Karl Lindner

Well I hope today will go as planned. I hate that I have to be the one to tell them the news, but I guess thats what happens when you are the chairman of the New Neighbors Orientation Committee. I just hope they will be calm so we can "sit down and talk to each other". The last thing I want is for them to get all aggressive, I mean what were they expecting, trying to move into a neighborhood where they just aren't wanted. There are many negro neighborhoods that they would fit in just fine. Although ill be clear that this decision isn't on any basis of racial prejudice, its simply for the benefit of everyone. They should just be thankful that we are giving them such a generous offer, but the people would do anything to keep our "little community... [of] hard-working, honest people" free of people that don't have the same "common background" as us. They could take the offer and buy an even bigger house! I hope they will have some brains and think sensibly, I mean who wouldn't take the money when its given to you on such easy terms? Well, I finally arrived at the place, wish me luck.

Pink Elephants

Once upon a time, there was a place where life was perfect, simply because diamonds lined the walls.  They say money can't buy happiness, which is evident in the lives of Percy and Gatsby. The wealth that Gatsby and Percy have cannot buy them the love and companionship that they wish for. Everyone today would love to live the extravagant life of the Washington's, however, would you give up your happiness to become "the richest man in the world"? Kismine is, for example, a pink elephant: glorious on the outside, a symbol of "physical perfection", but in reality is fake as she pretends to be girly and unintelligent so John would like her. Fitzgerald uses rhetoric to illustrate the false lives of the Washington's and how they wish to portray themselves to the other "best friends" who they wish to show off to. Fitzgerald also uses analogies to exemplify the distance between the Washington's lives and the real world. The mention of slaves in the story is used to portray the gap between the Washington's world and the real world as if Moses himself had parted the two. In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Fitzgerald conveys the unimportance of wealth to the well being of someone.

Success

What it means to have success in America can be viewed differently according to time periods and the person who you are asking. However, success in America during the time of The Great Gatsby is defined by a rather simple format that you must fit into. To be successful, you must be of the white race and have a lot of money in order to prove your worth. Race has a large factor in determining what success means as their is only a single scene showing a successful black man who is described as "a pale well-dressed negro" compared to the numerous white, wealthy people shown throughout the rest of the novel. Also, although this "negro" is described as successful, he is also said to be "pale" which connotes that he is of light skin, which, like in The Bluest Eye, is viewed as higher in society than typical blacks. This scene illustrates that to be successful in America you must be of the white race, or at least resemble it like the pale black man. Everyone in The Great Gatsby that is viewed as successful are also very wealthy. Just like Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are viewed as successful because of their wealth; despite it being old or new, compared to the people like wilson living in the valley of ashes who are described as lifeless because of their lack of wealth.

Appearance

"He smiled understandingly--much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life... I was looking at an elegant young roughneck" (Fitzgerald, 48).

The first description of Jay Gatsby that you're given in the book is a vivid description of simply his prowess. Fitzgerald seems to use a large paragraph to describe the appearance that Gatsby holds. In The Great Gatsby, appearance is a feature that holds a lot of relevance. If you didn't have this beauty, you were not fit for the upper hierarchy that the people of the east and west egg were made of. Fitzgerald uses his diction to show the importance of beauty in the 1920's as he describes Gatsby as having "one of those rare smiles... that you may come across four or five times in life". Even though some may be described with a very bland personality, like Wilson who is "a blond, spiritless man, anaemic, and faintly handsome", they will always hold some beauty, which is all you need to be successful in the world. Also, Fitzgerald shows the prevalence of beauty in women's standards during this time by saying that they must only be "a beautiful little fool" to be of some value to society. This quote exemplifies the oppression that women faced during the 1920's as they were only worth what their beauty made of them.

Modernization

The English language has been changing since the time it was created. From the era of shakespeare to our present day twitter obsessions, our english language has changed and our punctuation rules should change to reflect this societal progression. Punctuation is very important to the construction and understanding of our sentences and speech. A single comma can change the entirety of a sentence. The sentence "We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin" could have a completely different meaning due to a single oxford comma "We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin".

As Henry Hitchings said in his article Punctuation, Social Media, and Evolving Rules of Communication, the modernization of punctuation in today is not a bad thing, "the reality is that language evolves in conduction with culture". Twitter has many characteristics that make it not only unique but beneficial to the modern day writer. The 140 word count helps people move away from being wordy because as Henry Hitchings says "why would you waste any of your precious characters on 'very' or 'really' when you could say something more substantial?". This is in fact a great tip to live by as you're are writing, because I myself have been told the same thing numerous times in English class. Also, contrary to popular belief, Twitter is not used solely by unintelligent people. People like the famous poet Andre Gibson use twitter to convey their ideas to a large population in a very quick fashion, which allows for immediate feed back. Punctuation is changing due to the growth of our society, which like the english language, is always subject to change. 

Colors of the Rainbow

"That streak of green from the june-bug light, the purple from the berries trickling along my thighs, Mama's lemonade yellow runs sweet in me... Only thing I miss sometimes is that rainbow. But like I say, I don't recollect it much anymore" (Morrison, 131). In numerous ways, this quote is remarkably sad but also strikingly beautiful. This quote marks the loss of innocence that Pauline has experienced throughout her life; the extravagant colors of life lost in the treacherous reality of life. This simple quote represents all the hurdles that Pauline has had to overcome, like her husband and unforgiving society, which have dulled out the colors in her life. The part of this quote which I find touching is when Pauline says "Only thing I miss sometimes is that rainbow". When she says she is missing the rainbow, she is referring to her childhood she missed out on just like "She missed--without knowing what she missed--paints and crayons" (111). However, when she says she missed the rainbow, she has finally realized what she missed by being so lonesome and obsessed with numbers, the paints and crayons; or in reality, the colors of life which she has long last felt. I myself can relate to this. Just today I was reminiscing on my childhood and how if I could, I would return to those carefree and colorful days. However, similarly to Pauline, I cannot recollect it much anymore due to the realities of today

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Ugliness

"Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly". This single line made me wonder if a mother could truly look at her own child and call it ugly. Something that she created. People always say "No one will love you like your mother does", but in many instances in this book like Geraldine with her child and Pauline with hers, this statement is false. After reading this line I wondered if Pauline actually thought her own daughter was ugly or was simply following the white beauty standards. Although many people believe otherwise, appearance is a rather important asset in our society today, however sad this is to say. People will always tell you that appearance doesn't matter, but in reality of our society it does. One quote which I believe holds a lot of relevance is that "appearance draws you in but personality makes you stay" because it is simply true. In The Bluest Eye, the motif of beauty and appearance is traced through the lives of the blacks who wish for Caucasian features in order to be "beautiful". In the story of how Pauline and Cholly meet, he is drawn to her due to her appearance but because of her personality they fall in love. However, beauty is not something that can be obtained, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.   

Ken

Despite the class speaking primarily about Barbie, I think that there is also a person standing in the background that many people overlook when speaking of the Barbie controversy, Ken. Although we spoke exclusively about Barbie during our class discussions, in the back of my mind I thought, "what about Ken?". I know that Prager speaks about the impact that Barbie has on young girls, but what about the impact that Ken has on young boys. Although I never had a Ken doll of my own or played with one before, he still changed my perspective of what a man should be. I would see my sister playing with her Barbie and Ken dolls and wonder "why can't I be big and strong like Ken?" Women speak of how they must always look pretty and care about their looks unlike boys; however, in our modern era society has also caused boys to care about their looks and wish to be like Ken, muscular and big. I myself have changed the way I dressed or looked simply on things people have said. Women say that society does not pressure men to look a certain way like they do to women, however, society has told young boys what they must strive to be, a tall, muscular man just like Ken.

Expectations

Over the weekend I got the chance to go to Erebus, the four story, Guinness book of world records largest haunted house. As you may guess my stomach was in knots the entire day Saturday as I anticipated the excruciating fear and anxiety that I would experience. My expectations were held high for this haunted attraction due to the numerous friends that have told me of their terrifying and amazing experiences. Standing in the line with Eric Cheng (a fellow AP english student) and other friends, we all grew more and more anxious as we waited through the three hour line (which was Eric's fault by the way), as workers at Erebus scared you in line as if your heart wasn't beating out of your chest already. As we finally entered the haunted house, the experience was short lived. In what seemed a very short time we were already out and rather disappointed at the fact that it didn't live up to its many titles and stories that people have told us about.

Worst haunted house ever, don't go there

Now I bet you are all probably wondering how this has anything to do with what we are learning in class and this is where I will finally tell you. In Brent Staples piece, Black Men and Public Space, he speaks of his encounters with frightened people as he walks down the street, and simply because of his color. Why is this? Who taught us to fear someone just because of their color or race? The truth is that the people around us have taught us what to believe through a single opinion or view on what to expect. The people who fear Staples are judging solely on things they have heard and their expectations of what he is like, just like Eric and I did as we waited in the line of Erebus. You should not let other peoples opinions and views shape how you see the world but rather form your own views by your own experiences (but I would recommend that you follow my advice and don't go to Erebus because it is a waste of money and time).

Finished But Never Forgotten

Although we are done reading The Scarlet Letter in class, I believe that this will not be the last that i'll hear of its everlasting lessons. Despite The Scarlet Letter being such an old novel, many instances in our recent day and age has the novel used as a basis for many television shows, novels, and movies to flourish off of. I have already spoken of one example of a modern rendition of the novel being the movie Easy A, which conveyed a similar, yet, different form of the novels message. Recently I stumbled across a show called Faking it, which is obviously based off of The Scarlet Letter; it portrays one of the novels key lessons perfectly, that no one should be judged for what they wish to do. The show takes place at a high school in Texas that's called Hester High, ironically named after the main character of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynn. Hester High is not your average, modern high school; The students at the school express themselves freely and are even encouraged to not be ordinary. However, in this effort to encourage everyone to be different has caused normal to be unwanted, which causes the protagonists of the show, Amy and Karma, to fake being a lesbian couple in order to fit in, hence the title, Faking it. The show takes the theme of The Scarlet Letter and reverses it into a sort of parallel universe where being different is better than being normal or ordinary, which, in reality, is the same situation that Hester faced. The show conveys that it is impossible to escape judgement, which is one of the everlasting messages that The Scarlet Letter will continue to tell.

Chivalry Is Dead Because Feminism Killed It

Reading There Is No Unmarked Women by Deborah Tannen had me thinking a lot about feminism and equality over the weekend. While reading my daily twitter news I came across a tweet that really defined my view on feminism. I myself believe that everyone should have equal rights in every way possible, but feminism in my opinion isn't about equal rights anymore, but rather to shame men for everything that they do.

Her grammar is atrocious...

All the time I hear girls speaking about how chivalry is dead; how no man holds a door open for them, or pays the bill at a restaurant, and this picture describes why many men aren't always reluctant to do so. Simple things that a man can do for a women as an act of kindness is for some reason viewed as seeing women as weaker. The title of this picture that stuck in my mind this whole weekend was "Chivalry is dead because feminism killed it". Many people will probably say that she isn't portraying feminism correctly, however, I believe that this IS how many people interpret feminism, shaming men for anything they do. There are many people that like this women that give the feminist movement a bad name and cause many to disapprove of the the feminist cause. However, this picture makes me wonder if Tannen herself views feminism in the same way, shaming men for their wrongs, which makes me wonder if Deborah Tannen would graciously accept an open door, or remark that she is capable of opening it herself.

Easy A

When we first got our The Scarlet Letter novels, I had never even heard of the book before. I assumed it would be a boring book set in the 1700's, but as I started to read it, I realized that the story seemed very familiar; it was like I had heard it before. In the very beginning of the novel they spoke of the letter "A" stitched to her clothing and the first thing that came to mind was the movie Easy A which is based off of The Scarlet Letter, but set in a modern high school.

The main character of the movie, Olive, has many similarities to Hester, both in their offenses to society and their treatment from society. Olive, who is modeled after Hester, is shamed for the publicity of her sexual life, which causes society to avoid her and treat her differently. This is similar to Hester, who is also shamed for her sexual life and deals with the same problems that Olive does. However, because of the year and the different circumstances that they both deal with, they react in very different ways from each other. Olive, who is living in the modern era, embraces her actions and use them to her advantage to gain popularity, wearing the scarlet "A" proudly, unlike Hester who only sees it as a mean of reminding her of her sin, wearing the "A" in agony. However, Hester and Olive face people that do not approve of their actions like the people that "Need to pray for her, but also need to get her the hell out of here. Amen" (Easy A, Trailer)(Amanda Bynes is really the person that needs to be prayed for but lets save that for a different blog). This opposition is comparative to the religious people of Hester's era that pray to cleanse her of her sin, but nevertheless do everything in their power to shame and oppose her.
Examples like Easy A show how The Scarlet Letter has had a lasting affect on generations to come and how it will always be of relevance to society.

Cliché Stereotype Post

Although everyone will most likely be blogging about stereotypes, I still believe it is a topic worth writing about. A stereotype, something that can define a whole race by just a few adjectives. At Troy High there are many stereotypes that describe the many students that walk through its halls: the smart Asians, the "typical" white girl with her Starbucks, and many others. These assumptions, which can be untrue for many, are created just because they are common to see. 
I myself have been affected by stereotyping as many others have, and I hear them everyday in my classes. Many people ask me because of my Chaldean ethnicity, "do you own a liquor store?" and every time I have to explain that not every Chaldean family owns a liquor store (even though four of my uncles own them). Although stereotypes are sometimes true to an extent--like with my uncles owning liquor stores-- you can still defy them and make them untrue for whom you want to be. Do not let people use stereotypes to define who you are. Be who you are, and if you are a white girl that loves Starbucks and Uggs or a Chaldean that owns a liquor store, then embrace it.

Growing Up

            The environment in which one grows up is, most of the time, what shapes the person you're going to be. But in a few instances, there are people that defy all these odds and grow to be the opposite--Jeannette being a prime example. Throughout the week we have spoken of the growth of Jeannette and her hunger. When we first spoke about the motif of hunger, I only viewed it in its most vague and simple form--literal hunger. But throughout our class discussion, we opened up to realize that she has hunger for more things then just food to eat. This opened up my eyes to view all the instances that Jeannette went through in order to tame her hunger.

    

             

            One aspect of Jeannette's hunger that was well above any of the others was her hunger for success and how she was going to achieve it by going to New York, "I told Lori about my escape fund, the seventy-five dollars" (Walls, 223). As Jeannette makes a new, successful life in New York, it conveys that no matter where you are born or into what family, you can always achieve great things; Jeannette sets a prime example for anyone who doesn't believe so.