Frames of images clipped together from a dashboard camera in a car on a lonely suburban street in America captures the silent brutality lurking behind a seemingly harmless neighborhood in Alabama. In a matter of 10 minutes, Alabama police go from being respected individuals to those who beat mercilessly on the defenseless. This video, with over 500,000 views displays our society's need to grasp onto the cruel injustices that are out of the ordinary in everyday life. It was as if this dashboard camera was destined to film this video of the Alabama police beating an innocent Indian grandfather for not being able to communicate in English just so that the masses could find a new object of their attention. The person who's car the camera belonged to doesn't matter, he's just another face in the crowd. As author Don DeLillo highlights a similar story, he points out that the realities of human life, represented in the person who films the tragedy, hides behind a blank name or a name which society presents for him or her, namely "The Video Kid", or "that person" (DeLillo). No one stops to consider the trauma of that individual, or even of the individuals being abused, because the public searches for the scenario simply "to provide for entertainment" , not to sympathize with the inflicted (DeLillo).
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Breaking News: A Moving Picture Captures the Horrors of American life
Frames of images clipped together from a dashboard camera in a car on a lonely suburban street in America captures the silent brutality lurking behind a seemingly harmless neighborhood in Alabama. In a matter of 10 minutes, Alabama police go from being respected individuals to those who beat mercilessly on the defenseless. This video, with over 500,000 views displays our society's need to grasp onto the cruel injustices that are out of the ordinary in everyday life. It was as if this dashboard camera was destined to film this video of the Alabama police beating an innocent Indian grandfather for not being able to communicate in English just so that the masses could find a new object of their attention. The person who's car the camera belonged to doesn't matter, he's just another face in the crowd. As author Don DeLillo highlights a similar story, he points out that the realities of human life, represented in the person who films the tragedy, hides behind a blank name or a name which society presents for him or her, namely "The Video Kid", or "that person" (DeLillo). No one stops to consider the trauma of that individual, or even of the individuals being abused, because the public searches for the scenario simply "to provide for entertainment" , not to sympathize with the inflicted (DeLillo).
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Memories are a Poltergeist
In modern day, the newest generation faces a difficult problem: a disconnect from the tragic experiences that the previous generation had to suffer through. However, while we exhibit a sense of ignorance and obliviousness to the true nature of their struggles, an inborn message keeps haunting us. The stories of their memories constantly an indirectly remind us of the victims of the past and shape our personalities.
Pultizer Prize winning author, Art Speigelman, highlights the unconscious influence of the past through his graphic novel, Maus. Despite his father's detailed Holocaust survivor stories, Speigelman still cannot fathom the true horror of the concentration camps. In one particular scene, Art's wife, Francoise, expresses that she finds it "almost impossible to believe that Auschwitz ever happened" (Speigelman 74).
This particular statemement reflects that the loss of direct experiences can only create a mirage of the truth rather than the truth itself. Speigelman stresses this idea through the semblance of a "peaceful...night" environment. As the characters sit on the balcony, however, he incorporates the time flies (ironically, also the name of the chapter title) to pester his characters. When Art angrily swats these pests away and exclaims, "these damn bugs are eating me alive!", it displays the modern generation's desperate attempt to fight the past's mysteries. Because he is unable to fully comprehend the disasters his father had to face, Art struggles to accept that the past will always underlie his thoughts and actions. The constant presence of these flies also symbolize the perpetually existing poltergeist of the enigmatic past on an individual.
Pultizer Prize winning author, Art Speigelman, highlights the unconscious influence of the past through his graphic novel, Maus. Despite his father's detailed Holocaust survivor stories, Speigelman still cannot fathom the true horror of the concentration camps. In one particular scene, Art's wife, Francoise, expresses that she finds it "almost impossible to believe that Auschwitz ever happened" (Speigelman 74).
This particular statemement reflects that the loss of direct experiences can only create a mirage of the truth rather than the truth itself. Speigelman stresses this idea through the semblance of a "peaceful...night" environment. As the characters sit on the balcony, however, he incorporates the time flies (ironically, also the name of the chapter title) to pester his characters. When Art angrily swats these pests away and exclaims, "these damn bugs are eating me alive!", it displays the modern generation's desperate attempt to fight the past's mysteries. Because he is unable to fully comprehend the disasters his father had to face, Art struggles to accept that the past will always underlie his thoughts and actions. The constant presence of these flies also symbolize the perpetually existing poltergeist of the enigmatic past on an individual.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Photos: The preservation of a quickly fading memory
Before a human child becomes 5, many of the memories that occur become lost in the sea of their developing minds. As they are unable to consciously remember any of their memories, they look back wondering what actually happened. Even as adults, many memories become altered as time progresses, as the human mind continues to idealize the flawed event over and over again until it becomes something different entirely. This often occurs because the short term memory only has the capacity to hold 5-9 items at once and usually the long term memory will choose to remember only what doesn't distress the individual.
Thus, as a human tradition since the invention of the dagguerreotype, a primitive camera, photos have been used to preserve memories which can't be altered by one's own mind. Those, like Susan Sontag, who claim that "photographs will always be some kind of sentimentalism... [and] never be ethical or political knowledge" (On Photography) are right about the former but false about the latter. They fail to see that the basic principle of photography is that even the idea of political and ethical knowledge is formed from the human definition of it, therefore it becomes sentimental. Not to mention the principle of naturalistic observation in psychology. The whole objective of photography is mainly determined from the "candid" and natural shots. On a darker note, even Susan Sontag can't claim that the reality of the shots taken during the Holocaust were just a semblance of reality. These photos can be alluded to a man sitting on a New York park bench taking photos of the people who pass him by on the street: no one knew that it was happening.
Even family members who want to goad the most cheery of photos out of their children, will look back on these photos and remember that they had to do that, that their kids were not actually happy in that photo. For example, I distinctly remember instances of my mother indicating that I was actually sobbing in the moments before they forced me to smile in the photo. So in simple terms, photos become simply the guideline, the only way to characterize the little details that occurred that normally wouldn't be remembered.
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| How could this be faked? |
Even family members who want to goad the most cheery of photos out of their children, will look back on these photos and remember that they had to do that, that their kids were not actually happy in that photo. For example, I distinctly remember instances of my mother indicating that I was actually sobbing in the moments before they forced me to smile in the photo. So in simple terms, photos become simply the guideline, the only way to characterize the little details that occurred that normally wouldn't be remembered.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The Social Construct of Food
Over the past three days, I experienced a wide variety of cultural environments in one compact town: Allendale, MI. These cultures, however, did not reflect the differences between race, but the differences of social constructs in relation to food. Through my extended time of competition I experienced vast changes in the perception of food during hotel breakfasts, college campus restaurant lunches, dinner buffets before laser tag, and fast food restaurants, and random late night carry outs.
As famous writer David Foster Wallace once quoted, "all the gourmet's extra attention and sensibility [is] just supposed to be aesthetic, gustatory [pleasures]" (Consider the Lobster). This in fact is true of any location outside the home.
At hotel breakfasts, we paid little attention to the lacking appearance of the food and where it had previously been manufactured. The stress before competition dawned upon us and we scrambled to finish up the food we had and rush onto the bus. So we ate for the sake of it being free.
College Campus food- so delicious I felt a break from reality. Although I applaud the GVSU food services for making a food heaven, the experience didn't give me the chance to consider the effort the chef's had put in, or the transport of the goods to the table. It didn't make me question the morality of the situation, to eat the foods that others could not. It was purely an explosion of senses and one hour well spent.
The dinner buffets, the fast food restaurants, and the late night carry outs. Not about food at all. So yes, the pasta, ramen, and subs were good, but the whole experience came from the conversations not the food. Crowded into a booth at subway, a couch in a hotel room, or a table at the laser tag center, we had no interest in appreciating the food in a way other than what appealed to our gustatory pleasures. The social construct of food was clearly defined as a means to feel comfortable in a conversation, to mooch off of others, and to share whatever thoughts we had on the aesthetic pleasures of it.
As famous writer David Foster Wallace once quoted, "all the gourmet's extra attention and sensibility [is] just supposed to be aesthetic, gustatory [pleasures]" (Consider the Lobster). This in fact is true of any location outside the home.
At hotel breakfasts, we paid little attention to the lacking appearance of the food and where it had previously been manufactured. The stress before competition dawned upon us and we scrambled to finish up the food we had and rush onto the bus. So we ate for the sake of it being free.
College Campus food- so delicious I felt a break from reality. Although I applaud the GVSU food services for making a food heaven, the experience didn't give me the chance to consider the effort the chef's had put in, or the transport of the goods to the table. It didn't make me question the morality of the situation, to eat the foods that others could not. It was purely an explosion of senses and one hour well spent.
The dinner buffets, the fast food restaurants, and the late night carry outs. Not about food at all. So yes, the pasta, ramen, and subs were good, but the whole experience came from the conversations not the food. Crowded into a booth at subway, a couch in a hotel room, or a table at the laser tag center, we had no interest in appreciating the food in a way other than what appealed to our gustatory pleasures. The social construct of food was clearly defined as a means to feel comfortable in a conversation, to mooch off of others, and to share whatever thoughts we had on the aesthetic pleasures of it.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Flowers: Different Meanings
Just about a month ago, many of us celebrated Valentine's day: a consumer driven holiday where flower shops and chocolate stores get immense revenue in one day's time. And in that one day, many parties are thrown and flowers are gifted without people recognizing these objects of love as anything more than that.
However, flowers can mean so much more than that. Typically, they are portrayed as an object of femininity; no one in their right mind would give a man flowers for valentine's day, right? However, society has begun to warp the idea of this feminine object into a symbol for different emotional states. For example, in the movie The Hours, flowers are used as a motif to signify different emotional states in each of the character's stories.
For Virginia Woolf, the flowers symbolize the solemnity of death. Because Virginia's life is so loud, so full of events, she finds happiness in the quiet things in the world. With the death of the bird, she takes pleasure in putting it to rest, placing roses at its grave. Her sister, Nessa, is the only one in woman in her story who doesnt wear flowers. The white dress she wears gives Virginia something to be attracted to, something that symbolizes a blank slate that Virginia desires, a trivial life with no distress.
For Clarissa Vaughn, these flowers symbolize domesticity. She proceeds through her daily life with flowers on her table, by planning parties that require flowers as centerpieces, and by bringing flowers to Richard's apartment on a regular basis.
Finally, for Laura Brown, these flowers fill the void between her own blank emotional state and the happy appearance she must display for her husband and family. The perfection of the flowers and the cake on her table connect her perfectionist yet emotionless personality with the false beauty of her household.
However, flowers can mean so much more than that. Typically, they are portrayed as an object of femininity; no one in their right mind would give a man flowers for valentine's day, right? However, society has begun to warp the idea of this feminine object into a symbol for different emotional states. For example, in the movie The Hours, flowers are used as a motif to signify different emotional states in each of the character's stories.
For Virginia Woolf, the flowers symbolize the solemnity of death. Because Virginia's life is so loud, so full of events, she finds happiness in the quiet things in the world. With the death of the bird, she takes pleasure in putting it to rest, placing roses at its grave. Her sister, Nessa, is the only one in woman in her story who doesnt wear flowers. The white dress she wears gives Virginia something to be attracted to, something that symbolizes a blank slate that Virginia desires, a trivial life with no distress.
For Clarissa Vaughn, these flowers symbolize domesticity. She proceeds through her daily life with flowers on her table, by planning parties that require flowers as centerpieces, and by bringing flowers to Richard's apartment on a regular basis.
Finally, for Laura Brown, these flowers fill the void between her own blank emotional state and the happy appearance she must display for her husband and family. The perfection of the flowers and the cake on her table connect her perfectionist yet emotionless personality with the false beauty of her household.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
The War Book, or the War Book?
If someone was going to tell me to read a book, I certainly was not going to pick up a book about some gruesome war. But hypothetically, say I had, twice; then which one would I say was better? The first, which goes by the name of The Things They Carried (by Tim O'Brien) , won a Pulitzer Prize for its "captivating account of the experiences of an infantry company in Vietnam...Evocative and haunting, the raw force of [a] confession" (says the Wall Street Journal). The second, called Mrs.Dalloway (by Virginia Woolf), "locates the enourmous within the everyday" (Michael Cunningham) and describes the homefront of an ending war.
However, Dalloway doesn't get praises for its exceedingly strong...war stories. Hidden within the thinly veiled quotes, Virginia Woolf threads "ideas" of the war into her tale with uses of words such as "boomed" (Woolf 5) and implications about a war veteran, Septimus, being diagnosed with PTSD. To put it frankly, this book is more about how time is paradoxical, being a crucial yet trivial part of our daily lives.
O'Brien, on the other hand, writes this story for the sole purpose of conveying the emotions from war to his audience. In fact, the major part of his story deals with the soldiers themselves, both in the war and after the war. For those who claim this story doesn't meld with the homefront as much as Mrs.Dalloway must reflect on how obvious the signals in Mrs.Dalloway are. O'Brien tells the reader upfront; this is exactly what they felt. It hits us with a frustrating anguish. However, Dalloway focuses on how the past influences the present, how little details from the war still exist in people's everyday lives. If not for the avid analysis, the message of war in Woolf's book could be belittled to a man who just has hallucinations caused by the disasters he has seen in the war.
So in the end, if I was actually going to pick up a war story just for the fun of it, I'd want to pick up one that told me upfront about the people who actually suffered, not the people who got the gentle after effects of those who had suffered.
However, Dalloway doesn't get praises for its exceedingly strong...war stories. Hidden within the thinly veiled quotes, Virginia Woolf threads "ideas" of the war into her tale with uses of words such as "boomed" (Woolf 5) and implications about a war veteran, Septimus, being diagnosed with PTSD. To put it frankly, this book is more about how time is paradoxical, being a crucial yet trivial part of our daily lives.
O'Brien, on the other hand, writes this story for the sole purpose of conveying the emotions from war to his audience. In fact, the major part of his story deals with the soldiers themselves, both in the war and after the war. For those who claim this story doesn't meld with the homefront as much as Mrs.Dalloway must reflect on how obvious the signals in Mrs.Dalloway are. O'Brien tells the reader upfront; this is exactly what they felt. It hits us with a frustrating anguish. However, Dalloway focuses on how the past influences the present, how little details from the war still exist in people's everyday lives. If not for the avid analysis, the message of war in Woolf's book could be belittled to a man who just has hallucinations caused by the disasters he has seen in the war.
So in the end, if I was actually going to pick up a war story just for the fun of it, I'd want to pick up one that told me upfront about the people who actually suffered, not the people who got the gentle after effects of those who had suffered.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Voices, Colors, Surreal
(Note to viewers: The following blog does not represent proper english grammar or syntax and is a reflection of a style of writing called stream of consciousness)
Sometimes I want to know the inner workings of a sociopath. What do they see, think; why do they see what they see and think what they think? And other people who have brain alterations. Septimus from, Virgina Woolf's book, Mrs.Dalloway? Quite strange I think. He's mentally depressed and hallucinates. He's probably schizophrenic. I just read that PTSD is related to schizophrenia. He sees strange people and colors. He thinks that everything is a symbol. I mean, what would I do if I looked up into the air and saw an airplane and just automatically assumed that the advertisement it was looping into the sky was a message to me? And if I could just catch every subliminal message that social media and modern culture throws at me, then I would be certifiably insane. Poor guy. Wait no, he's kind of a jerk. His poor wife. I can just imagine the random colors floating around his head, kind of like those psychedelic movies when people are high on some drug like LSD that makes them see random signs and mutter weird things.
I think, slowly, life will just take everybody to some stage of psychedelic induced images and voices. Of course, not as bad as him. He's just got no feelings and is completely trapped inside his own crazy mind. But maybe, slowly, slowly, us high schoolers are getting there. Maybe reading Mrs.Dalloway is subliminally messaging us to go insane (I'm just kidding). But high school definitely is.
I'm hungry. I think I'll go get lunch.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Insignificance is Significant
The ecosystem works in a smallest to largest fashion. That is, even the tiniest of organisms contribute to the survival of those who make a considerable difference. And with each little item adding to its own power by simply surviving, the world appears to be a beautiful place.
Here's a video to prove it:
In any case, even a small being's struggle is significant, as the beauty of it (not saying that something dying is beautiful) can be embodied in the tender balance between life and death.
For example, Virginia Woolf brings the anecdotal story, "The Death of The Moth", to life by recounting her experience of watching a moth experience its short lifetime and fall away into death. She continuously juxtaposes its "hybrid...pathetic" nature with the "pleasant" environment to show its insignificance, yet praises it by calling it a "tiny bead of pure light". Thus, she connects this being with humanity and presents it as a beacon of each individual's own life. She claims that even its own search for more than just a "third corner and... a fourth" in his life applies to our own to find something more than the insignificance of our own lives. However, she implies that despite any figure's insignificance, or even significance, we all end up with the same fate, the inability to escape death. Then, who can prove that what is insignificant is truly insignificant at all?
Here's a video to prove it:
In any case, even a small being's struggle is significant, as the beauty of it (not saying that something dying is beautiful) can be embodied in the tender balance between life and death.
For example, Virginia Woolf brings the anecdotal story, "The Death of The Moth", to life by recounting her experience of watching a moth experience its short lifetime and fall away into death. She continuously juxtaposes its "hybrid...pathetic" nature with the "pleasant" environment to show its insignificance, yet praises it by calling it a "tiny bead of pure light". Thus, she connects this being with humanity and presents it as a beacon of each individual's own life. She claims that even its own search for more than just a "third corner and... a fourth" in his life applies to our own to find something more than the insignificance of our own lives. However, she implies that despite any figure's insignificance, or even significance, we all end up with the same fate, the inability to escape death. Then, who can prove that what is insignificant is truly insignificant at all?
Saturday, February 7, 2015
A Shield of Humor
To mask pain, the human race will attempt a great amount of techniques. One, for example, is the soothing ritual of loosing oneself in music. However, a universal stress reliever is one we all know: humor. Humor has psychological effects, says Psych Central, and "laughter has been shown to reduce stress, boost the immune system and enhance brain chemistry through the release of serotonin and endorphins" (http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/03/02/the-hidden-power-of-humor/)
Although it may provide some relief, humor can, unfortunately, also act like a double edged sword. Many times people will act satirical or use dark humor to cover up their own faults or repress painful feelings. Take for example, a child who is being teased by his or her friends. To show them that the degrading comments don't affect him or her, they may proceed to laugh it off, or even make fun of themselves. This behavior may lead to a bitter mentality, where the individual could become self-degrading or misanthropic.
A plethora of writers, including Sherman Alexie use cynical humor to mask pain from their childhood memories. For example, Alexie mocks his birth by calling himself a "mixed drink" born out of his "father's whiskey sperm" and "mother's vodka egg". While this alcohol reference provides an almost ridiculous humor to the situation, Alexie is using to cover up the drunkenness and disillusion of his parent's marriage and how they created him out of an act of stupidity rather than love.
Although it may provide some relief, humor can, unfortunately, also act like a double edged sword. Many times people will act satirical or use dark humor to cover up their own faults or repress painful feelings. Take for example, a child who is being teased by his or her friends. To show them that the degrading comments don't affect him or her, they may proceed to laugh it off, or even make fun of themselves. This behavior may lead to a bitter mentality, where the individual could become self-degrading or misanthropic.
A plethora of writers, including Sherman Alexie use cynical humor to mask pain from their childhood memories. For example, Alexie mocks his birth by calling himself a "mixed drink" born out of his "father's whiskey sperm" and "mother's vodka egg". While this alcohol reference provides an almost ridiculous humor to the situation, Alexie is using to cover up the drunkenness and disillusion of his parent's marriage and how they created him out of an act of stupidity rather than love.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
"Oh, are you disabled?"..."Not really...I'm just more Enabled than you are."
The other day, I heard a story from someone I know that made me very upset at the health care professionals in America today.
A man was sitting in the doctors office for his checkup and suddenly experienced a bout of severe pain.
This man, who rarely showed signs of pain despite it being there, screamed for help. When the nurses came to attend to him, they acted calmly and told him to "be quiet" and "stop disturbing the other patients". And as he was losing consciousness, one even proceeded to tell him "to stop being a drama queen". Later, as he recounted the tale, he sympathized for those nurses, who had spent their day working a long 12 hour shift in the hospital. But when I heard it? I had no sympathy. From what I had learned, accepting a job like that meant that one should be willing to work twelve, thirteen hour shifts and still remain respectful towards their patients. This just skims the insanity of the the mistreatment of struggling people in America. As if they aren't going through enough internally, the society we live in makes it a point to further their issues to feel better about their own.
But really, the only way to alter the way society considers the handicapped is that the definition of disability should be changed as a whole. Disability should really refer to any person with a hardship in their life. That's everybody, right? This hardship is not what defines the person; in fact, it only lasts for a period of time. For any average human, a disability in their everyday life can be resolved with a matter of perseverance and hope. And for handicapped people, whether it be psychological or physiological, the same rules apply. Even though their condition may persist for their entire life, if they persist in their efforts to overcome it, they can choose to set it aside and move on with their life.
People with disabilities have one fairly large claim: they are not defined by their disability. As famous author Nancy Mairs states, "I'm not, for example, Ms. MS, a walking, talking, embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease". And this is true. The way society perceives these people is completely our own fault. We digress in the news about our previous errors: mistreatment of African Americans, Native Americans, gays, lesbians, transsexuals. But one that rarely comes up are the people who have quietly suffered, the disabled.
So when they observe the media, they might be slightly offended at their oblivious behavior. However, one good aspect does come out of not monopolizing their disabilities on the internet. As The Disabled World states, they become more aware of themselves and their " disability helps to define their values".
For more information: http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/social-aspects.php
A man was sitting in the doctors office for his checkup and suddenly experienced a bout of severe pain.
This man, who rarely showed signs of pain despite it being there, screamed for help. When the nurses came to attend to him, they acted calmly and told him to "be quiet" and "stop disturbing the other patients". And as he was losing consciousness, one even proceeded to tell him "to stop being a drama queen". Later, as he recounted the tale, he sympathized for those nurses, who had spent their day working a long 12 hour shift in the hospital. But when I heard it? I had no sympathy. From what I had learned, accepting a job like that meant that one should be willing to work twelve, thirteen hour shifts and still remain respectful towards their patients. This just skims the insanity of the the mistreatment of struggling people in America. As if they aren't going through enough internally, the society we live in makes it a point to further their issues to feel better about their own.
But really, the only way to alter the way society considers the handicapped is that the definition of disability should be changed as a whole. Disability should really refer to any person with a hardship in their life. That's everybody, right? This hardship is not what defines the person; in fact, it only lasts for a period of time. For any average human, a disability in their everyday life can be resolved with a matter of perseverance and hope. And for handicapped people, whether it be psychological or physiological, the same rules apply. Even though their condition may persist for their entire life, if they persist in their efforts to overcome it, they can choose to set it aside and move on with their life.
People with disabilities have one fairly large claim: they are not defined by their disability. As famous author Nancy Mairs states, "I'm not, for example, Ms. MS, a walking, talking, embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease". And this is true. The way society perceives these people is completely our own fault. We digress in the news about our previous errors: mistreatment of African Americans, Native Americans, gays, lesbians, transsexuals. But one that rarely comes up are the people who have quietly suffered, the disabled.
So when they observe the media, they might be slightly offended at their oblivious behavior. However, one good aspect does come out of not monopolizing their disabilities on the internet. As The Disabled World states, they become more aware of themselves and their " disability helps to define their values".
For more information: http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/social-aspects.php
Saturday, December 20, 2014
You are never Beneath A Dream
Representative Heuristics, making judgements based off of preexisting prototypes and stereotypes, can be a hindrance when considering my dreams. Perhaps when one realizes that "being a female doctor is not yet accepted by society" (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/mar/21/women-workplace-everyday-sexism), she might give up her dreams entirely. And on top of that, money is a huge problem. Consider the ever increasing costs of college, and then think of all the rash decisions your family may have made to increase their chances on the economical leave l. For example, you might have a brother who is convinced that a liquor store is the way to go, or a dad who wants to invest in a new business venture that you are 99% positive is going to be risky and unstable. Many men, not all but many, in our ever existing society believe that their dreams are better than ours. With all the feminism rights protests, one would think that they might find our dreams equally as important, but I have found that our dreams are inferior to theirs, which I find as illogical and impractical."I always thought [being a doctor] was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know –" (A raisin in the sun), so I couldnt understand why my dreams to become something concrete were being obstructed by someone with abstract and complicated ones.
Suddenly, I was plagued with this terrible feeling that the world was truly not worth saving anyways. If all I my dreams consisted of trying to increase the health of someone who wanted to obstruct my dreams, then the world was truly a twisted place. I was ready to give up my dreams, when I was doused with a refreshing change. Doctoring, I learned, is something bold and beautiful and its a challenge that will prove quite fruitful. If us women never truly can prove to the world that what we do is worth its time, then society will forever be stuck in a unjust cycle of inequality.
" '[Life] isn't a circle--it is simply a long line--as in geometry, you know, one that reaches into infinity. And because we cannot see the end--we also cannot see how it changes. And it is very odd by those who see the changes--who dream, who will not give up--are called idealists...and those who see only the circle we call them the "realists"!' " (A Raisin in the Sun)
To succeed, women should look beyond the circle of reality.
Suddenly, I was plagued with this terrible feeling that the world was truly not worth saving anyways. If all I my dreams consisted of trying to increase the health of someone who wanted to obstruct my dreams, then the world was truly a twisted place. I was ready to give up my dreams, when I was doused with a refreshing change. Doctoring, I learned, is something bold and beautiful and its a challenge that will prove quite fruitful. If us women never truly can prove to the world that what we do is worth its time, then society will forever be stuck in a unjust cycle of inequality.
" '[Life] isn't a circle--it is simply a long line--as in geometry, you know, one that reaches into infinity. And because we cannot see the end--we also cannot see how it changes. And it is very odd by those who see the changes--who dream, who will not give up--are called idealists...and those who see only the circle we call them the "realists"!' " (A Raisin in the Sun)
To succeed, women should look beyond the circle of reality.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Pink Elephants + Elephants in the room= A whole mess
Today, society avoids the elephants in the room by a various means of escape. Silence, aversion, and distraction can be used to beat around the bush, but the one elephant we can't ignore is the "pink elephant". Pink elephants, according to Meriam Webster, are visual hallucinations that occur from a state of psychological and physical drunkenness. This inner battle of mental disillusion can let the elephant out of its cage, or the "cat" out of the bag. As proven in F. Scott Fitzgerald's story, A Diamond as Big as the Ritz, drunkenness doesn't just refer to a state of alcoholism, but also to a greed or obsession with something, in this case money, that can impair one's judgement. The main character, John T. Unger, falls under the spell of a very rich family, failing to recognize their empty rhetoric as anything other than luxurious and eloquent. As the story progresses, the audience realizes, this "fairytale" doesn't really begin with a "Once upon a time"; unfortunately, it was more like "back in hell, an evil man with an obsession for money was born...". Braddock Washington, the man in the family (and from hell), uses a series of cruel lies to cover up his paradoxical treasure: a diamond so big that its useless to the economical market. Clearly, he thought he was Moses, because he tries so hard to become a "God" using his "princelike" status (if you know anything about Moses, that would ultimately summarize him: a prince turned God). At the end of the story, the real "Moses", or "God", pays his retribution towards Washington, ultimately turning him back into the place he was born and destined to be. And now, everyone can agree that the "pink elephants" that release an elephant into the room can definitely lead to a karmatic disaster.
Now look at the largest diamond in the world, the Cullinan Diamond. Not so attractive anymore is it?
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Break the looking glass
I often spend my time reminiscing about memories which have become glorified in my head. I can always find myself thinking back to "that summer" during school, when in reality "that summer" was just a long 3 months of pure endless boredom.
What psychologists call this is the "Good Old Days Syndrome". Keyword: Syndrome. This is a problem. (Read more at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201308/good-old-days-syndrome)
Essentially, this "romanticism" is innate but not innocuous.
The greatest problem in looking backwards it that we tend to alleviate our troubles by pretending that the past was better and that we are facing a new kind of trouble never faced before. That becomes our basis for failing. For example, I might say that my parents didn't face school like I do now, and it was much easier for them without the cutting edge technology and brand new information that makes us cram more and more information into our heads (don't deny it, you've probably done the same thing). So we make the past seem better to make our problems seem worse. How does that make our lives better? It doesn't.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. When we start applying ideals to people, we make a false image of them in our head which they will never be able to fulfill. Gatsby (from yes, in fact, The Great Gatsby), for instance, idealized Daisy (also a character fabricated by the acclaimed novelist Fitzgerald) as someone who was as perfect as a barbie doll (yes, the irony is real because barbie dolls are the last thing from perfect). Thus the "Fay" (full name: Daisy Fay) part of her name comes into play because her idealistic image is, like a fairy, not real. This idealism applies to modern life. When people tend to paint a picture of another in a way they feel describes them as real, they may in fact be setting themselves up for a reality crash when the latter's real character slaps the former across the face.
So remember this holiday season, when you look back on the memories you made in previous years:
What psychologists call this is the "Good Old Days Syndrome". Keyword: Syndrome. This is a problem. (Read more at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201308/good-old-days-syndrome)
Essentially, this "romanticism" is innate but not innocuous.
The greatest problem in looking backwards it that we tend to alleviate our troubles by pretending that the past was better and that we are facing a new kind of trouble never faced before. That becomes our basis for failing. For example, I might say that my parents didn't face school like I do now, and it was much easier for them without the cutting edge technology and brand new information that makes us cram more and more information into our heads (don't deny it, you've probably done the same thing). So we make the past seem better to make our problems seem worse. How does that make our lives better? It doesn't.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. When we start applying ideals to people, we make a false image of them in our head which they will never be able to fulfill. Gatsby (from yes, in fact, The Great Gatsby), for instance, idealized Daisy (also a character fabricated by the acclaimed novelist Fitzgerald) as someone who was as perfect as a barbie doll (yes, the irony is real because barbie dolls are the last thing from perfect). Thus the "Fay" (full name: Daisy Fay) part of her name comes into play because her idealistic image is, like a fairy, not real. This idealism applies to modern life. When people tend to paint a picture of another in a way they feel describes them as real, they may in fact be setting themselves up for a reality crash when the latter's real character slaps the former across the face.
So remember this holiday season, when you look back on the memories you made in previous years:
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| Don't look back at this.... |
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| But look back at this.... |
Sunday, November 23, 2014
"You’ll still have your stars"
I want something that is not material. Something that can't be bought and something that may not even bring me happiness. I want to "venture into the unknown" , "to add a new note" and cause the "universe [to] change" (The University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact). However, most of America doesn't want this. They want cars, and entertainment, and money, and beach houses, as do many other average human beings.
But what truly does the possession of such items bring to a person besides the momentary satisfaction of "I have it, and you dont!"?
When dolls, and cars, and new toys melt away into oblivion, objects which cannot truly be touched still remain. Rex Walls, in the Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls, reaffirms this by claiming "[His kids] still have [their] stars" because they will never go away.
Now that we've clarified that regular possessions are truly not worth our time, there is still the matter of human ignorance.
Although "I'm in a more socially conscious form of my default-setting", "a huge percent of stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, as it turns out, totally wrong and deluded" (David Foster Wallace in his speech "This is Water"). As I start to rethink my opinions, I realize that there is always more to learn, more to explore rather than just obtain. By turning the head 5 degrees to the right, we could gain so much more knowledge than is available, but most of us are just too stubborn or too oblivious to move away from this.
In fact, such obdurateness can be traced back to the 1920's in America. Consumerism, the promotion of goods in the interest of consumers, flourished in the "Roaring Twenties", causing many people to become rigid in their obsession of physical appurtenances. They became a useless camera, one that could not rotate to view images from different angles. Imagine what photos would be like if they could only be captured from one height, one distance, and one viewpoint. Any minute details that made the photo unique could have easily been missed. This unwavering structure which misses out the most significant details is what the society in the 1920's was like, and what the society is like today.
For example, The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, exemplifies the theme of obsession of materialism in the 1920's, but also captures the stubbornness that continues today. Daisy, near the beginning of the novel, exclaims that "The best thing a girl can be in this world, [is] a beautiful little fool" because she has one picture of how women can obtain a perfect life, by embracing the personality of a fool and living life wildly.
But what truly does the possession of such items bring to a person besides the momentary satisfaction of "I have it, and you dont!"?
When dolls, and cars, and new toys melt away into oblivion, objects which cannot truly be touched still remain. Rex Walls, in the Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls, reaffirms this by claiming "[His kids] still have [their] stars" because they will never go away.
Now that we've clarified that regular possessions are truly not worth our time, there is still the matter of human ignorance.
Although "I'm in a more socially conscious form of my default-setting", "a huge percent of stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, as it turns out, totally wrong and deluded" (David Foster Wallace in his speech "This is Water"). As I start to rethink my opinions, I realize that there is always more to learn, more to explore rather than just obtain. By turning the head 5 degrees to the right, we could gain so much more knowledge than is available, but most of us are just too stubborn or too oblivious to move away from this.
In fact, such obdurateness can be traced back to the 1920's in America. Consumerism, the promotion of goods in the interest of consumers, flourished in the "Roaring Twenties", causing many people to become rigid in their obsession of physical appurtenances. They became a useless camera, one that could not rotate to view images from different angles. Imagine what photos would be like if they could only be captured from one height, one distance, and one viewpoint. Any minute details that made the photo unique could have easily been missed. This unwavering structure which misses out the most significant details is what the society in the 1920's was like, and what the society is like today.
For example, The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, exemplifies the theme of obsession of materialism in the 1920's, but also captures the stubbornness that continues today. Daisy, near the beginning of the novel, exclaims that "The best thing a girl can be in this world, [is] a beautiful little fool" because she has one picture of how women can obtain a perfect life, by embracing the personality of a fool and living life wildly.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
To Punctuate or Not To Punctuate
As children, we've all been taught that breaking the rules, whether it be on the playground, or in the academic world (of punctuation for example), is almost sinful. By the time high school rolls around and we've begun to explore why society can be arrogant in setting a "default setting, hard-wired" (said by famous American novelist, David Foster Wallace) into our brains, us students start to question why we need to follow the rules in the first place. We've become so obsessed with the idea of "getting free of [our] natural, hard-wired default"(Wallace) that considering the original might actually be insane. And it probably is. The whole while, I've been teetering on the fine line of equilibrium and disequilibrium, containing the urge to break all the set down rules of punctuation. If great authors such as Shakespeare dare to break free of the standards and still manage to succeed from the wrath of the the punctuation police, then why can't the average commoner! Not to say that new rules should override the old, but to throw away the rules once and for all.
Punctuation, like society, can be hypocritical at times. The comma, for example, "feign [s] liberation with one hand" and "tighten [s] the leash with another" (Elizabeth Austen in "On Punctuation"). Thus Austen implies that the rules, while creating a sense of emotion and feeling of suspense, can also be applied to a critical manner, such as eliminating non-essential (or so it thinks) phrases from a sentence. Modern culture, in its constant state of motion, should adapt to a new era as it occurs. As it happens in this era, punctuation should be used "honestly and sparingly" (Lewis Thomas in "Notes on Punctuation) and only to "dwell in [the] possibility" (Emily Dickinson in "I dwell in Possibility" of furthering creativity. An avid representation of a "sparing" (Thomas) use of punctuation could be exemplified in the modern social media site, Twitter. Freelance writer, Amanda Cosco, claims that she has "seen some beautiful [tweets]" (Cosco in "How Twitter Can Make You a Better Writer") coming from a site that actively restricts punctuation. And although some may argue against Twitter, and the campaign for loosening the "dogma of the period" (Austen) due to the inevitable fact of its ability to convey crisp ideas, one must ponder on the more important works in literary history. They dare to break the "dogma", which led them to create a story which embodied a clear message without the use of punctuation. So the final question is: To conform or to be individualistic? It's all in the matter of human choice.
Punctuation, like society, can be hypocritical at times. The comma, for example, "feign [s] liberation with one hand" and "tighten [s] the leash with another" (Elizabeth Austen in "On Punctuation"). Thus Austen implies that the rules, while creating a sense of emotion and feeling of suspense, can also be applied to a critical manner, such as eliminating non-essential (or so it thinks) phrases from a sentence. Modern culture, in its constant state of motion, should adapt to a new era as it occurs. As it happens in this era, punctuation should be used "honestly and sparingly" (Lewis Thomas in "Notes on Punctuation) and only to "dwell in [the] possibility" (Emily Dickinson in "I dwell in Possibility" of furthering creativity. An avid representation of a "sparing" (Thomas) use of punctuation could be exemplified in the modern social media site, Twitter. Freelance writer, Amanda Cosco, claims that she has "seen some beautiful [tweets]" (Cosco in "How Twitter Can Make You a Better Writer") coming from a site that actively restricts punctuation. And although some may argue against Twitter, and the campaign for loosening the "dogma of the period" (Austen) due to the inevitable fact of its ability to convey crisp ideas, one must ponder on the more important works in literary history. They dare to break the "dogma", which led them to create a story which embodied a clear message without the use of punctuation. So the final question is: To conform or to be individualistic? It's all in the matter of human choice.
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| Just the photo of a man (Shakespeare) who escaped the rules... |
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Identity is all in perception
Upon debating with some of my fellow students, I have come to more questions than answers when it comes to the issue of what makes up a human identity. Truly, my belief is that identity is shaped by society's perception of a specific mannerism or stereotype attributed to a race. Because identity is what a person believes he or she is, in the physical and mental state, and can only be identified by pondering on what outside influences have shaped that person to be.
After some thinking, I concluded that once society begins its rampage on a victim, from the time of childbirth, that victim will begin to believe whatever they are told to be true, including what others perceive that child as. Soon enough, the victim starts to define important characteristics such as beauty, humor, and morality and associate these qualities with others and not themselves.
For example, in a passage from The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison (the author) creates an admirable scenario in which she clearly highlights that the oppressed can in fact learn to oppress others by taking their own diffidence and forcing it onto a weaker object.
" 'They are ugly. They are weeds.' " (Morrison 50) says the victim.
This situation is ironic because the reader would expect the main character, Pecola, to be compassionate because society has perceived her to be ugly, but she instead is critical of "them" (them being dandelions) because she has determined what society's definition of beauty must be true.
This just shows that the hypocrisy of society can influence even the most victimized member. In the end, Morrison claims that the oppressed themselves can be the oppressor to those who are inferior, forcing an identity onto an individual who is vulnerable to injustice.
After some thinking, I concluded that once society begins its rampage on a victim, from the time of childbirth, that victim will begin to believe whatever they are told to be true, including what others perceive that child as. Soon enough, the victim starts to define important characteristics such as beauty, humor, and morality and associate these qualities with others and not themselves.
For example, in a passage from The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison (the author) creates an admirable scenario in which she clearly highlights that the oppressed can in fact learn to oppress others by taking their own diffidence and forcing it onto a weaker object.
" 'They are ugly. They are weeds.' " (Morrison 50) says the victim.
This situation is ironic because the reader would expect the main character, Pecola, to be compassionate because society has perceived her to be ugly, but she instead is critical of "them" (them being dandelions) because she has determined what society's definition of beauty must be true.
This just shows that the hypocrisy of society can influence even the most victimized member. In the end, Morrison claims that the oppressed themselves can be the oppressor to those who are inferior, forcing an identity onto an individual who is vulnerable to injustice.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Repressed Memories
A psychodynamic psychologist would claim that people are driven by unconscious motives and desires. This in fact, despite the polemic nature of this point of view, is apparent in many instances of humanity.
Much of modern society protests against shunning people based on their nuanced behaviorism, but to their disdain, it happens more often than not. For example, in a normal class discussion of a widely recognized novel, The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, classmates seem to express a collective disgust for the character Geraldine. As the discussion progressed and some important insight was brought to light, I noticed that our "quick to make conclusion" attitude slowly faded away. However, most victims are not so lucky to receive this kind of clarity.
Geraldine's dilemma, marital rape, was the source of her psychological trauma, and the reason for her sour behavior that much of the readers failed to truly acknowledge.
A simple answer to Geraldine's attempt to explain herself would be, "Oh, we all have problems". Unfortunately, this is the case in many situations. Perhaps, to avoid herself the unnecessary pain that would inflict with such a response, she avoided sharing such obvious details that let everyone know that she was being raped. Or perhaps it was a repressed memory that was revealed to the public without true knowledge of the victim's feelings. In the end, the most logical conclusion would attest to the fact that this "marital rape" resulted in the passivity of her character.
In recent times, studies have shown that such psychological trauma would result in "social withdrawal" as stated in the article below.
http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2014/oct/24/for-kids-psychological-abuse-may-leave-the-deepest-scars/
Then as a result, psychological trauma is almost deemed as genetic, as usually the case seems to play out in a "you give what you get" kind of theme. To continue with Geraldine, the story points out that her son, Junior, turns out just as cold-hearted as her. Both with a minimal backstory, and both with the same amount of negative viewer misjudgment.
Much of modern society protests against shunning people based on their nuanced behaviorism, but to their disdain, it happens more often than not. For example, in a normal class discussion of a widely recognized novel, The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, classmates seem to express a collective disgust for the character Geraldine. As the discussion progressed and some important insight was brought to light, I noticed that our "quick to make conclusion" attitude slowly faded away. However, most victims are not so lucky to receive this kind of clarity.
Geraldine's dilemma, marital rape, was the source of her psychological trauma, and the reason for her sour behavior that much of the readers failed to truly acknowledge.
A simple answer to Geraldine's attempt to explain herself would be, "Oh, we all have problems". Unfortunately, this is the case in many situations. Perhaps, to avoid herself the unnecessary pain that would inflict with such a response, she avoided sharing such obvious details that let everyone know that she was being raped. Or perhaps it was a repressed memory that was revealed to the public without true knowledge of the victim's feelings. In the end, the most logical conclusion would attest to the fact that this "marital rape" resulted in the passivity of her character.
In recent times, studies have shown that such psychological trauma would result in "social withdrawal" as stated in the article below.
http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2014/oct/24/for-kids-psychological-abuse-may-leave-the-deepest-scars/
Then as a result, psychological trauma is almost deemed as genetic, as usually the case seems to play out in a "you give what you get" kind of theme. To continue with Geraldine, the story points out that her son, Junior, turns out just as cold-hearted as her. Both with a minimal backstory, and both with the same amount of negative viewer misjudgment.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
"Look at me, I will Never pass for a Perfect Bride"
Society has been corrupted in terms of the perception of beauty standards. Humanity has been taught at a very young age about what is respectable . Social media and culture have been a very important influential factor in the game of killing self esteem.
I especially have noticed the effects of Disney on a child's development and perception of beauty. While they may not realize it, several Disney movies set up children for a false ideal of beauty. Starting from the beginning, stories such as Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959), have set up the standard for gender roles. For every little girl watching this movie, they walk away knowing that it's okay to be a damsel in distress and for every little boy, they remember that they will have to battle the big scary monster to rescue the damsel.
The best movie that does, however, contradict the stereotype is Mulan (1998). While it does have its flaws (The song Reflection, despite its inevitable grace, has connotations which imply the beauty standards of China are critical, especially when assessing for a "Perfect Bride"), Mulan is one who breaks the limit of acceptable means to bring a family honor, and does so with impeccable accuracy.
Once these seeds start to create roots in a culture, the people who realize they don't fit the norms quickly learn that nothing they do will help them assimilate. They make assumptions, wrongfully, that there must be something entirely wrong with them. Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winning author, claims that "Victims of self loathing" are actually "accepting rejection as legitimate" (The Bluest Eye). Mostly affected by this hatred are children, racial minorities such as Blacks, and women, who have been experiencing the exclusion from the beginnings of history. The self deprecation becomes so bad that the comments that others make upon an individual are almost better than the comments that an individual makes on themselves.
In recent times, studies have been trying to reveal the disparaging nature of such standards. Dove, for instance, has created a clip that exposes the cruelty of self denigration.
When first watching this clip, I was baffled at the differences in the images, but when reflecting later, I realized that most, if not all of us, including myself, have experienced the same critical and harsh analysis of ourselves, which does not in any sort portray the same image that others see in us.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Incidents in the Life of a Modern Day Slave
While slavery was abolished in America in the 1860's, it still to this day exists in various types or forms. Perhaps, in the greatest sense, slavery can be pegged as any evil which swamps a human into an everyday lifestyle of torture.
For example, take standardized tests. Now this may seem like a very trivial and naive way to interpret slavery, but for a while I've felt like I wasn't really living life, I was just functioning. In the regular cycle of going to school, coming back home, and studying for large state based tests like the SAT, it was almost as if the education system had had me under a torturous spell of life's disillusionment.
Of course, slavery in the U.S reaches far beyond the life of a normal schoolgirl. To up the scale to another level, let's consider prejudice. Since 1860's, America has been able to claim that all men have equal rights. Its claims, however, are mostly false. Prejudice in America has been long standing, even existing today. Take Brent Staples for example. His literary piece called Black Men and Public Space details how prejudice can be a type of slavery. The never ending cycle of feeling inferior can be analogous to the life of an African American slave in the 1800's.
The highest level of slavery in Modern America is actually slavery. Better known as Human Trafficking, this kind of slavery is almost unimaginable to the normal viewer, but is actually more common than expected.
Human Trafficking is the illegal selling of adolescents and young adults, especially girls, into sexual servitude and prostitution. All girls are kidnapped from their homes or taken off the street and are beaten violently.
Clemmie Greenlee, a young woman who escaped from such terrible clutches exclaimed that “If you’re putting a whip on my back because I’m not picking enough cotton, or if you’re beating me because I’m not earning my quota, it’s the same thing. It’s slavery.”
To read more, check out this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/opinion/slavery-isnt-a-thing-of-the-past.html?_r=0
For example, take standardized tests. Now this may seem like a very trivial and naive way to interpret slavery, but for a while I've felt like I wasn't really living life, I was just functioning. In the regular cycle of going to school, coming back home, and studying for large state based tests like the SAT, it was almost as if the education system had had me under a torturous spell of life's disillusionment.
Of course, slavery in the U.S reaches far beyond the life of a normal schoolgirl. To up the scale to another level, let's consider prejudice. Since 1860's, America has been able to claim that all men have equal rights. Its claims, however, are mostly false. Prejudice in America has been long standing, even existing today. Take Brent Staples for example. His literary piece called Black Men and Public Space details how prejudice can be a type of slavery. The never ending cycle of feeling inferior can be analogous to the life of an African American slave in the 1800's.
The highest level of slavery in Modern America is actually slavery. Better known as Human Trafficking, this kind of slavery is almost unimaginable to the normal viewer, but is actually more common than expected.
Human Trafficking is the illegal selling of adolescents and young adults, especially girls, into sexual servitude and prostitution. All girls are kidnapped from their homes or taken off the street and are beaten violently.
 |
| This girl has been labelled into 1 of millions of modern day slaves |
Clemmie Greenlee, a young woman who escaped from such terrible clutches exclaimed that “If you’re putting a whip on my back because I’m not picking enough cotton, or if you’re beating me because I’m not earning my quota, it’s the same thing. It’s slavery.”
To read more, check out this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/opinion/slavery-isnt-a-thing-of-the-past.html?_r=0
Saturday, October 11, 2014
What makes a villain a villain?
It's a Chilling (worth) feeling in the cool October air. As Halloween approaches, I can't help but remind myself of the dark and spooky creatures that go bump in the night.
So when reflecting upon the ending of the Scarlet Letter, I made a quick connection from Chillingworth to the hollowness associated with Halloween (see what I did there, hollow, hallow?). Roger Chillingworth, the scariest character in a classic novel that I've ever read, met a fateful doom at the end of the novel, but his death, in my opinion, cemented his villainous character.
I mean, what would have happened if we saw the thoughts behind his thinking? What was he doing handing all of that money over to Pearl? Obviously, he wanted his legacy to continue. He wanted to find another way to live, even if his main reason for living seemed to fade away. We can only ponder as to what evil stores he had in mind for the innocent daughter of his estranged wife.
His timely death made me reconsider what truly made up the characteristics of a villain. While Hawthorne made Chillingworth "wither away", he points out that each villain has to have some sort of downfall. During his life, Chillingworth was portrayed as some sort of devil, with "a writhing horror [that] twisted itself across his features"(Hawthorne 58) . However his death was sort of...anticlimactic. Based on all his evil ventures, one might suspect he would die a gruesome or more cataclysmic death. Instead he fades away, like any mundane human would.
This led me to the conclusion that Chillingworth really isnt a villain. He's just an antagonized human being with a soured heart. Hester's fault actually. Villains, in my opinion, have to show a stark contrast to heroes. Any tragic hero, such as Dimmesdale, has to have a major weakness that surpasses his or her strengths. So shouldn't that make the villain, as a result of the contrast, virtually indestructible?
Take Crowley, a character from a popular culture show called Supernatural, for example. To this date, this "King of Hell" has yet to be defeated. He stands strong as a villain, and probably will continue to do so, in pestering the two main heroes lives and in making the world a HORRIBLE place.
So when reflecting upon the ending of the Scarlet Letter, I made a quick connection from Chillingworth to the hollowness associated with Halloween (see what I did there, hollow, hallow?). Roger Chillingworth, the scariest character in a classic novel that I've ever read, met a fateful doom at the end of the novel, but his death, in my opinion, cemented his villainous character.
I mean, what would have happened if we saw the thoughts behind his thinking? What was he doing handing all of that money over to Pearl? Obviously, he wanted his legacy to continue. He wanted to find another way to live, even if his main reason for living seemed to fade away. We can only ponder as to what evil stores he had in mind for the innocent daughter of his estranged wife.
His timely death made me reconsider what truly made up the characteristics of a villain. While Hawthorne made Chillingworth "wither away", he points out that each villain has to have some sort of downfall. During his life, Chillingworth was portrayed as some sort of devil, with "a writhing horror [that] twisted itself across his features"(Hawthorne 58) . However his death was sort of...anticlimactic. Based on all his evil ventures, one might suspect he would die a gruesome or more cataclysmic death. Instead he fades away, like any mundane human would.
This led me to the conclusion that Chillingworth really isnt a villain. He's just an antagonized human being with a soured heart. Hester's fault actually. Villains, in my opinion, have to show a stark contrast to heroes. Any tragic hero, such as Dimmesdale, has to have a major weakness that surpasses his or her strengths. So shouldn't that make the villain, as a result of the contrast, virtually indestructible?
Take Crowley, a character from a popular culture show called Supernatural, for example. To this date, this "King of Hell" has yet to be defeated. He stands strong as a villain, and probably will continue to do so, in pestering the two main heroes lives and in making the world a HORRIBLE place.
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| Warning: Crowley Creepiness Overload....! |
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