I am currently reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson, the second book of the series, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I recently found out that the original, Swedish title is "Män som hatar kvinnor", which directly translates into "Men Who Hate Women". When I first found this out, I was pretty surprised. That sounds nothing like "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". The more that I thought about it however, I started to see why it was originally titled that.
Throughout this story, there are many, to put it so, "men who hate women". When I was reading the book, before I had this new information, I hadn't really considered them like that, or really thought about just how much sexism there really was throughout the book. There are quite a few male roles in the first and second book that are extremely prejudice and gross towards women, and I never really realized the fact that they do just plainly hate women. It's gross. Many of these characters include Nils Bjurman, Martin Vanger, Gottfried Vanger, Nikolas Hedström, Gunnar Björck, Richard Forbes, Carl-Magnus Lundin, and Alexander Zalachenko. Nils Bjurman, Salander's "guardian", is a sadistic rapist. Gunnar Björck had hired prostitutes that were there against their will, and Alexander Zalachenko, the root of it all, repeatedly hired prostitutes and had many murdered, and continuously raped and beat Salander's mother. All of these men consider males to be superior to females, call woman by awful names, and often commit volatile crimes against women such as rape, murder, and other related offenses.
All of these men are in some way related to, or have had some encounter with Salander. Lisbeth Salander, a moral, independent woman, with what some might call an odd physique. Salander is such a unique character. Although legally declared "socially inept" and not able to handle her own affairs, she is extremely smart, and fully capable of handling her own affairs. She is not socially or politically important or well known, and yet, all of those men mentioned above have been one way or another defeated by her, often physically, and in extremely dangerous situations, proving that women are clearly not inferior to men.
I think this is one of the main ideas of this series. The first and second book (I haven't yet read the third) are filled with heinous crimes, and dangerous mystery that the reader often gets wrapped up in. Throughout the book, you find yourself wishing with all of your might that these "johns" will get punished, and that their crimes will be discovered, and that that sexist police officer will get fired, and that Mikael Blomkvist will publish another scandalous article on some sort of wrong doing, etc., but you get so wrapped up in it all that you don't think about the message as much.
The fact of the matter is, there are still men out there who "hate women" and think of themselves superior, and there are racists, and people who's opinions are not morally right. There's always going to be someone out there like that, no matter what. In fact, something I really admire about Stieg Larsson's writing is that he's able to make the reader angry. By choosing specific phrases of dialogue, and giving minor details to actions and portrayals, he is able to get the reader to really hate those terrible men. He makes the reader fired up, and definitely gets the reader to root for Lisbeth Salander. Salander, who is bisexual, "incompetent", and doesn't confide in government and takes matters into her own hands, conquers all of those men. This shows that anyone, no matter who you are, can fight for yourself, stand up, and do something about terrible wrongs in the world, even if they are incredibly dangerous.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Unchalantly Salander
I am currently reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson, the second book of the trilogy. So far the trilogy is a pretty insane, action-packed, incredibly well written set of books. In the second book, Lisbeth Salander is accused of a triple murder. Salander is a very aloof woman, and does not entrust in government, or rarely anyone other than herself. She almost always uses a fake identity, and is constantly traveling all over. She may not trust in the authorities, but she is an extremely moral person, and often takes matters into her own hands. And yet, when she is accused of murder, she does not do much to stop it.
Anyway, Salander is accused of a horrendous triple murder, and is put on high profile; everyone in Sweden has seen her terrible quality passport photo, and everyone is looking for her. During this period of time, Mikael Blomkvist is convinced she is innocent. Salander and Blomkvist had had a relationship in the previous year, but since then had not spoken to each other. Blomkvist knows that she is innocent, and is doing all he can to prove it.
A major flaw in Salander's accusation is that she is portrayed to the public as a psychopathic murderer, who will harm anyone who gets in her way. Why? When Salander was younger, she was declared "incompetent", simply because she refused to talk on many occasions, and was not very socially active. This alone makes me furious. Just because someone does not like to talk, or does not fit society's idea of a "social" person, does not mean they should be declared socially inept! That declaration led to tons of other very serious problems later in Salander's life, because of that barrier. Salander is actually incredibly brilliant. I would say she's ingenious. But because she is anti-social (even if very), she is cast off as a nutjob. Because of this, to the public audience, she is a psychopath.
For a long time, we read about the accusation. The discovery of the victims, the police teams, the process, the investigations, etc., all the while thinking, "What the hell happened? Is Salander innocent? What is she thinking right now? What is she doing?" Finally, the story goes back to Salander. The first few sentences we're hearing about her during the frenzy are, "Salander spent the first week of the police hunt far from the drama. She remained in peace and quiet in her apartment on Fiskargatan." then later, "She was irritated by the passport photograph that appeared everywhere. She looked stupid." Not only is she quite relaxed about the entire escapade, she is prominently annoyed about the passport photo used in the newspapers. As we find out shortly after, Salander is innocent of what they are accusing her of. Innocent. Yet, she is relaxing in her apartment as she moves farther and farther up "Sweden's Most Wanted". I simply don't understand it. She perplexes me, and frustrates me at the same time.
Back to Mikael Blomkvist, one of the things he tries extremely hard to do is contact Lisbeth Salander. He needs to talk to her, to make sure she's innocent, to get some grasp of what's going on. When he is finally able to contact her, she responds in vague messages. One of the messages she sent Blomkvist was one word, "Zala". Blomkvist then responded "Lisbeth, You damn troublesome person. Who the hell is Zala? Is he the link? Do you know who murdered Dag & Mia? If so, tell me so we can solve this mess and go to sleep. Mikael." Seems like some pretty reasonable questions, considering, right? Salander responds with another cryptic message, "You're the journalist. Find out." If she knows something that could help prove her innocence, why doesn't she just go out and say it? I can't tell if she's waiting for someone else to figure it out, or if she just doesn't trust anyone else to prove her innocence, or what! Maybe she feels like she doesn't even have the responsibility to prove herself innocent, considering she is so under the radar normally, anyway. I don't know.
If something is wrong, or injust, you have to do something about it. You simply cannot just sit in your apartment waiting for someone else to do it for you! It's choices like that that do not result in any accomplishments whatsoever. This situation is extremely frustrating to me. The fact that she is being blamed for such a horrific crime, and she has something that could prove her innocence that she isn't bringing to the table really upsets me, and I just don't understand it!
Anyway, Salander is accused of a horrendous triple murder, and is put on high profile; everyone in Sweden has seen her terrible quality passport photo, and everyone is looking for her. During this period of time, Mikael Blomkvist is convinced she is innocent. Salander and Blomkvist had had a relationship in the previous year, but since then had not spoken to each other. Blomkvist knows that she is innocent, and is doing all he can to prove it.
A major flaw in Salander's accusation is that she is portrayed to the public as a psychopathic murderer, who will harm anyone who gets in her way. Why? When Salander was younger, she was declared "incompetent", simply because she refused to talk on many occasions, and was not very socially active. This alone makes me furious. Just because someone does not like to talk, or does not fit society's idea of a "social" person, does not mean they should be declared socially inept! That declaration led to tons of other very serious problems later in Salander's life, because of that barrier. Salander is actually incredibly brilliant. I would say she's ingenious. But because she is anti-social (even if very), she is cast off as a nutjob. Because of this, to the public audience, she is a psychopath.
For a long time, we read about the accusation. The discovery of the victims, the police teams, the process, the investigations, etc., all the while thinking, "What the hell happened? Is Salander innocent? What is she thinking right now? What is she doing?" Finally, the story goes back to Salander. The first few sentences we're hearing about her during the frenzy are, "Salander spent the first week of the police hunt far from the drama. She remained in peace and quiet in her apartment on Fiskargatan." then later, "She was irritated by the passport photograph that appeared everywhere. She looked stupid." Not only is she quite relaxed about the entire escapade, she is prominently annoyed about the passport photo used in the newspapers. As we find out shortly after, Salander is innocent of what they are accusing her of. Innocent. Yet, she is relaxing in her apartment as she moves farther and farther up "Sweden's Most Wanted". I simply don't understand it. She perplexes me, and frustrates me at the same time.
Back to Mikael Blomkvist, one of the things he tries extremely hard to do is contact Lisbeth Salander. He needs to talk to her, to make sure she's innocent, to get some grasp of what's going on. When he is finally able to contact her, she responds in vague messages. One of the messages she sent Blomkvist was one word, "Zala". Blomkvist then responded "Lisbeth, You damn troublesome person. Who the hell is Zala? Is he the link? Do you know who murdered Dag & Mia? If so, tell me so we can solve this mess and go to sleep. Mikael." Seems like some pretty reasonable questions, considering, right? Salander responds with another cryptic message, "You're the journalist. Find out." If she knows something that could help prove her innocence, why doesn't she just go out and say it? I can't tell if she's waiting for someone else to figure it out, or if she just doesn't trust anyone else to prove her innocence, or what! Maybe she feels like she doesn't even have the responsibility to prove herself innocent, considering she is so under the radar normally, anyway. I don't know.
If something is wrong, or injust, you have to do something about it. You simply cannot just sit in your apartment waiting for someone else to do it for you! It's choices like that that do not result in any accomplishments whatsoever. This situation is extremely frustrating to me. The fact that she is being blamed for such a horrific crime, and she has something that could prove her innocence that she isn't bringing to the table really upsets me, and I just don't understand it!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Dr. Seuss's Hidden Political Views?
In class, we recently read "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. The purpose of this read aloud was to really look deeper into children's books and find the true, and often hidden messages. One thing we talked about was symbolism. Dr. Seuss was a strongly political person, and people were often questioning his ideas and opinions. "The Lorax" centers around The Onceler, a greedy man who comes upon these marvelous truffula trees and starts cutting them down and turning them into Thneeds.
"Everyone needs a thneed!" The Once-ler is originally, and firstly cutting down the truffula trees to make money. He knits the truffula trees into "thneeds", which can be used as a shirt, a sock, a glove, a hat, a carpet, a pillow, a sheet, or a curtain. The truffula trees, and the land surrounding it are home to many many animals and creatures. Once the truffula trees start getting cut down, the Lorax, who was "shortish and oldish and brownish and mossy"protests. "I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues". The Once-ler can't cut down the truffula trees! They're not up for the taking! The little guy is standing up, representing the trees who don't have voices.
The Once-ler however, ignores his pleas. Everyone needs a thneed! What's wrong with cutting down some trees in exchange for something everyone needs? Soon, the truffula trees decrease in population; there are barely any left. The greedy man took away all of the creatures' truffula trees just so he could make them into Thneeds, sell them, and make money. Now their homes are gone, the land is polluted, and they're forced to move away.
One thing I noticed in the Lorax is that you never see the Once-ler's face. It's always stuck inside his car, then shop, then factory. Whenever he talks all you see are his hands. This reminded me of big corporations, and therefore made me start to suspect that Dr. Seuss was using symbolism to portray the Once-ler as the head of a big corporation. Heads of widely known corporations are often very vague. They don't make a lot of appearances and they don't often have opinions; business is often done throughout the rest of the employees. The Once-ler comes in a takes everything away from the "little guys" to make profit. When he is asked to stop, his greed overcomes his sympathy and he ignores them and continues with his business.
Like I said, for the most part, in real-life situations, you never get to deal with the head of a big corporation directly. In the book, the Lorax does in fact talk to the Once-ler directly, but as I said before, you never see his face, you only see his hands, knitting Thneeds. For me, this part of the illustration made me think of a head of a big corporation having lower executive employees and using them as puppets, on his hands, always working. He's involved in the corporation but he has so many lower employees that he kind of speaks through them indirectly.
Big corporations also tend to have big factories that guzzle resources and pollute the air. In the Lorax, the factories pollute the air, demolish the truffula trees, and pollute the lakes. When asked by the Lorax, who is speaking for the people who don't have voices, the Once-ler keeps working because he justifies his work in thinking that everyone needs a thneed, so it's okay! Just like in real life, when someone is standing up against big corporations, often for the people who aren't able to really speak for themselves, sometimes, the big companies don't do anything because they feel as if their work justifies what they're doing to the "little guys".
There are quite a few pieces of story and illustration that lead me to think Dr. Seuss was symbolically representing big corporations through the Once-ler. I have heard that he was also a very political person, and was often questioned about his political views, which just leads me to think even more that that's what he was hinting at.
"Everyone needs a thneed!" The Once-ler is originally, and firstly cutting down the truffula trees to make money. He knits the truffula trees into "thneeds", which can be used as a shirt, a sock, a glove, a hat, a carpet, a pillow, a sheet, or a curtain. The truffula trees, and the land surrounding it are home to many many animals and creatures. Once the truffula trees start getting cut down, the Lorax, who was "shortish and oldish and brownish and mossy"protests. "I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues". The Once-ler can't cut down the truffula trees! They're not up for the taking! The little guy is standing up, representing the trees who don't have voices.
The Once-ler however, ignores his pleas. Everyone needs a thneed! What's wrong with cutting down some trees in exchange for something everyone needs? Soon, the truffula trees decrease in population; there are barely any left. The greedy man took away all of the creatures' truffula trees just so he could make them into Thneeds, sell them, and make money. Now their homes are gone, the land is polluted, and they're forced to move away.
One thing I noticed in the Lorax is that you never see the Once-ler's face. It's always stuck inside his car, then shop, then factory. Whenever he talks all you see are his hands. This reminded me of big corporations, and therefore made me start to suspect that Dr. Seuss was using symbolism to portray the Once-ler as the head of a big corporation. Heads of widely known corporations are often very vague. They don't make a lot of appearances and they don't often have opinions; business is often done throughout the rest of the employees. The Once-ler comes in a takes everything away from the "little guys" to make profit. When he is asked to stop, his greed overcomes his sympathy and he ignores them and continues with his business.
Like I said, for the most part, in real-life situations, you never get to deal with the head of a big corporation directly. In the book, the Lorax does in fact talk to the Once-ler directly, but as I said before, you never see his face, you only see his hands, knitting Thneeds. For me, this part of the illustration made me think of a head of a big corporation having lower executive employees and using them as puppets, on his hands, always working. He's involved in the corporation but he has so many lower employees that he kind of speaks through them indirectly.
Big corporations also tend to have big factories that guzzle resources and pollute the air. In the Lorax, the factories pollute the air, demolish the truffula trees, and pollute the lakes. When asked by the Lorax, who is speaking for the people who don't have voices, the Once-ler keeps working because he justifies his work in thinking that everyone needs a thneed, so it's okay! Just like in real life, when someone is standing up against big corporations, often for the people who aren't able to really speak for themselves, sometimes, the big companies don't do anything because they feel as if their work justifies what they're doing to the "little guys".
There are quite a few pieces of story and illustration that lead me to think Dr. Seuss was symbolically representing big corporations through the Once-ler. I have heard that he was also a very political person, and was often questioned about his political views, which just leads me to think even more that that's what he was hinting at.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Just Like The Movies
I recently just finished reading the seriously funny auto-biography, "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling (some of you may know her as Kelly on The Office). In this book, Kaling writes about a lot of her (often hilarious) problems as a child, anecdotes, and a lot of her opinions on things currently. One thing she wrote about that I really loved was "Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real".
The chapter "Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real" is pretty self-explanatory. It's about multiple female characters that she has seen repeatedly in many romantic comedies, and the fact that they don't exist in real life.
She mentions a few different types of women: "The Klutz: ... The 100-percent-perfect-looking female is perfect in every way, except she constantly falls down.", there's also "The Ethereal Weirdo: ...She spins a globe, places her finger on a random spot, and decides to move there. This ethereal weirdo abounds in movies, but nowhere else. If she were from real life, people would think she was a homeless woman and would cross the street to avoid her...", then there's also "The Woman Who is Obsessed With Her Career and Is No Fun At All", "The Forty-Two-Year-Old Mother of the Thirty-Year-Old Male Lead", "The Sassy Best Friend", "The Skinny Woman Who Is Beautiful and Toned But Also Gluttonous and Disgusting", and, "The Woman Who Works in an Art Gallery". When I was reading this chapter, I found that not only were all of descriptions hilarious, but also completely true. I can think of countless movies in which they appear.
After I read the chapter, I thought briefly about all of these characters and realized I hadn't really seen any of them in real life; not 100%, anyway. People don't actually act like that in real life, yet we are constantly entertained by romantic comedies.
Before she lists all of these unrealistic female characters, she talks a bit about her personal history with romantic comedies. She grew up watching them, and sheepishly admits she still loves watching them today. "I enjoy watching people fall in love on-screen so much that I can suspend my disbelief for the contrived situations that only happen in the heightened world of romantic comedies."
When I'm watching movies, I never think, "Oh, this isn't real! That would never happen in real life!", I just sit back and enjoy the movie. If I were to really analyze a romantic comedy, I would probably see there are multiple occurrences that probably would not happen in real life. The thing is, I don't want to analyze it, I just want to watch it.
Many people have said that they aren't very realistic, including myself, but that doesn't stop me from going out and seeing one in the theater, or renting a DVD. Why? Because romantic comedies always have happy endings. There is always a funny, sweet sort of happily-ever-after ending. Romantic comedies are simply happy. Who wouldn't want to watch a funny and happy movie? It plants the idea in your head that that's what life is like, and who wouldn't love to have their life be a romantic comedy? Well, probably many people, but not me! I, do believe that some things can happen like they do in the movies. Sure, my life may not be just like one, but I think that some aspects of movies are very plausible, and even the implausible aspects can happen.
Would it be better if we all watched not-so-happy movies with more realistic endings? Maybe. I'd rather watch a movie with a happy ending, because they give me hope. Not everyone thinks like that, however, and maybe it's better for us to be more realistic... Or maybe it's better to think positively.What do you think?
The chapter "Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real" is pretty self-explanatory. It's about multiple female characters that she has seen repeatedly in many romantic comedies, and the fact that they don't exist in real life.
She mentions a few different types of women: "The Klutz: ... The 100-percent-perfect-looking female is perfect in every way, except she constantly falls down.", there's also "The Ethereal Weirdo: ...She spins a globe, places her finger on a random spot, and decides to move there. This ethereal weirdo abounds in movies, but nowhere else. If she were from real life, people would think she was a homeless woman and would cross the street to avoid her...", then there's also "The Woman Who is Obsessed With Her Career and Is No Fun At All", "The Forty-Two-Year-Old Mother of the Thirty-Year-Old Male Lead", "The Sassy Best Friend", "The Skinny Woman Who Is Beautiful and Toned But Also Gluttonous and Disgusting", and, "The Woman Who Works in an Art Gallery". When I was reading this chapter, I found that not only were all of descriptions hilarious, but also completely true. I can think of countless movies in which they appear.
After I read the chapter, I thought briefly about all of these characters and realized I hadn't really seen any of them in real life; not 100%, anyway. People don't actually act like that in real life, yet we are constantly entertained by romantic comedies.
Before she lists all of these unrealistic female characters, she talks a bit about her personal history with romantic comedies. She grew up watching them, and sheepishly admits she still loves watching them today. "I enjoy watching people fall in love on-screen so much that I can suspend my disbelief for the contrived situations that only happen in the heightened world of romantic comedies."
When I'm watching movies, I never think, "Oh, this isn't real! That would never happen in real life!", I just sit back and enjoy the movie. If I were to really analyze a romantic comedy, I would probably see there are multiple occurrences that probably would not happen in real life. The thing is, I don't want to analyze it, I just want to watch it.
Many people have said that they aren't very realistic, including myself, but that doesn't stop me from going out and seeing one in the theater, or renting a DVD. Why? Because romantic comedies always have happy endings. There is always a funny, sweet sort of happily-ever-after ending. Romantic comedies are simply happy. Who wouldn't want to watch a funny and happy movie? It plants the idea in your head that that's what life is like, and who wouldn't love to have their life be a romantic comedy? Well, probably many people, but not me! I, do believe that some things can happen like they do in the movies. Sure, my life may not be just like one, but I think that some aspects of movies are very plausible, and even the implausible aspects can happen.
Would it be better if we all watched not-so-happy movies with more realistic endings? Maybe. I'd rather watch a movie with a happy ending, because they give me hope. Not everyone thinks like that, however, and maybe it's better for us to be more realistic... Or maybe it's better to think positively.What do you think?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
It's So Hard To Talk When You Want To
I am currently reading the book, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini. In this book, the main character Craig struggles with depression. The first line of the whole story was, "It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself." This line really stood out to me. As I continued reading the book, it became clear that Craig is seriously depressed, and carefully chooses what aspect of that to share and what not to.
Craig has to see a weekly shrink. Even though Craig is depressed, and he chooses to keep many things secret, he does tell Dr. Minerva a fair amount about his thoughts. He told Dr. Minerva about how he woke up from a dream, and he had an awful realization that he was awake. He then goes to say that "Life is a nightmare". Clearly, he's not hiding the fact that he's depressed. At the same time however, he's not telling her everything. "There were more things to tell her, things I held back: like the fact that I was hungry in bed this morning. I hadn't eaten the night before. I went to bed exhausted from my homework and knew as I hit the pillow that I would pay for it in the morning, that I would wake up really hungry, that I would cross the line where my stomach gets so needy that I can't eat anything. I woke up and my stomach was screaming, hollowing itself out under my little chest. I didn't want to do anything about it. I didn't want to eat. The idea of eating made me hurt more." Craig seems to have a really serious problem with eating, which is extremely dangerous. What I find interesting is that he says he doesn't want to have to go to therapy. To Dr. Minerva he says, "I want to not have to come here." Dr. Minerva knows he's depressed, Craig knows she knows he's depressed, and he wants it all to stop, so why doesn't he just tell her everything?
What really struck was indeed, the first line, which was, "It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself." This stuck out to me because I really understand what he means by it. I also think it is one of the main reasons why he isn't telling his shrink about his eating problems. When talking about his previous shrinks, he mentions one who asked him if he was abused. "Of course I wasn't abused. If I were, things would be so simple. I'd have a reason for being in shrinks' offices."On top of all of these emotions he's feeling, he's not even confident in his being depressed, he feels he has no reason. Adding on to all of the original problems factoring his depression, his depression is one of them. Craig probably feels like his depression has such an incredible weight. It's like he has a huge secret, but by opening his mouth just a little bit, it won't be able to escape. He has to make the effort to open wide and spill it all out. But Craig doesn't. Because "it's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself."
I think that everyone can relate to this. Everyone has problems that they choose not to tell, for some reason. If you think about it, we would all probably be so much better off if we just got it off our chest, but we choose not to. Whether it's because it's embarrassing, or we think we deserve whatever it is, or we don't want to hurt someone, or anything; for the most part it's not great to keep things bottled up inside of you. I can especially relate to this feeling. Last year, I was really stressed out because of all of the school work and pressure to do well, and I wasn't getting much sleep. There were points throughout the year where I was pretty depressed. Sometimes people, or my parents, would ask, "Are you okay?" or "How was your day?" or things like that. Part of me would just want to get it all off of my chest, but when I opened my mouth I found myself just saying, "Yeah" or "Fine". Now that that year has passed, I feel so much better. I can't help thinking what it would've been like if I had really talked to someone. It's so much easier not to say anything, but I think people really need to make the effort of expressing their thoughts, even if it requires a great effort.
Craig has to see a weekly shrink. Even though Craig is depressed, and he chooses to keep many things secret, he does tell Dr. Minerva a fair amount about his thoughts. He told Dr. Minerva about how he woke up from a dream, and he had an awful realization that he was awake. He then goes to say that "Life is a nightmare". Clearly, he's not hiding the fact that he's depressed. At the same time however, he's not telling her everything. "There were more things to tell her, things I held back: like the fact that I was hungry in bed this morning. I hadn't eaten the night before. I went to bed exhausted from my homework and knew as I hit the pillow that I would pay for it in the morning, that I would wake up really hungry, that I would cross the line where my stomach gets so needy that I can't eat anything. I woke up and my stomach was screaming, hollowing itself out under my little chest. I didn't want to do anything about it. I didn't want to eat. The idea of eating made me hurt more." Craig seems to have a really serious problem with eating, which is extremely dangerous. What I find interesting is that he says he doesn't want to have to go to therapy. To Dr. Minerva he says, "I want to not have to come here." Dr. Minerva knows he's depressed, Craig knows she knows he's depressed, and he wants it all to stop, so why doesn't he just tell her everything?
What really struck was indeed, the first line, which was, "It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself." This stuck out to me because I really understand what he means by it. I also think it is one of the main reasons why he isn't telling his shrink about his eating problems. When talking about his previous shrinks, he mentions one who asked him if he was abused. "Of course I wasn't abused. If I were, things would be so simple. I'd have a reason for being in shrinks' offices."On top of all of these emotions he's feeling, he's not even confident in his being depressed, he feels he has no reason. Adding on to all of the original problems factoring his depression, his depression is one of them. Craig probably feels like his depression has such an incredible weight. It's like he has a huge secret, but by opening his mouth just a little bit, it won't be able to escape. He has to make the effort to open wide and spill it all out. But Craig doesn't. Because "it's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself."
I think that everyone can relate to this. Everyone has problems that they choose not to tell, for some reason. If you think about it, we would all probably be so much better off if we just got it off our chest, but we choose not to. Whether it's because it's embarrassing, or we think we deserve whatever it is, or we don't want to hurt someone, or anything; for the most part it's not great to keep things bottled up inside of you. I can especially relate to this feeling. Last year, I was really stressed out because of all of the school work and pressure to do well, and I wasn't getting much sleep. There were points throughout the year where I was pretty depressed. Sometimes people, or my parents, would ask, "Are you okay?" or "How was your day?" or things like that. Part of me would just want to get it all off of my chest, but when I opened my mouth I found myself just saying, "Yeah" or "Fine". Now that that year has passed, I feel so much better. I can't help thinking what it would've been like if I had really talked to someone. It's so much easier not to say anything, but I think people really need to make the effort of expressing their thoughts, even if it requires a great effort.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Transferrable Seed of Paranoia
In the book "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs, Jacob finds himself amidst a confusing, somewhat unasked for adventure.
Ever since Jacob was a child, his grandfather, Abe, has been telling him stories. "He always obliged, telling them like secrets that could only be entrusted in me." Abe's stories consisted of monsters, wars, riding on horseback, circuses, and most of all, peculiar children. Abe had escaped Poland from the Germans in World War II. When Jacob was younger, he had asked Abe why he had abandoned everything to escape. Abe always replied: "because the monsters were after me." The so-called monsters were "awful hunched-over ones with rotting skin and black eyes,". As Jacob said, "It wasn't long before I had trouble falling asleep." From there, Abe was sent to an orphanage with extremely "interesting" inhabitants. He described it as "an enchanted place, designed to keep kids safe from monsters, on an island where the sun shined every day and nobody every got sick or died. Everyone lived together in a big house that was protected by a wise old bird." He also talked about his fellow orphans. One was invisible, there was a girl who could fly, a boy who had bees living inside him,a brother and sister who could lift boulders over their heads, and a boy with a second mouth on the back of his head. Jacob became fascinated with these stories, as I'm sure any young child would at hearing of such a magical place. At such an early age, Jacob believed him one hundred percent. Abe planted a seed inside Jacob's head that had already been blooming in his own since he was a child.
Jacob believed for awhile, until it started to cause him problems. One day in second grade, Robbie Jensen pantsed him at lunch in front of a table of girls and announced that he believed in fairies. After that, Jacob declared that he no longer believed in the stories, the price was too much to pay, and he was getting too old. When he told hid grandfather this, Abe simply replied, "Okay". As Jacob got older, he talked to his father about the stories that Abe had told him. According to Jacob's father, the stories his grandfather had told him weren't lies, but exaggerated versions of the truth. "Grandpa Portman's childhood wasn't a fairytale at all. It was a horror story." Abe was sent on a one-way ticket into the arms of strangers, never to see his soon-to-be dead family ever again; "killed by the monsters he so narrowly escaped." As Jacob's father said, "these weren't the kind of monsters that had tentacles and rotting skin, the kind a seven-year-old might be able to wrap his mind around---they were monsters with human faces, in crisp uniforms, marching in lockstep, so banal you don't recognize them for what they are until it's too late."And so the seed of paranoia and dementia was forcefully planted inside of young Abe's head.
As Grandpa Portman got older, he started to become slightly senile. Every now and then he would completely freak out, call one of the family members (typically Jacob) and yell that the monsters were coming to get him. He even had a stock of weaponry in which he would defend himself with. They eventually had to take the key to that safe away because they didn't want to risk harming others. On the day of Abe's death, he called Jacob, having a typical episode in which he said the monsters were there, and they were coming to get him, "if he could only find that goddamn key!". He was so incredibly scared of the monsters that had been haunting him all of his life.
After Jacob left his job to come check on his Grandpa, he goes to his house and sees he is nowhere to be found. Nervously, he goes into the woods by his grandfathers house, with his friend behind him. Eventually, he comes across a scratched and bloody Abe lying on the ground. He had clearly been deeply injured. Jacob looks around to see what had done such an awful thing to his grandfather: "There was something in the woods, all right--- I could feel it.... I knew just when to raise my flashlight and just where to aim it, and for an instant in that narrow cur of light I saw a face that seemed to have been transplanted directly from the nightmares of my childhood. It stared back with eyes that swam in dark liquid, furrowed trenches of carbon-black flesh loose on its hunched frame, its mouth hinged open grotesquely so that a mass of long eel-like tongues could wriggle out." This part of the story really stuck out to me (apart from creeping me out!). Here Abe is lying down on the ground at his death bed, the epitome of all of the fantastical stories and imaginary creatures that had lead Jacob's life for so long, and what does he see standing near the scene? The very monster that had been haunting Grandpa Portman all of his life.
Whether or not the monster was real, it triggered a thought for me. If the monster hadn't been real, then that means that Jacob must have been imagining it. His grandfathers stories had impacted his thoughts so much that they come to life. Soon after this tragic episode, Jacob tries to tell people about the monster that had supposedly killed his grandfather. His parents eventually get him a psychiatrist, and Jacob is supplied with numerous issues regarding this monster that Abe had been dreading all his life. When reading about the chain of events that impede's Jacob, I tried to think back to the cause. All of this had started with Abe's stories. These clearly extremely emotion-racking events that maimed Abe's psyche, Abe chose to share with Jacob. He took his own personal problems and embedded them into Jacob's mind. Generally people need to share such tragic experiences with someone, to prevent it from causing further damage. Although he lightened up the story, these monsters will probably have a role in Jacob's life for a long time. Was it really right for him to chose to tell it to a young child? To take a seed from his already blooming emotional instability and place it in Jacob's mind to further grow and develop?
Ever since Jacob was a child, his grandfather, Abe, has been telling him stories. "He always obliged, telling them like secrets that could only be entrusted in me." Abe's stories consisted of monsters, wars, riding on horseback, circuses, and most of all, peculiar children. Abe had escaped Poland from the Germans in World War II. When Jacob was younger, he had asked Abe why he had abandoned everything to escape. Abe always replied: "because the monsters were after me." The so-called monsters were "awful hunched-over ones with rotting skin and black eyes,". As Jacob said, "It wasn't long before I had trouble falling asleep." From there, Abe was sent to an orphanage with extremely "interesting" inhabitants. He described it as "an enchanted place, designed to keep kids safe from monsters, on an island where the sun shined every day and nobody every got sick or died. Everyone lived together in a big house that was protected by a wise old bird." He also talked about his fellow orphans. One was invisible, there was a girl who could fly, a boy who had bees living inside him,a brother and sister who could lift boulders over their heads, and a boy with a second mouth on the back of his head. Jacob became fascinated with these stories, as I'm sure any young child would at hearing of such a magical place. At such an early age, Jacob believed him one hundred percent. Abe planted a seed inside Jacob's head that had already been blooming in his own since he was a child.
Jacob believed for awhile, until it started to cause him problems. One day in second grade, Robbie Jensen pantsed him at lunch in front of a table of girls and announced that he believed in fairies. After that, Jacob declared that he no longer believed in the stories, the price was too much to pay, and he was getting too old. When he told hid grandfather this, Abe simply replied, "Okay". As Jacob got older, he talked to his father about the stories that Abe had told him. According to Jacob's father, the stories his grandfather had told him weren't lies, but exaggerated versions of the truth. "Grandpa Portman's childhood wasn't a fairytale at all. It was a horror story." Abe was sent on a one-way ticket into the arms of strangers, never to see his soon-to-be dead family ever again; "killed by the monsters he so narrowly escaped." As Jacob's father said, "these weren't the kind of monsters that had tentacles and rotting skin, the kind a seven-year-old might be able to wrap his mind around---they were monsters with human faces, in crisp uniforms, marching in lockstep, so banal you don't recognize them for what they are until it's too late."And so the seed of paranoia and dementia was forcefully planted inside of young Abe's head.
As Grandpa Portman got older, he started to become slightly senile. Every now and then he would completely freak out, call one of the family members (typically Jacob) and yell that the monsters were coming to get him. He even had a stock of weaponry in which he would defend himself with. They eventually had to take the key to that safe away because they didn't want to risk harming others. On the day of Abe's death, he called Jacob, having a typical episode in which he said the monsters were there, and they were coming to get him, "if he could only find that goddamn key!". He was so incredibly scared of the monsters that had been haunting him all of his life.
After Jacob left his job to come check on his Grandpa, he goes to his house and sees he is nowhere to be found. Nervously, he goes into the woods by his grandfathers house, with his friend behind him. Eventually, he comes across a scratched and bloody Abe lying on the ground. He had clearly been deeply injured. Jacob looks around to see what had done such an awful thing to his grandfather: "There was something in the woods, all right--- I could feel it.... I knew just when to raise my flashlight and just where to aim it, and for an instant in that narrow cur of light I saw a face that seemed to have been transplanted directly from the nightmares of my childhood. It stared back with eyes that swam in dark liquid, furrowed trenches of carbon-black flesh loose on its hunched frame, its mouth hinged open grotesquely so that a mass of long eel-like tongues could wriggle out." This part of the story really stuck out to me (apart from creeping me out!). Here Abe is lying down on the ground at his death bed, the epitome of all of the fantastical stories and imaginary creatures that had lead Jacob's life for so long, and what does he see standing near the scene? The very monster that had been haunting Grandpa Portman all of his life.
Whether or not the monster was real, it triggered a thought for me. If the monster hadn't been real, then that means that Jacob must have been imagining it. His grandfathers stories had impacted his thoughts so much that they come to life. Soon after this tragic episode, Jacob tries to tell people about the monster that had supposedly killed his grandfather. His parents eventually get him a psychiatrist, and Jacob is supplied with numerous issues regarding this monster that Abe had been dreading all his life. When reading about the chain of events that impede's Jacob, I tried to think back to the cause. All of this had started with Abe's stories. These clearly extremely emotion-racking events that maimed Abe's psyche, Abe chose to share with Jacob. He took his own personal problems and embedded them into Jacob's mind. Generally people need to share such tragic experiences with someone, to prevent it from causing further damage. Although he lightened up the story, these monsters will probably have a role in Jacob's life for a long time. Was it really right for him to chose to tell it to a young child? To take a seed from his already blooming emotional instability and place it in Jacob's mind to further grow and develop?
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Finding Your Obssesion
I've just started reading, "The Rules of Survival" by Nancy Werlin. In this book, the main character Matt is writing to his youngest sister Emmy about the "truth and history of our family", seeing as she was too young to understand it at the time he writes it. Matt, Emmy, and the middle sibling Carrie, have a very destructive mother and live in terrible conditions. Life is pretty grim, and Matt doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about his life as much as protecting his sisters from their own mother; but when he sees a random stranger stand up for a little boy as he is about to be abused by his father, he become fascinated.
Matt's mother is dangerous. She's a drug addict, and completely unstable. "I remember one night, when I was little. I waited until our mother had gone to bed, and then I sneaked into the kitchen. There was a package of Oreos there. My plan was to take one of them back to bed with me... I made it all the way back to bed with the cookie. I was beneath the sheet, in a little tent, with the cookie flat on my palm and my nose pressed to it- when she whipped back the covers. "Thief!" our mother yelled. "Cookie thief!" She burst into giggles. She had the big kitchen knife, and it was pressed to my throat. And as she laughed, I could feel it shake in her hands, and push against my skin. She cut me that night. Just a little. Just to teach me not to steal, and not to sneak." This unpredictability has forced Matt and his sisters into a life of constant fear. His only thought is protecting his sisters, survival. His dream of dreams would be to stand up to his mother, to banish her for good from their lives.
When he sees a mystery man protecting a child from an abusive parent, it basically encapsulates his worries/hopes in a nutshell. "I stood in that convenience store on that hot summer night and stared after him, and I thought: I have to know that man. There is a word for this feeling, Emmy. It's called obsession." Seeing something that is so relatable to him makes him enthralled. Matt becomes a bit obsessed with this man, who he later finds out is named Murdoch. I think he basically thinks of him as an idol. Murdoch protected a child from an abusive parent, which is what Matt wishes he could do for his sisters. He wishes to be Murdoch, wishes he could act like him; so he becomes "obsessed". When people find something that just encapsulates them, or expresses their hopes or dreams, we tend to become fascinated.
I'm not that far into the book, but I know that Matt and his sister find Murdoch, and he accidentally ends up dating their mother. Their mother tries her best to act normal for as long as she can. For about three months, Matt, Carrie, and Emmy soak up their "miracle" as much as they can, as Murdoch is everything they wished they had as a parent. He is everything Matt wishes to be. As most things do come to an end, Murdoch and "Nikki" don't stay together forever, and Matt's miracle bubble is popped, leaving things back (nearly worse) to where they were before they even met Murdoch.
When we find something that perfectly yields to our personalities or dreams, something that fits us like a glove, we tend to become obsessed. We never knew something could attune to us so well. We can't help but obsess over it! It's like when you find a new band that you've never heard before, and you fall in love with their music; everything they write describes you, and you feel like you found some place you belong. What do we do? We watch all of their music videos, buy their albums, posters, everything we can do to become closer to them. You look back at all of the other music you used to listen to, and realize that it wasn't as good as you thought it was.
In this way, I don't think it is weird that Matt becomes obsessed with Murdoch. Matt was just at the convenience store with his sister, when suddenly, a man demonstrates his whole life's basis. Everything he tries to do, wants to be, wishes to be, is bluntly defined by that one action. He must've been in awe. I think we all have these things we become obsessed with, and I think each thing gives a big look into each individual's personality and wants/hopes/dreams.
Matt's mother is dangerous. She's a drug addict, and completely unstable. "I remember one night, when I was little. I waited until our mother had gone to bed, and then I sneaked into the kitchen. There was a package of Oreos there. My plan was to take one of them back to bed with me... I made it all the way back to bed with the cookie. I was beneath the sheet, in a little tent, with the cookie flat on my palm and my nose pressed to it- when she whipped back the covers. "Thief!" our mother yelled. "Cookie thief!" She burst into giggles. She had the big kitchen knife, and it was pressed to my throat. And as she laughed, I could feel it shake in her hands, and push against my skin. She cut me that night. Just a little. Just to teach me not to steal, and not to sneak." This unpredictability has forced Matt and his sisters into a life of constant fear. His only thought is protecting his sisters, survival. His dream of dreams would be to stand up to his mother, to banish her for good from their lives.
When he sees a mystery man protecting a child from an abusive parent, it basically encapsulates his worries/hopes in a nutshell. "I stood in that convenience store on that hot summer night and stared after him, and I thought: I have to know that man. There is a word for this feeling, Emmy. It's called obsession." Seeing something that is so relatable to him makes him enthralled. Matt becomes a bit obsessed with this man, who he later finds out is named Murdoch. I think he basically thinks of him as an idol. Murdoch protected a child from an abusive parent, which is what Matt wishes he could do for his sisters. He wishes to be Murdoch, wishes he could act like him; so he becomes "obsessed". When people find something that just encapsulates them, or expresses their hopes or dreams, we tend to become fascinated.
I'm not that far into the book, but I know that Matt and his sister find Murdoch, and he accidentally ends up dating their mother. Their mother tries her best to act normal for as long as she can. For about three months, Matt, Carrie, and Emmy soak up their "miracle" as much as they can, as Murdoch is everything they wished they had as a parent. He is everything Matt wishes to be. As most things do come to an end, Murdoch and "Nikki" don't stay together forever, and Matt's miracle bubble is popped, leaving things back (nearly worse) to where they were before they even met Murdoch.
When we find something that perfectly yields to our personalities or dreams, something that fits us like a glove, we tend to become obsessed. We never knew something could attune to us so well. We can't help but obsess over it! It's like when you find a new band that you've never heard before, and you fall in love with their music; everything they write describes you, and you feel like you found some place you belong. What do we do? We watch all of their music videos, buy their albums, posters, everything we can do to become closer to them. You look back at all of the other music you used to listen to, and realize that it wasn't as good as you thought it was.
In this way, I don't think it is weird that Matt becomes obsessed with Murdoch. Matt was just at the convenience store with his sister, when suddenly, a man demonstrates his whole life's basis. Everything he tries to do, wants to be, wishes to be, is bluntly defined by that one action. He must've been in awe. I think we all have these things we become obsessed with, and I think each thing gives a big look into each individual's personality and wants/hopes/dreams.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Hiding Our Emotions, Expressing Our Inner-Wallflower
I just finished reading "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. In this book, the main character Charlie, thinks a lot. Some people (like his English teacher, Bill) would say too much. Charlie observes a lot of things and takes time to understand and question them. And with all of the problems he's surrounded with, it's not very hard for him to find something to think about. One of the many things he sees is people hiding their emotions, and in turn, he questions it.
One of Charlie's friends, Patrick, is gay. He had a secret boyfriend named Brad, who hadn't come out of the closet and didn't intend to. Eventually Brad's father caught Patrick and Brad together and started beating Brad. After that, it went without saying that they could no longer be together. For a week or two, Brad stayed out of school. When he came back, "He looked very different. It wasn't that he was bruised or anything. His face actually looked fine. But before, Brad was always this guy who walked down the hallway with a bounce. I can't really describe it any other way. It's just that some people walk with their heads to the ground for some reason. They don't like to look other people in the eye. Brad was never like that. But now he is. Especially when it comes to Patrick." Here Brad is, just coming back to school after his father (and mother?) have probably been abusing him physically and emotionally, and not only that, he's no longer allowed to see the person he loves. And yet, only a few people know what really happened. No one else knows what's going on inside his head, and how terribly he's feeling. If he could only talk to someone about it, the weight he was feeling probably could've eased quite a bit, but he chose to bottle it up inside him, and let it eat at him.
On the other side of the relationship, Patrick is feeling extremely disheartened as well. Charlie, being a good friend, hangs out with Patrick as much as possible. Patrick starts to show Charlie part of his world. One night, Patrick takes Charlie to a park where "men go to find each other", so Patrick can try and move on and find someone else. While they were there, they see Brad kissing some unnamed man.
The next day, Charlie sees Brad, expecting him to look different after what he had seen the weekend before. "I saw Brad in detention the Monday after I saw him at the park. And he looked just like he always looks." Even though this such a small excerpt compared to the whole book, it really stood out to me. Charlie had expected Brad to have changed. After Charlie had seen what Brad had been doing, he interpreted what was going on inside Brad's head, and expected it to show. He was surprised to see that Brad looked just like he did every other day. Does this mean that that is how he feels every day? Or does it mean he just hides his emotions?
I think this is a universal point, and that everyone can relate. Imagine looking into someone else's thoughts; maybe for a day, maybe for an hour, or even just a second. You would probably discover so many things about that person that you had never even thought of, or never expected to be there. Imagine if someone looked inside your head. All of the things you've never told anyone and have wanted to tell, or haven't. All of the feelings you've had that no one even knew you were feeling. It's incredible how much information someone can hold, and how many thoughts can go through someone's head, however happy, sad, angry, or all of the things in between.
So in that sense, I think we all have a little bit of "wallflower" in us. In the book, Patrick described "wallflower" as, "You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand." Every single person in the world has those things that we choose to keep quiet about. We all have thoughts that weigh us down, and naw at us slowly, but for some reason, we choose to keep them to ourselves. So I guess the next question would be, Why?
One of Charlie's friends, Patrick, is gay. He had a secret boyfriend named Brad, who hadn't come out of the closet and didn't intend to. Eventually Brad's father caught Patrick and Brad together and started beating Brad. After that, it went without saying that they could no longer be together. For a week or two, Brad stayed out of school. When he came back, "He looked very different. It wasn't that he was bruised or anything. His face actually looked fine. But before, Brad was always this guy who walked down the hallway with a bounce. I can't really describe it any other way. It's just that some people walk with their heads to the ground for some reason. They don't like to look other people in the eye. Brad was never like that. But now he is. Especially when it comes to Patrick." Here Brad is, just coming back to school after his father (and mother?) have probably been abusing him physically and emotionally, and not only that, he's no longer allowed to see the person he loves. And yet, only a few people know what really happened. No one else knows what's going on inside his head, and how terribly he's feeling. If he could only talk to someone about it, the weight he was feeling probably could've eased quite a bit, but he chose to bottle it up inside him, and let it eat at him.
On the other side of the relationship, Patrick is feeling extremely disheartened as well. Charlie, being a good friend, hangs out with Patrick as much as possible. Patrick starts to show Charlie part of his world. One night, Patrick takes Charlie to a park where "men go to find each other", so Patrick can try and move on and find someone else. While they were there, they see Brad kissing some unnamed man.
The next day, Charlie sees Brad, expecting him to look different after what he had seen the weekend before. "I saw Brad in detention the Monday after I saw him at the park. And he looked just like he always looks." Even though this such a small excerpt compared to the whole book, it really stood out to me. Charlie had expected Brad to have changed. After Charlie had seen what Brad had been doing, he interpreted what was going on inside Brad's head, and expected it to show. He was surprised to see that Brad looked just like he did every other day. Does this mean that that is how he feels every day? Or does it mean he just hides his emotions?
I think this is a universal point, and that everyone can relate. Imagine looking into someone else's thoughts; maybe for a day, maybe for an hour, or even just a second. You would probably discover so many things about that person that you had never even thought of, or never expected to be there. Imagine if someone looked inside your head. All of the things you've never told anyone and have wanted to tell, or haven't. All of the feelings you've had that no one even knew you were feeling. It's incredible how much information someone can hold, and how many thoughts can go through someone's head, however happy, sad, angry, or all of the things in between.
So in that sense, I think we all have a little bit of "wallflower" in us. In the book, Patrick described "wallflower" as, "You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand." Every single person in the world has those things that we choose to keep quiet about. We all have thoughts that weigh us down, and naw at us slowly, but for some reason, we choose to keep them to ourselves. So I guess the next question would be, Why?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Different Shades of Blue
In the story, "Am I Blue" by Bruce Coville, Vince is a 16 year old boy struggling with his sexual orientation while getting constantly bullied. Soon after a rough encounter with Butch Carrigan in which he is thrown into the mud, a flamboyant fairy godfather named Melvin appears to help him out. Melvin offers Vince three wishes, and Vince eventually decides to use a wish to turn every gay person blue for a day, one of the great gay fantasies.
Melvin is allowed to give Vince three wishes, and teach him along the way. While talking to Vince, he asks if Vince knows the three great gay fantasies. Vince says he doesn't. Melvin then replies, "Skip the first two. You're too young. It was number three that I wanted to tell you about anyway. We used to imagine what it would be like if every gay person in the country turned blue for a day... So all the straights would have to stop imagining that they didn't know any gay people... and survived the experience just fine thank you... The hiding would finally have to stop." Melvin then offers Vince the "sight". He lightly touches Vince's eyelids lightly, and when he opens his eyes, there are shades of blue all around him.
Later, Vince uses one of his wishes to turn everyone gay blue all over the country, just for twenty-four hours. Once everyone who is gay turned blue from coast to coast, people realized what it the significance of the coloring was. "The reaction ranged from panic to hysterical denial to dancing in the streets." When Vince is awarded the "blue sight", (a few hours before everyone else, mind you) he constantly describes the different shades of blue he sees. "Some were bright blue, some were deep blue, some just had a bluish tint to them." When Vince asked his fairy godfather Melvin about the shading, he responded, "It's an indicator of degree. The dark blues are pretty much exclusively queer, while the lighter ones are less committed- or maybe like you, trying to make up their minds. I set it up so that you'll see at least a hint of blue on anyone who has had a gay experience." I really like this line because it's so meaningful. The author didn't just say, "People turned blue all over the coast," or something along those lines. Instead, he made the effort to express that everyone was a different shade, some more than others. If he had made everyone just "blue" it would've really created a separation between blue and non-blue, or gay people and straight people.
I think the different shades of blue is such an important part of this story. It represents the fact that no one is one thing or the other, we're all different and no two people are exactly the same. It also reminds of the saying, "There is no black and white, but many shades of gray in between." When everyone was awarded the blue sight, it would've prevented people from saying that people were gay, or blue, because what does that really mean? There were so many different versions of that. The definition of "gay" is "of, indicating, or supporting, interests or issues of pertaining to, or noting the same sex". That exact definition of course, does not apply to everyone. It's impossible to define a group exactly to the point because no one is the same.
People need to stop giving each other labels, because they are rarely one hundred percent true. We, people, need to stop judging and comparing ourselves to other people and everyone in general, because no two people are exactly the same and there never will be. This reigns true in so many parts of everyday life. If we all just stopped trying to categorize everybody else, we could all just accept each other for who we really are.
Melvin is allowed to give Vince three wishes, and teach him along the way. While talking to Vince, he asks if Vince knows the three great gay fantasies. Vince says he doesn't. Melvin then replies, "Skip the first two. You're too young. It was number three that I wanted to tell you about anyway. We used to imagine what it would be like if every gay person in the country turned blue for a day... So all the straights would have to stop imagining that they didn't know any gay people... and survived the experience just fine thank you... The hiding would finally have to stop." Melvin then offers Vince the "sight". He lightly touches Vince's eyelids lightly, and when he opens his eyes, there are shades of blue all around him.
Later, Vince uses one of his wishes to turn everyone gay blue all over the country, just for twenty-four hours. Once everyone who is gay turned blue from coast to coast, people realized what it the significance of the coloring was. "The reaction ranged from panic to hysterical denial to dancing in the streets." When Vince is awarded the "blue sight", (a few hours before everyone else, mind you) he constantly describes the different shades of blue he sees. "Some were bright blue, some were deep blue, some just had a bluish tint to them." When Vince asked his fairy godfather Melvin about the shading, he responded, "It's an indicator of degree. The dark blues are pretty much exclusively queer, while the lighter ones are less committed- or maybe like you, trying to make up their minds. I set it up so that you'll see at least a hint of blue on anyone who has had a gay experience." I really like this line because it's so meaningful. The author didn't just say, "People turned blue all over the coast," or something along those lines. Instead, he made the effort to express that everyone was a different shade, some more than others. If he had made everyone just "blue" it would've really created a separation between blue and non-blue, or gay people and straight people.
I think the different shades of blue is such an important part of this story. It represents the fact that no one is one thing or the other, we're all different and no two people are exactly the same. It also reminds of the saying, "There is no black and white, but many shades of gray in between." When everyone was awarded the blue sight, it would've prevented people from saying that people were gay, or blue, because what does that really mean? There were so many different versions of that. The definition of "gay" is "of, indicating, or supporting, interests or issues of pertaining to, or noting the same sex". That exact definition of course, does not apply to everyone. It's impossible to define a group exactly to the point because no one is the same.
People need to stop giving each other labels, because they are rarely one hundred percent true. We, people, need to stop judging and comparing ourselves to other people and everyone in general, because no two people are exactly the same and there never will be. This reigns true in so many parts of everyday life. If we all just stopped trying to categorize everybody else, we could all just accept each other for who we really are.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh
In the short story, "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury, the main character is a fourteen year old boy named Joby who ran away from home to join the army. He comes to realize that he has a huge role in this battle.
It's the night before the war, and Joby is lying next to his drum, contemplating the day to come. When talking about the soldiers, the author says, "raw youth their protection and benediction". When he writes this, I interpret it to mean that because they're so young and "raw" they are not really thinking about the possibilities and consequences. Joby is very young, and pretty innocent. When it comes to his view of the war however, he is very aware. While most of the soldiers are "blindly plunging" into the war, Joby knows exactly how it is most likely going to end, and it isn't pretty. "What the men whispered the boy could only guess and he guessed it was 'Me, I'm the one. I'm the one of all the rest who won't die. I'll live through it. I'll go home. The band will play, and I'll be there to hear it.' Yes, thought the boy, that's all very well for them, they can give as good as they get!" So in this sense, he's very wise.
Joby soon comes to realize that he has a huge role in the war as the drummer boy. Before he approaches this realization, he is very nervous. He talks about how every soldier has a weapon and shield and he has nothing. "But without these last," here Joby refers about the numerous weapons the soldiers have, "the boy felt his family move yet father off in the dark." He's saying that he feels his chances of surviving getting smaller and smaller, which shows he's smart about it, unlike most of the army. He feels that being the drummer boy, he doesn't have a purpose. When the General talks to him for a while however, after he explains to Joby his purpose, and how he can make a difference, Joby is very mature about it. "If he, Joby, beat slow tomorrow, the heart would beat slow in the men... But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill." He accepts his responsibility.
In conclusion, Joby, the fourteen year old drummer boy of Shiloh is innocent yet wise at the same time. He has hopes and fears as any other fourteen year old, but he's bery mature and realistic about his world.
It's the night before the war, and Joby is lying next to his drum, contemplating the day to come. When talking about the soldiers, the author says, "raw youth their protection and benediction". When he writes this, I interpret it to mean that because they're so young and "raw" they are not really thinking about the possibilities and consequences. Joby is very young, and pretty innocent. When it comes to his view of the war however, he is very aware. While most of the soldiers are "blindly plunging" into the war, Joby knows exactly how it is most likely going to end, and it isn't pretty. "What the men whispered the boy could only guess and he guessed it was 'Me, I'm the one. I'm the one of all the rest who won't die. I'll live through it. I'll go home. The band will play, and I'll be there to hear it.' Yes, thought the boy, that's all very well for them, they can give as good as they get!" So in this sense, he's very wise.
Joby soon comes to realize that he has a huge role in the war as the drummer boy. Before he approaches this realization, he is very nervous. He talks about how every soldier has a weapon and shield and he has nothing. "But without these last," here Joby refers about the numerous weapons the soldiers have, "the boy felt his family move yet father off in the dark." He's saying that he feels his chances of surviving getting smaller and smaller, which shows he's smart about it, unlike most of the army. He feels that being the drummer boy, he doesn't have a purpose. When the General talks to him for a while however, after he explains to Joby his purpose, and how he can make a difference, Joby is very mature about it. "If he, Joby, beat slow tomorrow, the heart would beat slow in the men... But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill." He accepts his responsibility.
In conclusion, Joby, the fourteen year old drummer boy of Shiloh is innocent yet wise at the same time. He has hopes and fears as any other fourteen year old, but he's bery mature and realistic about his world.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo #2
Right now I am reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. In this book, there are two main characters, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth Salander has been determined "socially inept" among other things, and has been thought of as strange on a number of occasions. Most of these assumptions have been created because of the way she looked/dressed.
Lisbeth Salander's appearance generally consists of all black clothing (t-shirt, jacket, pants, boots), multiple facial piercings, numerous tattoos, and an extremely skinny physique. This has often led to people judging her and making conclusions purely based on her appearance, which are often wrong. Once she was walking to work when suddenly a visor-clad riot police officer appeared in front of her. Without any provocation or instigation he hit her on the shoulders with his baton. Later she found out that "Reclaim the Streets" was holding a demonstration down the road. She of course, had nothing to do with it.
Towards the middle of the book, Lisbeth Salander is raped by her "guardian". Salander, being well of age supposedly needs a guardian because she has been declared "legally incompetent". Of course, she doesn't really need a guardian, but at this moment (and probably for awhile) she's stuck having her finances controlled by whoever the government has assigned her at the time. When Salander was raped by her guardian Nils Bjurman, she immediately rules out going to the police for help. It would be his word against hers after all. As Salander said, "In her world, this was the natural order of things. As a girl she was legal prey, especially if she was dressed in a worn black leather jacket and had pierced eyebrows, tattoos, and zero social status. There was no point whimpering about it."
I think this is very disturbing. Just because she wears black and has piercings, and the fact that she was mis-labeled socially inept etc., means that she can't rely on the police in a case of rape. It really makes me think about how society has created this ideal image of "normal", or not necessarily an image, just how people are supposed to act. I don't doubt that if she had gone to court, she probably would've lost, and that's really scary. Just because someone looks or acts differently then how we think they should doesn't mean we should neglect them or become prejudice, and yet we do.
In conclusion, Salander's appearance has caused her some serious issues. She was assaulted by a police officer, and she can't even report rape because she knows that it would harm her rather than help her. She is well aware of this, and has adapted to her situation. It really shows what lengths people will take or not take, based on someone's appearance.
Lisbeth Salander's appearance generally consists of all black clothing (t-shirt, jacket, pants, boots), multiple facial piercings, numerous tattoos, and an extremely skinny physique. This has often led to people judging her and making conclusions purely based on her appearance, which are often wrong. Once she was walking to work when suddenly a visor-clad riot police officer appeared in front of her. Without any provocation or instigation he hit her on the shoulders with his baton. Later she found out that "Reclaim the Streets" was holding a demonstration down the road. She of course, had nothing to do with it.
Towards the middle of the book, Lisbeth Salander is raped by her "guardian". Salander, being well of age supposedly needs a guardian because she has been declared "legally incompetent". Of course, she doesn't really need a guardian, but at this moment (and probably for awhile) she's stuck having her finances controlled by whoever the government has assigned her at the time. When Salander was raped by her guardian Nils Bjurman, she immediately rules out going to the police for help. It would be his word against hers after all. As Salander said, "In her world, this was the natural order of things. As a girl she was legal prey, especially if she was dressed in a worn black leather jacket and had pierced eyebrows, tattoos, and zero social status. There was no point whimpering about it."
I think this is very disturbing. Just because she wears black and has piercings, and the fact that she was mis-labeled socially inept etc., means that she can't rely on the police in a case of rape. It really makes me think about how society has created this ideal image of "normal", or not necessarily an image, just how people are supposed to act. I don't doubt that if she had gone to court, she probably would've lost, and that's really scary. Just because someone looks or acts differently then how we think they should doesn't mean we should neglect them or become prejudice, and yet we do.
In conclusion, Salander's appearance has caused her some serious issues. She was assaulted by a police officer, and she can't even report rape because she knows that it would harm her rather than help her. She is well aware of this, and has adapted to her situation. It really shows what lengths people will take or not take, based on someone's appearance.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
I am currently reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. This book is told in third person, and so far, I think it's safe to say that there are two main characters. The first main character is radical financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist, who has recently got caught in some trouble including a billionaire corporate leader, some possibly faulty information, and a court sentence of libel. Lisbeth Salander is a thorough investigator at Milton Security. Salander's appearance is a bit... off-putting, but even though her appearance may lead people to think of her as disturbed, or socially inept, her reports are (often disturbingly) comprehensive, and assiduous. I think these two characters are very similar.
Lisbeth Salander simply does not care what other people think about her. She dresses how she pleases, does as she feels like, and if someone has an opinion, for their sake, they should keep it to themselves. Her wardrobe consists of all black, including many piercings, and her skinny physique leads to her often being mistaken as a child. She tends to keep to herself, and obey and dis-obey orders as she pleases.
Mikael Blomkvist is a liberal financial journalist who takes his job as a financial reporter very seriously. He believes in writing about the corrupt financial world as it is, and this generally makes him less popular with the less dedicated financial reporters, and causes politicians and financiers to keep a wary eye.
I feel like the author chose these two characters for a reason. This book has many important characters and it is often hard to keep track of who is who. Whenever the story goes back to Salander or Blomkvist however, I always anticipate a forthright, biting, honest view of the world from both of them. These characters have a lot in common when it comes to their fundamental beliefs and their core personalities. Throughout her whole life, Lisbeth Salander hasn't ever cared what people thought of her. If she didn't feel like it, she wouldn't even share her thoughts or opinions. When she was in court as a youth, where they were debating what was "wrong" with her, she had the potential to change their minds or share her take on the situation, and yet, she said nothing. Salander however, is none-the-less extremely intelligent. Mikael Blomkvist believes in taking risks in his writing, if he believes that certain knowledge should be made public. Over his many years of financial journalism, he's created an unspoken goal to take down fraudulent business men/women as frequent as possible. Both characters have a significant bravery when it comes to how other people think of them, in the sense that generally, it's not of that much importance. Both characters take their work seriously, digging up awesome information about the people they are working on at the time. Salander and Blomkvist both have a stubbornness about them that can sometimes push them forward, or hold them back.
In conclusion, I think that the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are similar in many ways. I think that the author chose to write about two very driven people and I can't wait to see how they connect.
Lisbeth Salander simply does not care what other people think about her. She dresses how she pleases, does as she feels like, and if someone has an opinion, for their sake, they should keep it to themselves. Her wardrobe consists of all black, including many piercings, and her skinny physique leads to her often being mistaken as a child. She tends to keep to herself, and obey and dis-obey orders as she pleases.
Mikael Blomkvist is a liberal financial journalist who takes his job as a financial reporter very seriously. He believes in writing about the corrupt financial world as it is, and this generally makes him less popular with the less dedicated financial reporters, and causes politicians and financiers to keep a wary eye.
I feel like the author chose these two characters for a reason. This book has many important characters and it is often hard to keep track of who is who. Whenever the story goes back to Salander or Blomkvist however, I always anticipate a forthright, biting, honest view of the world from both of them. These characters have a lot in common when it comes to their fundamental beliefs and their core personalities. Throughout her whole life, Lisbeth Salander hasn't ever cared what people thought of her. If she didn't feel like it, she wouldn't even share her thoughts or opinions. When she was in court as a youth, where they were debating what was "wrong" with her, she had the potential to change their minds or share her take on the situation, and yet, she said nothing. Salander however, is none-the-less extremely intelligent. Mikael Blomkvist believes in taking risks in his writing, if he believes that certain knowledge should be made public. Over his many years of financial journalism, he's created an unspoken goal to take down fraudulent business men/women as frequent as possible. Both characters have a significant bravery when it comes to how other people think of them, in the sense that generally, it's not of that much importance. Both characters take their work seriously, digging up awesome information about the people they are working on at the time. Salander and Blomkvist both have a stubbornness about them that can sometimes push them forward, or hold them back.
In conclusion, I think that the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are similar in many ways. I think that the author chose to write about two very driven people and I can't wait to see how they connect.
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