Passing on the Baton of Stereotypes

The Redlining video shows how even a 100 years after gaining their freedom, African Americans were still segregated and unfairly treated. Even when African Americans were successful, they could never be happy with the societal conditions around them. They were given sub-par homes at higher prices. And when Blacks started moving in, Whites moved out which basically created these "ghettos". This scenario is very similar to the scene with Lindner. The so-called "Improvement Association" was trying to purify the neighborhood of blacks, trying to keep this white safe haven. Even after the Youngers had high hopes ready to move into this house, society tried to push them back down. Lindner's pedantic tone suggests that he too holds this stereotypical view of Blacks as being primitive. 

Now imagine if Lindner comes into the Youngers house and sees a white-looking family, like that in the White Privilege Supermarket video. His whole attitude would be different. Instead of forcing them to stay in their "own community", he would actually be doing his job as part of the Welcoming Association. The difference in attitude is a clear sign of Lindner and the neighborhood's racist ways, much like how the different protocols based on color in the video. The way that Beneatha responds "(drily) Yes- and what do they do?" just furthers Lindner's beliefs about how African Americans are rash and arrogant. This fact is what stops Dr. Joy DeGruy in the video from shouting at the cashier, as she is afraid of being stereotyped by the others in the store. 

African Americans have to act so carefully which is difficult because they are often just standing up for their given rights. Even with large efforts by society, this group continues to face injustice and stereotyping. 

Slow Down and Appreciate Life

Although money can bring you happiness, the two are not synonymous. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz shows how even with a mountain made of diamond, the Washingtons can never be truly happy because they are always so isolated and concerned over preserving their wealth. Despite the fact that they had so much money, were they "worth anything at all?" (Fitzgerald 87). Fitzgerald is trying to show how the Washingtons were built up on the outside, but had essentially a hollow center. They had such a grand showcase of wealth which makes them look almost perfect. However, as the story progresses it becomes clear how shallow and self-centered this family is. They hold no core values which Fitzgerald exposes through the course of the story.

Fitzgerald demonstrates that not only do the Washingtons use corrupt means to gain wealth, but also how they are then controlled by this corruption. They feel justified to hold aviators as prisoners and kill all their guests just to hoard all their wealth. In the end, their greed and money is what asks God for a bribe. They become so stuck in this world of money that it begins take control of their actions. The daughters, Jasmine and Kismine, show how the family has never really left this ideal isolated area as the two girls show their innocence in asking about washing clothes. Fitzgerald shows the evil nature of greed and also how money shouldn't be the center of everyone's life.

I really enjoyed reading this short story and seeing all the similarities between this and The Great Gatsby.

Running towards the Past

"He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at a inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock" (Fitzgerald 91-92)

I really like this passage of The Great Gatsby for many reasons. It follows the scene where Gatsby and Daisy reunite after almost 5 years. This particular scene is when Nick describes Gatsby as Daisy is so overwhelmed by the mansion.

The first thing I noticed was that it shows the emotion within Gatsby. It shows how much this relationship with Daisy means to him, so much so that he is almost embarrassed or nervous to even talk to her. This points to the breaks and flaws in Gatsby, areas that his fake built-up self cannot cover. In a sense, Daisy is the "kryptonite" to Gatsby - his only weakness. This Dream, his American Dream to get rich and be with Daisy, looks to him to be in reach. Just her presence next to him makes him feel as though he has accomplished something in his life. The way Fitzgerald says "consumed ... at her presence" foreshadows that his eventual death would be the fault of his attraction for her. Gatsby takes the blame, as the so-called "savior", for Daisy's actions which leads to Wilson killing Gatsby.

Another thing I noticed was how Nick describes Gatsby to be "an overwound clock". This brings back the point about the "defunct mantelpiece clock" and how Gatsby is only in search of something from the past. His obsession with this past relationship makes him do anything to attain it. This "overwound clock" shows how he is so full of energy next to Daisy's presence, but at a point, suddenly, it will snap and lead to Gatsby's death. This also foreshadows Gatsby's death in a sense because it shows that he has reached his goal, and will now "run down". Gatsby is so stuck in the past and that is one of his biggest flaws. He fails to understand the truth in Nick's statement "you can't repeat the past". The "mantelpiece clock" is already broken which gives evidence to Nick's claim, that this relationship with Daisy is already over.

After reading the complete novel, there are so many little parts like this that foreshadow Gatsby's death which I completely missed when reading it. I really enjoyed reading and discussing this novel, and now to tie it all together WE SHOULD WATCH THE MOVIE IN CLASS! Help this cause by signing this petition.

Speeding through Life

The 1920s or the "Roaring 20s" was the start of consumerism, new technology, and materialism. It marked the birth of one of the most important additions to society: the car. Families jumped at the opportunity of buying a car, often buying on credit - which eventually led to the Great Depression. Families and individuals were all looking for this new ability to control their lives, more specifically the "speed" and pace of their lives. The car gave families the ability to spread across the country. It made weekend trips more common. And most importantly it gave people power and the ability to show off wealth.

In The Great Gatsby, there are multiple examples of how the car symbolizes power and wealth. Nick calls Jordan a "rotten driver" when she almost gets into an accident which shows that this power consumes her. It makes Jordan want to flaunt this speed that she can obtain. The carefree nature she adopts is all to showcase that she has full control. But in reality, everyone with a car has this control which Nick realizes and questions "suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself". Gatsby's Roll-Royce is a symbol of his wealth. He also shows how this power consumes him when he speeds through the valley of the ashes.

Today, much of this attitude about cars still exist. I see people driving 90 down Northfield or Long Lake to show off this power that the car gives them. Why does Jay Leno need so many cars that he has his own TV show for them? For many people the convenience of car is what attracts them to it which was its initial purpose. However, for many others its the power and wealth which drives them to buy it.

Jumping the Hurdles of Societal Standards

Both Toni Morrison and Kehinde Wiley make the difficult life of African Americans clear, as they depict the lives of African Americans amd compare to the ideal white standard. Morrison demonstrates the self-rejection of Pecola as a victim of white beauty standards; she constantly prays for blonde hair and "pretty blue eyes". While the black race is shown to be "ugly", the white race including Mary Jane and Shirley Temple are treated almost like gods for their beauty. Morrison uses this contrast to convey how blacks and minorities are at the hands of the white society. They are forced to conform to white beauty standards and societal standards. This is further exemplified when Morrison alludes to slavery mentioning "the master" who controls the black's beauty and in a sense their life.

Kehinde Wiley uses his paintings such as Officers of the Hussars (below) to demonstrate a very similar point. He mocks the original painting as he replaces the white man with a black man. He conveys that when we see a black man in a position of power, society has taught us to be shocked by that image. It looks so unnatural for this black man to be surrounded with such extravagance. However, when we see the original painting with the white man it looks normal to us. This goes to show how we have all fallen into this ideal white standard, making them superior to all others.  The black man is also stereotyped; he is depicted wearing the classic wife beater, baggy jeans and Timberland boots. On the other hand, the white man proudly wears his country's uniform. These standards have ingrained this divide between races to the extent where I see the black man as a thug in the streets, and the white man as a noble countrymen.

Through the use of different methods, both book and painting, Morrison and Wiley tell the story in the voice and point of view of a minority. The stark contrast created by each tells the audience the magnitude of the inequality in this world. They serve as a call to action; to shock us in a such a way as to change our perspective and seek change in society.

A Run Under the Bluest Sky

While reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, understanding the role beauty plays in society seems unfathomable. Pecola seems to be caught victim of societal beauty standards as she is constantly praying to fit in, wishing for those "pretty blue eyes". Pecola tries to do everything in her power to try and literally consume beauty. She "eat[s] the candy... eat[s] the eyes.. eat[s] Mary Jane... love[s] Mary Jane... [tries to] be Mary Jane". She also tries to get every chance to drink milk out of the Shirley Temple cup, once again trying to just consume beauty. However, because she doesn't have the stereotypical blue eyes and blonde hair she feels she'll never be beautiful. Her race also plays a factor, as it's assumed to be an ugly race, which they've just accepted. This shows how her Pecola's life has been confined by beauty standards, and she has no control over her own beauty.

When Maureen Peal is introduced, her impact is shown immediately. The reader sees the stark contrast between the treatment of whites vs blacks, and how Maureen's race allows her to be more beautiful.

Beauty being such an abstract topic, has been socially constructed. People no longer try to find the beauty within themselves, rather they try to conform and change to the standards society draws. As Toni Morrison talks about, being rejected for the way we look just leads to self-loathing. Our different features and unique traits should be what brings us together and makes us embrace each other rather than divide us. Race and beauty should be completely separate of each other; your race shouldn't define how beautiful you can be.

A Puzzling Workout

While others might say that having blue eyes shows beauty, Toni Morrison found it almost repulsive when trying to imagine her friend with such a feature. The Bluest Eye tells the story of Pecola who fell victim of racial profiling as she was mocked for traits such as her dark skin. Being rejected by society can have a wide variety of effects on each and every one of us. With the support of family and friends we can learn to cope with this pain; however, lacking this close company can lead us to shrink and become a so-called Lone Ranger. Pecola responded to the fire against her by dreaming and praying for features (blue eyes and blonde hair) which she believed would make her beautiful, allowing her to fit in.

In the introduction of this novel, Toni Morrison talks about self-loathing and breaking under the pressure of rejection. This self-loathing is often a very powerful force and even quite dangerous much like the addictive nature of gambling in a casino. The other extreme of self-loathing is the point at which one just crumbles under the immense hatred steered toward themselves, turning themselves "invisible". Beauty and conformity seem to a central reason many start to loath and hate themselves as they fail to understand that inside them they hold true beauty. 

Although this novel isn't a memoir, it is based on a conversation that Toni Morrison had with a young girl in elementary school. Morrison still incorporates "invented friends, classmates" to create the presence of truth or verisimilitude. It seems as if this novel will address the question of race and beauty, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Race not Race 🏁

When you Google "is race a socially constructed concept?" the most accepted answer appears saying "Race is not Biological. It is a Social Construct" (NY Times). While I agree that society draws the boundaries of where each race starts and ends, doesn't our genetic material make us look they way we do which allows for racial classification? With a term as abstract and controversial as race, there seems to be no one right answer to what the definition of race is.

Our in-class discussion regarding race helped me understand the very fluid nature of race; race changes as time goes on. Many times in history, race was created as a justification as domination. This very fact perfectly shows the changing nature of race. While the whites used skin color to assert dominance over blacks, Hitler and the Jews were both light skinned. So instead Hitler asserted dominance of the "Aryan" race - classifying people with their blond hair and blue eyes. But then what did mean to be a Jew? Not all Jews follow the religion of Judaism, and not all of them have the stereotyped long nose.

When asked what race one identifies with on standardized exams, what is the point if the person answering the question and the person collecting the data think race as totally different things. In my opinion looking at people's race does not provide people with that valuable of information because the term means something to almost every single person; once again it goes back to our discussion of perspective. 

I can safely say after reading Maus, discussing in-class, and writing my blog I am only more confused about what race is. At least one thing seems to be universal about race, and that is that we are all apart of the Human Race.

A Wrong Turn Reading Comics

When I heard that we were going to be reading a comic in class, I was pretty stoked. I myself have fallen into the general assumption that comics are kiddish and full of humor. Boy was I wrong about this. Maus by Art Spiegelman demonstrates the power of using words and pictures together to deliver the tragic and brutal journey of Vladek Spiegelman. Maus effectively merges the past with the present (as seen by page 45 in Volume 1 where Art's body represents the connection between the past and present) and creates the contrast of past and present through the non-linear form. The story is full of symbols and motifs (such as the smoke, swastika, jail cells) which show readers the depth and magnitude of horrific Holocaust.

While reading Volume 2, page 28 (below) really jumped out at me. Within this page we see a huge change in the tone of the piece. It begins with a very gloomy and depressed tone seen with the dejected nature of Vladek who is "worn and shivering and crying a little". Then in box three we see a sense of sarcasm from Vladek as he shows his anger and disappointment for being in such a horrid place. Finally, the last five boxes show hope. Hope and optimism are two words that probably don't come to mind while placed in a such a situation. However, Vladek's inspiration to grind and stay alive was sparked by something as simple as superstition. Vladek from this moment "started to believe" as the "saint" "put another life" into Vladek. This major shift just within one page shows the ability and effectiveness of comics and how Spiegelman is able to use this to convey his dad's story. Another thing that I noticed was how even after the Nazi's had taken everything from Vladek, even his name, giving him a number instead, he still learned how to find hope and believe. The shading on the page helps to trace the motif of order and jail cells as we see the uniform they are all wearing and also the lines in the background. I also found the very first box symbolic. The reference to the chimney traces the motif of smoke for which the ingrained memory in Vladek is the burning of people, while to Artie it is simply just something coming of his cigarette.

Reading Maus has been really enjoyable. Seeing and living the Holocaust in the perspective of a mouse was really interesting. It has also opened my eyes and has shown me the that not all comics are funny and for children. I'm looking forward to reading more of Spiegelman's work. 

Training our Minds

What is freedom? And what is liberation? This week in class we discussed two pieces which only further increased my curiosity to learn the answers to these abstract questions. However, I did learn that these terms not only are widely subject to different perspectives but also the crucial role they play in defining us as human beings. David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" and Bell Hooks' "Rethinking the Nature of Work" both opened my eyes to the strained relationship between people and the world we live in.

Dictionary.com has a whole list of definitions for freedom including "the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint". Wallace also addresses the fact that there are multiple conceptions of freedom which include "the freedom to be lords of our own tiny Wallace also addresses the fact that there are multiple conceptions of freedom which include "the freedom to be lords of our own tiny skull-sized kingdoms". However, he defines "real freedom" to be the ability to control yourself and pay attention to others. A freedom you have to fight yourself to obtain and exercise. This seems contradictory in the sense that you are limiting your own freedom. Wallace points out that it is human nature for people to be self-centered. I feel while people are all capable of caring for others, they definitely don't show it especially after the long and tiring day Wallace mentions.

The other piece, "Rethinking the Nature of Work", questioned the definition of liberation. Bell Hooks talks about how liberation is different for all women. Some women viewed work as liberation because they finally got a chance to get out of the home, while other women "quit working because the work they do is not liberating". Liberation is therefore all a matter of perspective and ideology. When people in general accept loss and take the easy way, they are inevitably risking the chance to reach liberation. So once again, we are stopping ourselves from reaching this liberation.

While trying to wrap my head around the meanings of these two words, I was able to realize that we hold the power within us to control the way we live and act. However not all of us choose to take advantage of this power, limiting us from our own freedom and pursuit for liberation.

"The Race for the White House"

With the 2016 election approaching soon, the question of voting comes up. Henry David Thoreau states "All voting is a sort of gaming... a playing with right and wrong". This statement couldn't be any more accurate for this election; on one hand we have a business man refusing to release his tax returns and on the other hand we a have a former Secretary of State who put the country in danger using a private email server. Whether the next four years are going to be lead by Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump seems to be all up "to the mercy of chance".


Watching the first Presidential Debate I was quite shocked as the to the current state of our Nation. Are people not concerned with this Nation's future? Voter turnout was 55% in the 2012 election. How do people expect their voice to be heard in the government if they aren't even expressing their right to vote. Thinking about it, about a half of the people in this country are choosing the fate for everybody else.

If people get so angered about injustices in our lives, gun violence, or the US's foreign policy, then why don't they go out and try to make a change by voting. Thoreau states "some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union ... why do they not dissolve it themselves". President Obama also made a similar point during his speech at the Democratic National Convention: "Don't 'Boo', Vote".

This election is already a historic one as we have a female candidate representing one of the two major parties. The issue of equality for blacks seems to be as important as ever. And the threat of foreign nations seems to be intensifying by the day.  With all these major issues it seems crazy that in the end the man or women leading us through this roller coaster might be decided by "chance".

A Never Ending Long Run

We talked a lot about minorities and their stereotypes in class this week, especially those of African Americans and Native Americans. These discussions opened my eyes to the vast time frame that these groups have been subject to oppression. From slavery to police brutality in North Carolina, and from colonial disputes to the building of a pipeline, these minority groups have struggled and continue to struggle tremendously.

Let's start with African Americans. They were under the oppression of the white man as slaves until the Civil War. But even after the war, they continued to face inequality and unjust treatment. The social stigma and the ingrained fact that white men were superior prevailed. Frederick Douglass states "there is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the the people of the United States, at this very hour". These shocking and bloody practices seem to never end, however. The shooting in Ferguson and the recent brutality in North Carolina have sparked a new Blacks Life Matter movement. Frederick Douglass definitely did not intend that the immoral practices would remain nearly over a 150 years later.

Moving on to Native Americans. From almost the very moment that the first colonials came in contact with the Native Americans, the indigenous people were driven West. Sherman Alexie draws an allusion to this fact by saying "we were the only real cowboys there despite the fact that we're Indians." Indians slowly continued to lose their land and were forced into reservations. Well, now even these reservations are at danger. The building of a pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Missouri could contaminate the main fresh water supply for many tribes. Along with this, the Native American and their reservations are very commonly stereotyped. Early on the Native Americans were described as "merciless savages" (DoI) with a primitive language and culture. They continue to be stereotyped as being alcoholics and lazy which simply isn't true.

So the point I'm trying to make is that these minority groups have faced unjust treatment for years and it doesn't seem to end. While this may seem an obvious fact, little to no change has occurred which tells me that not enough people are on this same page.

A Start Line for Equality?

This week in class, we compared two documents: The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson and the The Declaration of Sentiments written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Although I was completely lost while analyzing the pieces at home, our in-class discussion helped me to understand some very interesting points about them. The language in the Declaration of Sentiments was an especially intriguing feature. Stanton writes it in an inclusive manner trying to unite women (and the 3 men present) to begin a new movement for equality. The speech is optimistic and looks towards the future. While the DoI (Declaration of Independence) builds on the fact that "all men are created equal", the DoS (Declaration of Sentiments) writes "all men and women are created equal". The women were still dependent on men, and this document shows it. Rather than writing a completely new radical piece, these women copied the structure of the DoI with very similar starting phrases.

At this point in history, women were struggling. They were under the tyranny of men. In fact, over hundred years after this speech was given, there was another Women's Right Movement in the 1960s (#APUSH DBQ :/). The ending of the DoS phrases this fact perfectly: "We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of Conventions". In 1873, Susan B. Anthony, a Women's Rights activist, delivered a rousing speech in which she stands "under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted in the last presidential election". Her radical and bold tone work towards gaining suffrage for women. Not until 1920 did women gain this right. Anthony mocks white men and their right to vote, which is similar to the way Stanton writes her speech. However, Anthony is able to deliver her point much more effectively than Stanton because Anthony's speech is much more powerful with a specific end result.

Women have fought tirelessly and continue to fight to gain the equality they rightfully deserve. In that sense, the Seneca Falls Convention was an important starting point for Women's Rights, but where is the finish?