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.