The song I chose to relate to Gatsby may be considered unconventional, but in my opinion, fits quite well. The song is Afroman's "Because I Got High".
The characters in the novel don't whole-heartedly care about anything (or half-heartedly, really) except their gossip and drinking with people in their social circles. Tom and Daisy have a young child, and yet they still have time to have affairs, go to parties, have sleepovers with friends. No one is concerned when Tom punches Myrtle in the face--they're all too wasted and don't want to deal with the seriousness that comes with abuse. The group of people that the book centers around are extremely selfish and apathetic.
It doesn't seem like a single one of them works. They are able to remain so apathetic and uninvolved with things that most people would have to deal with. Afroman's lyrics demonstrate the lack of motivation to do things he doesn't really feel like in this verse:
"I was gonna go to work, but then I got high
I just got a new promotion, but I got high
Now I'm selling dope and I know why, (why man) 'cuz I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high"
Obviously the characters in The Great Gatsby aren't smoking hash or anything, but alcohol is definitely their "high" in the sense that marijuana is to Afroman and those in his discourse. It is such a huge component in their lives and just like wealth, it allows them to escape doing the things they don't want to do, like taking care of their children or having a job.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Transcendentalism
Transandentalism is complex and has many ideas that I both agree and disagree with.
I do believe that people should try to be self-reliant. However, I think that it's impossible to be completely self-reliant and that it is okay, to a degree, to rely on trusted loved ones. For example, I am very independent in the school aspect of my life. I keep track of my own assignments and don't rely on my parents or other students to help me learn or complete my homework. If I need help, I realize it on my own and take care of it. However, I can't be completely self-reliant in other areas of my life. When bad things happen, like a death or something that hurts emotionally, I know it's okay to rely on others, whether I need to or not. Having others' support makes me stronger and is something I wouldn't want to give up just to have the title of self-reliance. So in some ways, I do believe that " [civilized man] is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle," but in others, I think it's okay to have others give some "support of muscle."
As far as the idea of the inner divine, I also have a somewhat split opinion on this. I'm not exactly a religous person who believes in any specific God or savior. But if I did believe in a divine, I would think it is a force inside everyone, not a big-guy-in-the-sky kind of God. So in that way, I believe in what Emerson and Fuller are arguing in their texts. I do find some faults in that argument, though. If there is a divine in all of us, guiding us, why do some people do such terrible things? Even if "she is... her own light, and beats with the universal heart," not all humans "beat with the universal heart." In fact, fear of fellow humans unlike ourselves has driven thousands of years worth of conflict. It's a difficult topic to navigate and agree with completely, although it does have definite worth.
I do believe that people should try to be self-reliant. However, I think that it's impossible to be completely self-reliant and that it is okay, to a degree, to rely on trusted loved ones. For example, I am very independent in the school aspect of my life. I keep track of my own assignments and don't rely on my parents or other students to help me learn or complete my homework. If I need help, I realize it on my own and take care of it. However, I can't be completely self-reliant in other areas of my life. When bad things happen, like a death or something that hurts emotionally, I know it's okay to rely on others, whether I need to or not. Having others' support makes me stronger and is something I wouldn't want to give up just to have the title of self-reliance. So in some ways, I do believe that " [civilized man] is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle," but in others, I think it's okay to have others give some "support of muscle."
As far as the idea of the inner divine, I also have a somewhat split opinion on this. I'm not exactly a religous person who believes in any specific God or savior. But if I did believe in a divine, I would think it is a force inside everyone, not a big-guy-in-the-sky kind of God. So in that way, I believe in what Emerson and Fuller are arguing in their texts. I do find some faults in that argument, though. If there is a divine in all of us, guiding us, why do some people do such terrible things? Even if "she is... her own light, and beats with the universal heart," not all humans "beat with the universal heart." In fact, fear of fellow humans unlike ourselves has driven thousands of years worth of conflict. It's a difficult topic to navigate and agree with completely, although it does have definite worth.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Inauguration Blog
My fellow Americans: thank you, firstly, for honoring me with such a position. Secondly: please feel free to help yourselves to the rootbeer floats we have provided at the Rootbeer Float Stations across the lawn. Guys. This is awesome. We did it! Let's take a moment to high five.
Wow. Okay. I know you're supposed to give a list of things you want to accomplish in your term, so here goes:
1. We are going to feed everyone. Seriously, if you can't afford food, that's... that's silly. We're going to get everyone enough food. But not too much food. The obesity rate is pretty high. Let's not continue down that path. Cool.
2. Everyone can get married. Yayz.
3. We are going to make sure Taco Bell and McDonald's serves legitimate meat.
4. If you get above a 3.5 GPA, we're going to pay for your college.
5. The meaner you are, the more taxes you have to pay.
6. You will get gummy worms if you walk, bike, skate, or rollerblade to school or work.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to put it in the suggestion box or email me. This is going to be good, guys. I can feel it. Enjoy the rootbeer floats and thank you!
Wow. Okay. I know you're supposed to give a list of things you want to accomplish in your term, so here goes:
1. We are going to feed everyone. Seriously, if you can't afford food, that's... that's silly. We're going to get everyone enough food. But not too much food. The obesity rate is pretty high. Let's not continue down that path. Cool.
2. Everyone can get married. Yayz.
3. We are going to make sure Taco Bell and McDonald's serves legitimate meat.
4. If you get above a 3.5 GPA, we're going to pay for your college.
5. The meaner you are, the more taxes you have to pay.
6. You will get gummy worms if you walk, bike, skate, or rollerblade to school or work.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to put it in the suggestion box or email me. This is going to be good, guys. I can feel it. Enjoy the rootbeer floats and thank you!
Declaration of Independence... from Advanced Math I
When in the Course of one’s schooling, it becomes necessary for student to dissolve the bands which connect him to mathematics and assume his own choice in studies.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Advanced Math I is boring, strenuous, and destructive to one’s GPA. If all men have the inherent right to Life, Liberty
Advanced Math I has refused to be simple, causing Confusion and overwhelming Fury in the hearts of men.
Advanced Math I has insisted on conferencing every morning, ruining the entire day of its victims.
Advanced Math I has unleashed Inordinate amounts of homework on students no matter the student’s mood or circumstance.
Advanced Math I had endeavored into such areas of studies as matrix multiplication and parametric equations which benefit none and exasperate all.
Advanced Math I has depleted and depressed the Grade Point Average of too many, even if such Men have studied for hours.
In every stage of these Oppressions, We call a rise in arms against Advanced Math I. To stop its numerous injustices and free our time for courses of more interest and importance. We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor… against Advanced Math I.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Map Activity
http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1710s4.jpg
The map I chose was of North America as a whole. It spans from the top of South America to well above the Arctic Circle. The map includes mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, and specific labels. The detailing in the map shows the mapmakers expansive knowledge of North American landscape. It was made in 1710 by two geographers. I find the names found on the map very interesting.
Found on most regions are the names regarding to the European nations which conquered the land. New France/Canada, New Spain/Mexico and most of Central America, New Britain/northern Canada, and New England/America’s east coast, which includes territories named after English royals, such as Maryland and Georgia. Further north, the names are also interesting, but don’t regard to a specific European nation. They do, however, reference specific European explorers and ideals brought over from the Old World. A sea which lies above the Arctic Circle is named Christian Sea. Both Hudson and Baffin’s Bay are named for early English explorers. These maps, I believe, show the disregard for Native peoples and their claim to the land. By renaming the already inhabited lands titles that are specifically European, they omit a sense of ownership and dominance of the Native population. As Valerie Babb states in her essay Crafting Whiteness in America, “The sense of entitlement expressed in [these] accounts accustomed English,” as well as Spanish and French, in my opinion, “mind to thinking of the North American continent as theirs for the taking. This proprietary attitude fostered subsequent avowals of [European] superiority to sustain the belief of [European] right to North America.”
There is a sort of ornate design on the map, in which the title of the map and the mapmakers’ names are stated. Around the edges of it, there are three figures, presumably native. They are outfitted in billowing garb hardly covering them. One is wearing a headdress of leaves, one is holding a walking stick, and another has a monkey in its arms. Alligators, birds of prey, and fauna are also placed around the figures. One of the figures holds an umbrella, addressing the trade fostered between the two populations. An open chest is at the bottom of the design. All of these drawings show the riches and new discoveries featured in the lands that were included by the map. It also portrays the Natives more as animals than humans.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Op-ed Piece
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/opinion/kristof-the-birth-control-solution.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Above is the link to the op-ed piece I found, The Birth Control Solution by Nicolas D. Kristof. In the article he talks about how the Earth's population is increasing at an exponential rate and that birth control would slow down the population increase. He explains that it would reduce poverty and climate change.
I think it is a worthwhile example of persuasive journalism because of the many sources he regarded throughout the article. Also he explains different point of views on the topic of birth control, such as those women in Africa who didn't even know such a thing existed before Kristof told them. His tone and style also lend themselves to the overall persuasiveness of the article. He is charming and clever in some of his phrases, such as "Amen! Contraceptives no more cause sex than umbrellas cause rain." You want to hear what he has to say and get engaged in the argument as a result.
Above is the link to the op-ed piece I found, The Birth Control Solution by Nicolas D. Kristof. In the article he talks about how the Earth's population is increasing at an exponential rate and that birth control would slow down the population increase. He explains that it would reduce poverty and climate change.
I think it is a worthwhile example of persuasive journalism because of the many sources he regarded throughout the article. Also he explains different point of views on the topic of birth control, such as those women in Africa who didn't even know such a thing existed before Kristof told them. His tone and style also lend themselves to the overall persuasiveness of the article. He is charming and clever in some of his phrases, such as "Amen! Contraceptives no more cause sex than umbrellas cause rain." You want to hear what he has to say and get engaged in the argument as a result.
Sound and Fury
I enjoyed Sound and Fury. It depicted two related families who were dealing with their children's deafness.
What I found interesting about the film was that it showed that there is never a right or wrong in a situation. The basic argument in the film was whether or not the children of the family should get surgery to get a cochlear implant. To some members of the whole family, the cochlear implant was a threat to deaf culture.
On the other hand, though, getting the cochlear implant would open up a world of opportunity to the deaf children.
In the end, one family decided to get the implant and one not, but neither was right and neither was wrong. I think that it was a perfect example of the gray instead of black and white idea. Sound and Fury was a good film.
What I found interesting about the film was that it showed that there is never a right or wrong in a situation. The basic argument in the film was whether or not the children of the family should get surgery to get a cochlear implant. To some members of the whole family, the cochlear implant was a threat to deaf culture.
On the other hand, though, getting the cochlear implant would open up a world of opportunity to the deaf children.
In the end, one family decided to get the implant and one not, but neither was right and neither was wrong. I think that it was a perfect example of the gray instead of black and white idea. Sound and Fury was a good film.
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