Walter's Wishes (Before the bad news)

It ain’t easy being the only man in a house full of lazy women.  “Nobody in this house is ever going to understand me”.  I have to get up every mornin’’, knowing that I am 35 years old, with my own boy having to sleep in the living room- and I can only tell him stories of how “rich white people live”.  Now Mama is gonna get a check in the mail worth TEN THOUSAND dollars. Its funny because Willie, Bobo, and I got this whole business planned out. Were gonna open a liquor store and each of us are contributing 10 thousand dollars.  Now lemme tell you baby, lemme tell you that a man can not live, when he’s got to drive around a rich white man all day while sayin’ “yes sir” and “no sir”. NO! A man needs to be a head of the household, someone his son can look up to and be proud of.  Thats why the women need to understand that I need to take the money to Springfield.  With the income I will be making we can live in a huge house, with a garden for Mama, and easily pay for Beneatha’s medical school.  Now I have been drinking much lately, but Ruth done got herself pregnant and she is threatening to kill my baby. A father can’t deal with that pain, thats why I need to drink some to ease it away. So now if some black women can understand me, I would be much better.

Puzzle Paragraph

Langston Hughes gives his poem "The Weary Blues" a "syncopated" rhythm-to convey the jazz feel of the piece- similar to Jimi Hendrix's rendition of 70s music incorporated both a blues feel with and upbeat style.  While others might say that Hughes wrote his poems solely to convey slavery, in actuality they had several meanings. In all of Hughes' pieces he incorporates repetition of words and phrases, this compares to the book The Glass Castle in which Jeanette Walls uses the repetition of fire to emphasis one of her themes.  The never ending themes to be constructed from his poems include: heritage runs "deep", the blues began with the blacks, everyone is the same on the inside, blacks deserve rights, and what all Americans should deserve(privileges). These possibilities are as vast as outer space, but all meanings are similar to African American's struggle which the Greeks would say was decided by the Fates.  Hughes uses his poems to convey themes about African American struggles, however; these themes can be related to other topics including music, racism, and America.

Gender and Relationships

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, gender pours an important role into the "pool" of relationships seen throughout the story.  Most noticeably, the women in this story are never seen without a man. Daisy has Tom, Myrtle has Wilson, and even Jordan begins to peruse a relationship with Nick. (Even though they were "set up" by the Buchanan's). Since this book was written before the rise of women’s rights, it demonstrates that the social normality was to assume that every woman depended on a man. 

There are always relationships that occur between the same genders as well.  Gatsby and Nick learn to understand each other greater than any other pair of people in the story- independent of gender.  There is a difference in relationships between all men, all women, and then a mix.  Similar to Lord of the Flies, by William Golding who stated in an interview that including men and women in a story adds the underlying possibility of reproduction- which takes away from real and focused conversation.

Gatsby-a man-becomes successful by himself.  Yet, the women in this story all rely on family or married in wealth to become successful. Not surprisingly this story does not pass the Bechdel Test.   To pass this test a piece of literature has to have at least two woman characters-who are named-that must carry on an extended conversation that doesn't have to do with men.  This demonstrates that in the 1920s women were still seen as inferior, and evidently influence the outcome of The Great Gatsby- yet they remain static characters throughout.

Analyze or Bust

It seems today that all teachers talk about is analyzing.  Analyze this or that situation. Analyze a picture. Analyze this movie. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby's appearance and description in the story could deem him as having something to hide.  Though many times out of English class, analyzing seems out of place.  In some ways, analyzing in everyday lives removes a person's focus from key things.  For example; if people are watching a movie and you decide to analyze a scene, you will most likely miss an important line that's either important to the movie- or just flat out funny.  Google defines analyze as to discover or reveal (something) through detailed examination.  That brings about an important question, is analysis dependent on opinions?  If you’re attempting to analyze a situation that constantly changes, is it even possible to analyze?  The first situation that comes to mind that flows with this idea is analyzing a person.  People’s opinions are constantly changing.  To analyze a person in a story is simple, they only have one personality in which the author portrays exactly how they want you to see the character.  However, in everyday life you will not be able to fully understand what another person is feeling or thinking about.  Its impossible to create one analysis of a person without having to constantly change it to match situations.  If you had it would be considered stereotyping.  Therefore, analyzing in literature is great and relevant, yet if you analyze a person- you just might end up “putting words in their mouth.”

Punctuation: Changing or Not?

In a constantly changing world punctuation rules must change with different interpretations as time and language evolves.  Punctuation changes with language and culture because different dialects, words and discoveries come about. (Source A).  Punctuation should change between different literatures depending on the context.  For Example; the poem On Punctuation, source B, contains no punctuation and yet still clearly conveys a message.  Poems, songs, and stream of consciousness writing should not necessarily need punctuation.  What does punctuation really do?  Quite honestly punctuation could be compared to the same as a rest in sheet music.  It serves for a break in flow which allows time to breath and adds some effect.  If a literary work was read aloud,  a person listening wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a period at the end of a sentence or 12 parentheses. (Source D). Since time and punctuation change, it should thereby be used as an option.  In a formal write-up punctuation may be useful to convey ideas, however, in a song it might be more dramatic to refrain from using punctuation.  It is an interpretation, just as the oxford commas use is constantly debated, punctuation should be debated as opinions and language change.

The Bluest Eye: An In Depth Look

“I got blues in my mealbarrel

Blues up on the shelf

I got blues in my mealbarrel

Blues up on the shelf

Blues in my bedroom

‘Cause I’m sleepin’ by myself” (Morrison 51).

Blues is a reoccurring theme in The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. The section above is but one quote of many examples of that musical style.  Blues is a form of gospel music derived from the “deep south” (Google sources).  The characters in The Bluest Eye move to the north in order to find more peace but discover it is no different than the south.  Morrison includes the reference to the Blues Music in order to convey that the south is still very present in the characters and brings about the theme of heritage.  No matter what skin color a person is, everyone has some sort of past or heritage.  Heritage is one thing that unites every person.  Lastly, Morrison connected the theme of blues into the opening of the book.  The story describes a “cat” and “dog” which are actually nicknames that originated from blues/jazz artists (Blues and Jazz History).  Therefore, Morrison uses the blues musical genre-throughout her novel- in order to serve as a heritage trait from the south that unites all people: white or black.

Flowers

Several stories describe flowers for imagery or as a symbol.  Flowers are all unique and all contribute to a story in their own way.  If someone is described as having rosy cheeks, that beautiful appearance is actually derived from the Rose flower.  Yet, color affects the meaning of a flower as well.  A dark colored Rose would have a more negative connotation than a light colored Rose.  Flowers are important because they “[remove] carbon dioxides and toxins in the air” while “feed[ing] the honeybee population” and “provide soothing sympathy to many of life’s ceremonies”(Pro-flowers.com).  When a person brings a flower into their house, it represents the outdoors and indoors coinciding. It shows how nature and humans can interact without destruction.  To another point, a flowers smell is a powerful as a potent drug that comes over you, and lulls through your mouth, and deep into your throat.  In the story The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, she describes “marigolds” in the prologue of her book. By researching the meaning of Marigolds the definition is “pain and grief”(Google-dictionary/search).  Morrison uses this flower which ties into the rest of the book which also has much pain and grief throughout it.  Therefore, flowers are one of the most symbolic references in nature, and can be used in any context.

Emotion: A Lesson in Grammar and Senses

e·mo·tion

əˈmōSH(ə)n/

noun

1.    a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

For this blog I would like to change the definition of emotion.  The dictionary definition is seen above.  Focusing attention to “circumstances” it is possible to change ones state of mind towards a subject.  Please click on the link below and have your volume up to listen to the music as you read the selection. (You may need to right click to open it in a new tab)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RpYTPBgbLo&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=4

                

            Why are holidays in the United States being removed? Are they too flamboyant and fun? Holidays should be embraced through celebration for all cultures. People do not attempt to change national holidays in other countries, therefore why should they be changed here?

Okay stop the music. Was the previous piece fun and festive? I hope so. Now listen to the next piece and read the selection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOEaMnxqM5s&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=7

Holidays in the United States are being removed!! Some people claim that they are too flamboyant and fun! Why should we remove holidays here?! Is it then a fair statement to say that all holidays in other countries should be eliminated?! Holidays must be embraced!

               

            Once again stop the music.  Here is one last piece to listen to and read.

               

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3epw26xaj8&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=8

Holidays are fun. Why are people trying to take away, what brings joy to millions of people every year? It saddens me to have knowledge that holidays are being removed in the United States, while other countries are allowed to keep them and enjoy.

               

             Did you evoke different emotions after each selection? If all three pieces were read without music and had no grammar, they would all sound exactly the same.  To conclude this blog, I would like to define Emotion as a reaction to stimuli of the senses.

The Function of Memes

First let me begin by describing what a meme is. Basically a meme is a picture of something-possibly a person, animal, or object- that when words are added to the picture, represent an ironic situation.  These pictures people then use to describe their day or whatever they wish to add humor to.  Yet, how do we think the people in the meme feel. In a way we are all oppressors when we laugh at a picture of someone who making a face and is caught off-guard.  Another phrase for this in current jargon is a “candid” picture.  So what makes these situations so humorous to us? Well, a quick search on Google will bring up hundreds of websites, all allowing you to create your own meme. As one website has a button entitled “insert embarrassing image here” (funny-memes), it is apparent that it is irony that creates the humor.  When we see a picture of someone or something imitating an action we do in a more exposed way, it seems strange to us and causes a reflex of laughter.  One episode of the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory states “humor is derived from the element of surprise” which is backed up by the example below.

The Scarlet A

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young woman named Hester is forced to wear a large scarlet letter A on her clothing because she committed adultery.  This object was a repeating theme throughout the story and one can only fully understand its affect by breaking it apart.  First, the letter stood as a symbol of her sin, one that relates to the other symbol of her sin, Pearl. Pearl forces Hester to leave her letter on. Next, the color scarlet has a negative connotation and would be considered a hot color. This also relates to Pearl when she wears the scarlet dress.  The letter is traced in gold threads which is ironic because gold typically would be worn by someone of a high social status.  The town’s people describe how outsiders feel about the letter as the book progresses. At first they concluded the A stood for adulterer; however, eventually the A was deemed as able.  This demonstrates the power the public has on ideas, which would also explain peer pressure.  Lastly, the letters comprising the words “S-C-A-R-L-E-T” and “L-E-T-T-E-R” are very harsh sounds. The CAH and ET sounds slice through the word like a needle puncturing fabric.  These explanations should allow a full understanding of the scarlet A.

Opinion and Fact

          The difference between two concepts- opinion versus fact- can be very difficult to understand. When judging whether a statement can be placed into one of these two categories; people use their own opinions, hence the term “judge”.  As defined by a dictionary, an opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Compared to a fact which can be defined as a thing that is indisputably the case. Therefore, the sole way to prove that a statement is a fact is to have a unanimous opinion that the fact is correct.  Take Bigfoot for an example. There is much evidence surrounding the existence of Sasquatch and thousands of sightings. However, even though many people know Sasquatch is existent as a fact, it cannot fully be accepted as long as there are people who do not believe or disagree with the concept.  In the novel The Scarlet Letter Hester is shunned extremely by the fellow women in her community, however the book never directly refers to men doing the same.  One opinion I would like to contribute is that women tend to be bothered more particularly by other women due to the realization that they are in the same position.  They same could be said for men.  Whether or not you choose to take my opinion as fact, it’s your choice.

The Influence of Clothing

Today’s fashion and being in the correct attire for modern apparel appears to be one of the most important factors when judging a person for the first time.  When going to job interviews, one should dress up, otherwise he/she may be demeaned by the interviewer and loose a chance at that occupation.  When in a public area, it is a social normality that you wear appropriate clothing. Yet, “appropriate” is an opinion based term and therefore the idea of normal varies between people. In the novel The Scarlett Letter a young women is forced to wear a “scarlet A” on her clothing at all times to represent the adultery she had committed.  Her A has a underlying meaning that condemns her by the fellow Puritans. However, in modern society people are condemned for no reason, an example being wearing sweatpants or very vibrant mismatching outfits.  People do not have the right to judge another human off of something they wear with no intended disadvantage.   As described by the article entitled Dressing and Identity or: How Clothes Define You, by Aimee Boyle, people put a “label” on themselves when they compare clothing.  Therefore, people should not be judged by what they decide to wear, how they choose to wear it, or at what time they do.

What is the Line Between Stereotypes and Facts??

Stereotypes are obviously a way of grouping people into one category. Yet, stereotypes must be formed from something. Observations.  If a human brain notices that a group of people display certain characteristics that apply to all of them, it naturally ties those characteristics into them.  Stereotypes “satisf(y) the need to understand and predict the social world” (MSU.net), it is our brain trying to grasp the world by making it simpler.  That is solely how human brains work- if we tried to learn everything in school in separate sections without tying concepts together, we would never be able to remember everything. Take fish for example, not everyone knows individual fish names; however, if they saw a fish their brain would tie it to the category they know as “fish”.  Yes, it is possible for stereotypes to go too far.  When this happens it’s because the stereotype no longer becomes a general observation, it comes from one or a few individuals from the category who do something- and the idea get transferred to the rest.  People need to understand that stereotypes are a part of daily living and that without them life would be much more complicated.

Verisimilitude: Good or Bad?

What is verisimilitude? It can be defined by a dictionary as "the appearance of being true or real"(Online Dictionary Reference).  However, I feel that verisimilitude is just an excuse to compose a really good lie.  For example, in the book The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien creates a captivating war story that appears to be true until the book is labeled as fiction.  What a fib! Should a lie like that be accepted by the reading community? Some might say that verisimilitude is needed in order to evoke emotion from the reader; yet, I believe that emotion can also be obtained by a fictional story as well.  This is trickery! Imagine a setting in which you are fishing, you get an enormous tug on the line, your reel begins to make a ZI'ING sound, your hands are trembling, your arms are hesitating, your legs are shaking, and your teeth are chattering.  Finally, as you bring the beast closer to the dock you realize that it was only a stick. That is what verisimilitude is, an amazing journey ending in a disappointing reality. So, why is lying considered wrong while verisimilitude is considered an art? The world may never know.