April Monthly Blog

April Monthly Blog

"Some day, when you are old and wrinkled and ugly, when thought has seared your forehead with its lines, and passion branded your lips with its hideous fires, you will feel it, you will feel it terribly. Now, wherever you go, you charm the world. Will it always be so? . . . You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray. Don't frown. You have. And beauty is a form of genius -- is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it. You smile? Ah! when you have lost it you won't smile. . . . People say sometimes that beauty is only superficial. That may be so, but at least it is not so superficial as thought is. To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances." All throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray is obsessed with his physical appearance. Throughout the novel, Dorian Gray becomes strangely obsessed over his appearance. Dorian uses the portrait given to him by Basil in order to cover up his actual self. The portrait shows an old man who is described as not beautiful, according to Dorian. This message which is common throughout the novel relates to modern society and how men and women today obsess over physical appearance. Today in society, media sources such as movies, television shows, magazines, and billboards all elaborate on outer appearance. Several advertisements seen on television today show young, beautiful, healthy, and flawless looking men and women in order to advertise their products. Beauty magazines for women display women who look very unrealistic, incredibly thin, with no flaws. Society is obsessed with physical appearance and what appears to be on the outside rather than more important things such as what is on the inside. 

The Challenge of Cultural Relativism

The Challenge of Cultural Relativism

“Cultural Relativism is a theory about the nature of morality. At first blush it seems quite plausible. However like all such theories, it may be evaluated by subjecting it to rational analysis; and when we analyze Cultural Relativism we find that it is not so plausible as it first appears to be.” With that being said, I agree there is no right or wrong method on how different cultures run things, it is all based on the culture and their morals. According to James Rachels in The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, “Different cultures have different moral codes.” Throughout The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, Rachels argues that Cultures all over the world have many different moral codes, but in the end their moral codes are generally quite similar to one another. Throughout The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, the argument that one may believe that you should eat your dead while another is disgusted by the idea has a strong message, It does not make one belief wrong and the other belief right but it is simply the way some people grew up and the culture which they choose to follow. The Christian missionaries in Things Fall Apart overlooked that cultural richness of the Igbo culture, believing that they were morally superior to the Igbo people and that their culture was superior to the Igbo culture. Their attempt in trying to transform the Igbo people into something more European goes to show the destruction of something beautiful (Igbo culture). It isn’t that the missionaries want to help improve Igbo civilization, but they actually believe the Igbo are inferior and that their entire culture needs to be erased and then rebuilt in the eyes of a Christian. In class throughout the hero unit, the question was raised towards the end of each novel, whether we thought the hero in each work was a true hero or not. For each literary work it all came down to perspective, looking at each hero from the perspective of a regular person from the specific culture. Throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, because of the way Okonkwo had treated his family, particularly his wives and children. Because we are accustomed the immorality in domestic abuse, it was very hard to argue in favor of Okonkwo as a true hero in society, even if beating your wife is okay in the Igbo culture it is not the morally correct way to resolve a situation. Back in 2009 when Chris Brown beat his girlfriend Rihanna there was nothing heroic about this, Brown also faced five years of probation and had the choice of either jail time or community service while Okonkwo did not face any of the charges Brown did. Because “Different cultures have different moral codes” Domestic Violence was not something as serious to the Igbo people while it still remains as something very serious in the American culture. Although Okonkwo was high in his society due to the fact that he had previously defeated “The Cat,” his high success with the yams, and the fact that he had several wives, In our Socratic Seminar we agreed he wouldn't be high in our society because we thought that he did not achieve anything heroic in order to achieve such great power in the Igbo culture. There was a great deal of disagreement and discussion when it came to Oknokwo because of the fact that he is defined as a modern hero according to the “Heroes in Society : The Modern Hero” handout that we had previously been given in class,  but it became difficult to argue that Okonkwo was a hero in our society due to the fact that he had beat his wives and he never really helped others. Although, if you look at the definition of a modern hero he fits. He is a character that has weakness. 

Sanity, or Insanity?

sanity,or insanity?

Throughout the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the large controversies present throughout the play is the question of Hamlet's sanity, whether he is in reality sane or insane. One theory that is present is that Hamlet got too in character and had difficulty pulling himself out of the mindset of psychotic behavior. In society there are several celebrities, movie stars, singers, and comedians that all go through this. As they have been “in character” for months they suddenly believe that they actually are that person, these actors and actresses are better known as “method actors.” They are very similar to Hamlet, as he could not escape the character he was playing.This is the stance that I would take on the subject. At first Hamlet was perfectly sane and rational. I believe that the death of Polonius was his turning point. However, I think he pulled out of it slightly at the end as he was dying of poison. I think he realized that he had gone too deep and should have taken care of his uncle sooner, rather than later. Several others believe that during his “psychotic breakdown,” that he sparingly went crazy. There is evidence seen throughout the play of this as he kills Polonius without considering the act at all. He seems to irrationally act, though throughout the previous parts of the play, he was known to act rationally. Many would say this is the perfect example to prove true insanity in Hamlet. Others though, argue that hamlet never really was crazy. They reason that he felt the need to kill Polonius in order to completely sell his insanity. 

Boasting, Good or Bad?

Boasting, Good or Bad? 

One of the questions which I found rather interesting during the Beowulf socratic seminar was question fifteen. Question fifteen of the Beowulf socratic seminar asks "How is boasting seen in the poem as opposed to how it is seen today." In the Pagan culture during the time of Beowulf, boasting was something seen as acceptable by society. Boasting was practically common and expected in society. Individuals in Beowulf's society would want other members of society to know what great things they have accomplished and how well they were doing at the time. As seen in Beowulf, whenever Beowulf has successfully accomplished something he boasts about it. One example of Beowulf's boasting is when he came back to the mead hall and he boasts about how he had just killed Grendel. This was acceptable during the time and seen as a good thing for Beowulf to celebrate and announce his accomplishments. Boasting was a characteristic of a Pagan hero existing in their culture during the time. 

In modern society, boasting is something that can be described as ugly. Boasting is practiced by those one may argue as the cocky, conceited, egoistical members of society. Boasting has not always had a negative connotation associated with it, but I believe that as the stereotype of a "hero" has developed over time, modern society has revised the characteristics of a hero through the use of media, books, and life experiences. A hero in modern society is one who is humble and modest, one who could care less about whether or not they receive recognition for their good deeds and accomplishments. For example, through the eyes of modern society a firefighter who saves a cat from a tree and goes without telling others of his good deed may be seen as "more" or a hero as opposed to the war hero from Iraq that saves the day but doesn't shut up about his good deeds and accomplishment. I believe that Society has boundaries set for those who chose to boast, there is a certain point to how much one can celebrate their accomplishments. 

Personally, I believe that it is okay to say "Guess what? I got an "A" on Mrs.Burnett's test!," but as soon as one takes it out of proportion and begins to literally cheer themselves on and make others either feel worse or annoyed by bragging about their accomplishments, it not only becomes looked down upon by society  but also annoying. Personally from life experience sometimes when I put hard work and dedication towards something and do well, generally I do like to tell my mom or a friend about how well I did, but there is a difference between telling someone and making it your Facebook status. There are certain accomplishments which deserve their recognition but it all depends on how one chooses to celebrate their accomplishment which will determine if it is seen as boasting or not. 

Individuality

in·di·vid·u·al·i·ty

  [in-duh-vij-oo-al-i-tee]

noun, plural in·di·vid·u·al·i·ties.

1.

the particular character, or aggregate of qualities, that distinguishes one person or thing fromothers; sole and personal nature: a person of marked individuality.

2.

individualities, individual characteristics.

3.

a person or thing of individual or distinctive character.

4.

state or quality of being individual; existence as a distinct individual.

5.

the interests of the individual as distinguished from the interests of the community.

There is nothing more important than being yourself, a unique individual. As defined by the dictionary, individuality is basically a character that distinguishes one person from another. An individual is a person or thing of individual or distinctive character. As seen throughout The Power of One by written by Bryce Courtenay, protagonist Peekay finds it necessary to conform and hide behind a camouflage in order to become a functional member of society. Peekay strugles to find his true identity and become an individual. From the start Peekay's conformance to the South African culture shows his need for a camoflauge, hiding away his true identity and individuality. The fact that we never learn Peekay's real name throughout the whole novel shows how much he has hidden his true identity lacking individuality. True individuality comes from a person of a distinctive, unique, and individual character. The interests of the individual are distinguished from the interests of the community. Although Peekay does face several obstacles throughout the novel keeping his true identity from society, Peekay does not take much interest in who he should be as an individual as opposed to who he feels he truly is as an individual in society and the purpose he serves in society. As the novel progresses, Peekay aims to stop seeking a camouflage and become the best thing you can be in society, an individual. Unaware of it, Peekay has developed a new camouflage. This camouflage forfeits his individuality and turns him into someone who constantly wins and always feels the need to be the best. He believes that people like winners so that is what his camouflage turns him into so he can be accepted by his peers.  Peekay strives to be the best at everything he does and eventually does achieves this goal towards the end of the novel. As Peekay grows older throughout the novel, he finally realizes the existence of his new camouflage and tries to destroy it so he can follow his life guided by the morals, ideas, and values that make up individuality which is what he has been seeking throughout the entire course of the novel. Peekay just wants to be accepted by society for who he is and in order to do this he must destroy the camouflage he has created for himself and find his true individual identity. Courtney surrounds Peekay with very distinguishing characters each with an expressive vivid individual identity in hope that Peekay may act like a sponge and soak up an identity. Several of the characters which surround Peekay during the course of the novel have an important lesson to teach Peekay and regardless of the lesson they have to teach and its importance/impact which it holds Courtenay has placed her characters around Peekay in order to show that he basically takes different components from each of the different characters in the novel to almost create his own true identity. Courtenay does a good job of characterizing her main characters in the novel, most of them being of good moral and character they all provide their own special component to the individual identity that is Peekay. Peekay teaches an important lesson that one can overcome their camouflage and reveal their true identity to society, most of the time one just needs support and time. Throughout the novel The Power of One Peekay struggles to find his true identity but with help from others and time he finds his true identity and is accepted by society for who he truly is.