to appreciate everyday as if it were your last.  

Overall, the Titanic uses Romanticism to enhance Rose's and Jack's character and to create a message that everyday of your life is important.  

The Lovely Bones and Its Power of The Imagination

One of the many characteristics of Romanticism/Transcendentalism is the power of imagination, or "transcending" the physical world/envisioning ideal worlds. This specific trait of this era of literature is modernly adapted in the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. 

The novel follows the story of Susie Salmon and her untimely death. But what is different about this tragedy than others is that Susie dies in the first chapter of the novel, and then we follow her into her "in-between" imaginary world, some would consider it her own purgatory. In the novel, that was later adapted into a film, Susie uses her imagination to create connections with her family back in the "normal" world in her attempt to bring justice to her murder. Slowly the reader realizes the novel is not about who killed her, but about little Susie Salmon learning to grow up and move on.

Susie's "In-Between" world changes as she changes throughout the novel. It begins where her imagination creates the perfect world for her and when the darkness of her old life begins to reflects in her own world, one can understand she is using her imagination for much deeper reasons.

Throughout the novel the author not only repeadently emphasizes the importance of Susie's imaginiation, enabling her to move on and finally end in peace but also emphasizes how important imagination was for her family, allowing them to hold on to a piece of Susie when she was gone. This is shown through her father. Susie's father feels connected to Susie multiple times in the book, and when he lets the power of imagination completely take over he is able to actually connect with her for the last time. Going through this traumatic experience then allows him to appreciate everyday life, another characteristic of romanticism. 

In the end Susie uses her imagination to end her "In-Between" experience and move on with the rest of her murder's victims. But Susie Salmon, with her power of imagination, leaves a lasting impression on all that she left behind. To me, this story influences one to open their horizons to new experiences and new people, you never know what you will discover with your own imagination.

 

 

Coping With Emotions: Why Oskar Invents So Much

Throughout Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closeyou are entertained with Oskar's many inventions. He makes inventions such as an ambulance that shows how the person inside is fairing, a hiking anklet that leaves yellow dots every time you take a step, and a birdseed shirt that you put on when you need to fly away from somewhere.

As i was reading i noticed that all of he told you about a new invention after he has drama in his life or is upset about something. Oskar doesn't seem to tell people how he is feeling when he is upset so i feel that when he is upset he gets his feelings out by inventing a way for the event that occurred to not happen.

For example, he invented the birdseed shirt after his dad died in the World Trade Centers and the hiking anklets after he runs away from his grandma.  Oskar can't physically tell someone that he is upset about something so he expresses himself in his own inventive way.

True Meaning Behind the Plot Teaser

The ending of the novel took a very interesting turn when it was revealed to the reader that the key Oskar had been searching for, in order to find the supposed mysterious item left by his father was all a lot less then expected. Though, this twist to the story could be extremely frustrating to some, who were expecting Oskar to find a treasure and live happily ever after, some context clues may have lead us to a different view of the book, if we had more closely examined it...

After the first two chapters, when Oskar began to tell the story in his point of view in present tense the reader comes to find out many things about Oskar and his Fathers relationship and their love for one another, but if realistically thinking, would Oskar's father know he was going to die? Would he have known to leave a vase in his closet with an envelope in it containing a key that has the name Black written on it in red pen? And would he have know that, if he died suddenly, that Oskar would go through his closet and stumble across a vase and happen to break it, revealing the the key component to the novel?

It is very reasonable to think that the plot of the story was going to correspond to the key that Oskar found, but I believe that the key that he found is what lead him down a path of maturing and becoming the young man that his father would have loved to see him become. The tragic evens that occurred within the novel were extremely gut wrenching and opened my eyes to the true insanity that attacks of terror can have on a country, a town, a city, and ,painfully, the loved ones of the victims who did not survive. I think that this is what Foer was trying to accomplish with the book after all, to broaden the view of many people that do not know the devastating effects acts of violence can have on a person, as well as tell a story of a boy who is beyond his years who comes to grow as a person in result of the misleading  plot line; not to throw off the reader to make them dislike the book in anyway.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a great read and had an excellent way of tying in a plot "teaser" with the key to a story that had a lot of true deep meaning behind it.

Breathe In, Dead Soldier. Breathe Out.

First off, I really really like this book. My favorite book of the year hands down.

I mean, yes, my squeamishness comes out in full force during many stories in this book (Ted Lavender, anyone? Curt Lemon? BABY BUFFALO?) but still. I can feel this book.

And I don't mean "feel it" like "Hey man, I totally feel you", but more as if there is a tangible presence to this book, and it's taken up residence in my lungs.

Breathe in, Vietnam. Sunshine demise and baby buffalo and blood in my mouth.

Breathe out, Tim O'Brian. 43 years old, a writer who still breathes in as a soldier and out as a father who tells his nine-year-old daughter that of course he didn't kill anyone.

Breathe out breath out breathe out.

And alright, yes, I admit I might have read ahead. A little. Or a lot, maybe: I finished the book.

And I can only think "Well damn."

Because what about all the soldiers we're still sending out?

Are they pulling their brothers out of trees, peeling them off the dusty, explosion-riddled road, digging them out of a sloppy, mushy shitfield in the pouring rain?

Probably.

Are there men out there like Tim O'Brian, who don't really want to fight but they do it anyway, because they'd feel like they were betraying everyone they know but themselves if they didn't?

Absolutely. 

I've been reading a lot of war stories lately, and I gotta tell you, I cry. At all of them. Sob my eyes out like there is no longer any rainbows or unicorns or happiness in the world. None.

I cry like a five year old who has just been informed that Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny have all been heartlessly massacred.

And I wonder what would happen if the head honchos, the men and women who start the war but send others to end it, would they feel like a different decision is in order if they read one of these books?

Do you think maybe, that if people who felt like war was necessary to solve whatever problem they have, do you think if someone made them read these war novels, this book, The Things They Carried, would we maybe get somewhere towards convincing the world just what a stupid idea it is to go out and shoot at people, and get shot at, and die, and watch your friends die, ( "Four guys go down a trail. A grenade sails out. One guy jumps on it and takes the blast, but it's a killer grenade and everybody dies anyway. Before they die, though, one of the dead guys says, "The fuck you do that for?" and the jumper says, "Story of my life, man," and the other guy starts to smile but he's dead.")...

Will anyone care at all? Will anyone try their damndest to make a dead soldier breathe again?

 

Will anyone listen to the breathing of a dead soldier? 

Losing it All

In class, we were all assigned lenses through which to view Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. We were then told to defend our lens, to prove that our lens was truly the dominant aspect of the book that Steinbeck intended his readers to see. Although we did as we were told, I'm sure we all realized that The Grapes of Wrath is a mixture of all of these views, not just one. But there is a theme that relates almost all of these lenses: loss.

From the beginning of the book, the Joads have been losing everything they have. First they lose their job, their money, then their property. This sends them on a journey to California, which causes them to lose family as well, as members of the family leave or die one by one.

As Ma notices after the remains of the family arrives at the camp, they have lost their humanity as well. She says, "We was farm people till the debt. And then - them people. they done somepin to us. Ever' time they come seemed like they was a-whippin' me - all of us... An' that manager, he come an' set an' drank coffee, an' he says, 'Mrs. Joad' this, and' "Mrs. Joad' that - an' 'How you gettin' on Mrs. Joad?' Why, I feel like people again" (page 307). The manager makes Ma feel human again for the first time. This shows that the Joads were being treated as objects or animals before they met the manager - that they had lost their humanity.

The Joads continue to lose everything they have as they begin to find work on farms. Their desperation for money will cause them to lose their freedom, along with all the other workers who have done so already, by working for lower and lower wages, "and pretty soon now we'll have serfs again" (283). What else do the Joads have to lose?

I Do What I Want

The most recent episode of ’30 Rock’ was a feminist double whammy. Tina Fey writes the show - which is about a female writer TV writer. Liz Lemon, the main character, cannot seem to find a man, and could easily be called the stereotypical professional woman. The most recent episode was about feminism - it was a feminist show about feminist ideas. In less than 30 minutes, it brought up many issues that are on the minds of cultural critics everywhere. In the show, a supposedly feminist guest writer joins the staff. She turns out to be, frankly, a slut. The episode ends like this:

 

So, while the episode brings up excellent points about how women deal with each other (watch it to see those points), it also defines feminism in a slightly modified way. Women should be able to act and do what they please. Expectations should not interfere with what females do. In 30 Rock, Liz Lemon wants to ‘save’ Abby from acting promiscuous. Liz believes that someone who really respects women should not act in a way that allows men to stereotype women and think lowly of them. However, Abby chooses to act that way. Even though in the episode it is for a legitimate reason, there is no reason to say that Abby shouldn’t act promiscuous in better circumstances.

 

Women should be aware of how they act in some respects - 30 Rock did point out how Abby’s behavior just allowed men to disrespect her. But beyond an awareness of the repercussions and a knowledge of why they are acting in such a mannter, 30 Rock claims that women have the right to act how they want. Stereotypes exist for a reason - there are many women who are mothers, or seductresses, or old maids. It is okay to be these things, but the stigma society sticks to the labels is not. Furthermore, they should not be applied to everyone. 30 Rock forcefully says that women should be able to act as they please - even if it is in a stereotypical or self demeaning way.

Let's Not Blame the Media

Yesterday, I was discussing our feminism unit with my mom. Our conversation went something like this:

I of course believe in equal rights. But I was reading the blog Mr. Heidkamp showed us, and they had an article about how sexist a Swiffer commerical was - in part because it depicted a woman mopping."

My mom replied, "I think that you're fine with feminism and just hate that they blame the media."

It was like the "lightbulb" moment of a psychotherapy session. I like TV, and news, journalism - media as a whole. It annoys me when people blame the media for things. Sure, it over exaggerates news all the time. They lie, and are biased. However, I feel that people should try to be aware of this themselves and look at the information they are being sold. I always ask myseld, "Do I buy this?"

To be fair, the article was also talking about the sexism behind a woman being in love with a mop. And here's me answer to that: Advertisers know their consumers.

In 2006 (old, but the most recent statistic I could find without hacking into Proctor and Gamble's computer system... which I lack the knowledge to do, and not because I'm female) Swiffer's parent company spent $3.5 Billion on adversiting. You could feed 29,166,666 hungry children in Africa for a year with that much money. They don't throw that money away. Big companies hire the best advertisers they can get and a lot os research goes into what they put out there.

The ads reflect what pleases Americans. I'm sure that they had many, many test groups watched and responded to the commerical before it was put out. They liked it.

Media refelects our society's values and preferances. We should think about what we take in, and not blame the media for putting out seeminly (or overtly) sexist things. We should be more worried about society's acceptance and favortisism towards the things that the media refelects.

EDIT: If you care about women, show your support by coming to V-Day on March 18!

A Woman.

The American woman had no name; she was a template for society to use as he pleased, a mold for the man, the glue for the household. Until about the sixties or the genesis of the Civil Rights movement, the mother and the woman were one, they had a very close relationship to each other, like Frank Sinatra’s song “Love and Marriage” says, “you can’t have one without the other.”  Prior to the twentieth century, the woman was silent. Though a man’s eyes may pierce through the very skin he once talked down upon, a woman stood still. Only in the kitchen did the woman run a fortress. Shows like Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy, displayed the typical fifty’s mother or the laughable tomfoolery of a charismatic young blonde, not only expounding an American woman, but constructing her too. How this brand of an American woman was born seems to be evident, yet imperceptible, considering the twenties had such a liberal genre of American women. As the century turned, so did womankind, the American woman was no longer silent like an actress in a 1930’s talkie. Through a few short decades, the female race was defined by not what they could provide, but what they could be, and they could be prosperous and beautiful, like Elle Woods of Legally Blonde. The broad shoulder shadow that once overcastted the delicate stance seems to no longer be like an eclipse blocking out the sun—a woman speaks for herself and is herself, she is self-reliant—her graceful silhouette stands boldly against the brick wall. 

 

The "Art" of Rapping

In class, we were assigned a paper about the state of American women in 2011, and to write this paper we had to bring in evidence of our argument from our lives. I can safely assume, I think, that a pretty large portion of the class used today's music as proof that today's women still have reason for "discontent, rebellion, and revolution," as Susan B. Anthony said.

I found it funny, then, that after I mentioned rap music in my paper I came across a satirical article about how to write a rap song. This witty article makes fun of the lack of meaning and intellect in most of today's rap. The article jokes that the Guiness World Record for spending time to write rap lyrics is 45 minutes - an exaggerated statement pointing out the insincere and pointless nature of rap lyrics. The article continues on to say that rap songs tell a story, usually "a precarious urban tale consisting of 'b--ches,' 'hoes,' pimped out rides, guns, the POE-lease, and of course lots and lots of BLING," in which "a contract, money,and bubble-booty women" will follow a string of tragic events in the rapper's life.

While this article is funny and entertaining, the satirical message behind it really hits home, and I think it fits well with our discussion about the state of American women today. Just about any type of music, not just rap, is degrading to women, including songs written by women themselves. And this is what kids start listening to at a relatively young age, putting ideas of male superiority into their heads. Want to know real source of sexism? The media. Anything, from music to political coverage, is to blame.

If you want a bit of funny but insightful reading, check out the article!

Gatsby on the Mind.

    Through the chapters of The Great Gatsby, the audience follows Nick's feelings towards Gatsby. From the beginning, Nick seems to be somewhat fasicinated, but somewhat stricken by the things he's heard from Jordan, which, perhaps polluted Carraway's thoughts towards to the almost-bootlegger, and towards the end of the book, he is constantly seeing the James Gatz that he is familiar with, and the Gatsby that he knows not. Could it be Jordan's fault that Nick looks to Jay as a vessel of intense mystery-- someone almost not to be trusted? Is it because of his love affair with the athlete that Nick seems to look at one of his best friends with uncomfortable feelings? But to what extent do his thoughts really decode the demeanor of the young and rugid Gatsby? 

    Like our opinions on most of the characters, they became to transcend during the heated events of chapter seven, when Mrytle is ranover tragically. True feelings are shown as Gatsby is going back and forth with the dainty love of his life, Daisy. Not only does he show a sensative, starry-eyed side for his pretty flower, but a side of pungent, sharp and somewhat cruel words are displayed as he argues with Tom. Gatsby, someone so sure of his heart, seems to be at a crossroads with himself, not only in chapter seven, but in chapter eight. He has no life of his own, only a life of Daisy. But really, what is Daisy? What is a flower to a man? The "nouveau-riche" thirty year-old throws himself like a fool for the this girl under what I would call false pretenses. Tom loves her for the fact that she is what he adores the most, money and reputation. So does Gatsby. Nick looks at Gatsby like a complex puzzle, but honestly, I think both Tom and Jay are somewhat very similar, they love the ideal of her. Gatsby claims that he was only himself when she was around, claims that she's his true love, claims that he's better than Tom ever was...Yes, the two have had their quiet moments, perhaps the moments that one would say "define their love", but I feel like Jay's love for her is not romantic, but in a form of admiration. Gatsby desired to be like her, though not said, it's quite obvious. His house, it's grandeur. His reputation, his status. As for Tom, he doesn't look to her as someone to define his future and his goals, but someone that shows it off. He's aware of what he has, he wants others to be too-- these are the lengths Tom goes to in order to prove his superiority. 

Semester One in a Nutshell

Coming into Junior year, I was excited for new courses, new teachers, new friends. The book selections we've had this year were interesting just because I think that although they are all American literautre pieces, their situations showcase a different aspect of the American life each time. From our first book, The Catcher in the Rye, to our most recently finished, The Narrative of Frederich Douglass, these selections portray the hard lives of slaves, the real thoughts of the upperclass-private school boy, two things that are completely different. Some selections, I preferred more than others, but if there is one thing I admired about the slections, it's that through reading these, I've been able to compare various subjects to another, regardless of the topic, and still, find common ground. Though The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are age-old tales (well not really, they're older than half a century), they have modern meanings that are more relatable than one might think. The Scarlet Letter, basically explains how not even those on the highest pedestal are as high as we think of them to be, and The Crucible, I think it focuses on the power of outer sources-- how influential words and obsessions can cause serious issues-- sounds just like the present, doesn't it? 

Besides the reading, we've focused on rhetoric, something that I hated at first, just because it combines so many aspects and details into one main idea, which, of course, is very useful, but a tad bit tedious to identify each subtopic... But anyway, after much practice, I finally got the hang of the rhetoric writing. Not only is it an assignment it's another understanding method for reading, something you can do not only while writing, but when reading as well. After the rhetoric, we were introduced to the synthesis essays, something I caught a grasp to easily. Just like the class itself, it involves looking at one big subject, and connecting the minor and major details under that one large topic together. 

When we studied race, I didn't think that related to the class exactly, but since we're focusing on American literature, it seemed to be important, just because it was such a large factor that has influenced American culture, history, and literature, and it still does. This class doesn't connect the dots for you, I think you have to do it yourself, which is a good skill to acquire! 

Criticism... will it ever end?

All of the books weve read this semester have been criticisms of America at some point in history: The Scarlet Letter brought light upon fallacies in Puritan society, The Crucible showed us the flaws in Puritan society and during the Red Scare,  Frederick Douglass exposed us to the reality of slavery and racism before the Civil War, Huckleberry Finn poked fun at the ignorance of uneducated racists, The Catcher in the Rye emphasized the "cheesy-ness" of the 1900s, and MacNolia slapped us in the face with a real look at racism in America through the eyes of a black girl growing older. That's quite a list there, and I'd say weve been taken through a pretty good chunk of American cultural history just through reading all of these novels.

Reading all of this cultural criticism and satire got me thinking about the flaws of today's society. I know we're not perfect - America is full of capitalists, elitists, and racists, just to name a few. We might not be as religiously oppressive as the Puritans, but there are still religious battles fought today, sometimes violent ones. We abolished slavery and experienced the Civil Rights movement, but that doesn't mean that race isn't an issue, and it certainly doesn't mean that other types of oppression don't exist today. While we've been reading about imperfections in American culture of the past, we should also stop to realize all of the imperfections in today's world.

This is why I truly hope that future writers will write about us, that in a hundred years English classes will be reading about the flaws in our culture, just as we are doing right now. Our world is not perfect, and it most likely never will be. Criticism in the form of literature should last as long as this world does to open humanity's eyes to the mistakes of their ancestors and make future generations analyze the flaws in their own lives.