Symbols

The Youngers' apartment plays a rather large role when it comes to the book's whole atmosphere and feel. The apartment itself is a small, one window, trapped dungeon for the family who feel as though they cannot escape their lives and poverty, especially Walter. The lack of light in the residence resembles their sense of confinement-a situation in which someone is forced to stay in a place, especially a prison, and not allowed to leave. The small speck of light that does make its appearance in the apartment is a reminder of the family's dreams. Like the family itself, the furniture was originally chosen with pride but now old and worn. It provides a symbol for the Youngers family over time. The "old and worn" feel to the furniture shows the tired and strained conditions of everyday life. Many symbols are provided in this book, in which they explain much of the family. Their characteristics and lives are shown in depth and detail with the apartment, furniture, and light. With this it better explains the main theme of the book; The struggles and hardship of an African American family during the 1950s while they keep a sense of pride, not like many at the time.

Same Yet Different

F. Scott Fitzgerald has a tendency to use the same plot with his pieces. With the two pieces "The Great Gatsby" and "Winter Dreams" it is shown.
Both main characters, coming from little to no money, share a common dream of wanting wealth and fortune as well as a high society leading lady. Both ladies are flirtatious and hard to get. They marry someone else and have their child, realizing too late when they see or talk to the main characters again that they could've had a better life. Yet, when the main characters attempt to regain their past love with their ex's, it fails miserably and they end up alone.
Now there are differences to these two stories, obviously, or else they would be the same one. Dexter in "Winter Dreams" isn't involved in an illegal way of making money as Gatsby from "The Great Gatsby" is. Gatsby makes money by illegally selling alcohol during the prohibition era while Dexter owns a laundry service, which he later sells. Also, Dexter's view of his "love" Judy changes when he realizes how much her beauty has deteriorated while Gatsby always finds his "love" Daisy beautiful.
In all, the two pieces are both still very identical, but there are ways in which they differ.

Gatsby

We all have a natural attraction to wealth, power, and beauty. This proves to be the reason as to why most people attend Gatsby's lavish parties. Yet there's another reason for attending a "Gatsby party" and that's to find out things about this character.
Gatsby is perceived to be this self made man when in reality he comes from no money. His past is embarrassing to him so he creates this persona of a wealthy man. He changes his name, going to war, and then becoming involved in a shady business to get him rich. Ultimately, he does this all for a woman he loves names Daisy. His obsession with her since the war has motivated him to throw parties, hoping she will come one day, and buy a house across from her where he can watch. He tries extremely hard to rebuild what he and Daisy once had when they were young. But, as time passes by it shows that that relationship they once shared is gone. In the end we see that he's stuck not being able to go back to the past and recreate that life but stuck not being able to move forward without her either.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald can easily be regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Despite having many pieces published without much recognition, The Great Gatsby proved to be his greatest novel and one of the best pieces of that time period.
Fitzgerald first began writing small stories and such for his high school newspaper. After graduating high school, he attended Princeton. World War I hit within his first years there. With being on academic probation, he decided to enlist in the army. At one of the locations, he met a woman named Zelda who he knew he had to turn into his wife. She, however, wouldn't commit to him unless he was financially stable to support her. Fitzgerald's piece, The Side of Paradise, made him much money. He then moved to France for inspiration on his next piece, with his last one becoming very popular, very quickly he needed to up his game and be able provide for his wife, Zelda. A year later, The Great Gatsby was published. He felt comfortable with the amount of money he had made at that point that he asked her to marry him. They wed and had a child together. Though, after the success of Gatsby, he wasn't able to produce something as great after. He ventured off to Hollywood to make scripts for movies and shows attempting to come up with enough money to produce a piece as great at Gatsby. Sadly, he passed away from a heart attack while in the middle of another piece.

Punctuation

Parts of the opening statement for the debate on punctuation are included (side apposing strict punctuation rules):
Due to the evolving world's increasingly modernist/minimalist perspective it is only natural that punctuation also adjusts to differing norms. As source A states "The reality is that language evolves in conjunction with culture." Due to changing punctuation there has never been a correct standard to follow. For example Shakespeare didnt use the same rules we have now yet did it affect us for the worse? no. We have never stuck to a "correct standard" of writing. With the evolution of the English language the value of punctuation has decreased. Therefore the unnecessary rules shouldnt be strictly enforced. Why are they as strictly enforced now and at school if its bound to change sooner or later? There are hundreds of rules for just a comma but we arent about to sit down and learn every single one. Also strict punctuation rules restrict the freedom of expression and individual style. We can specifically remember certain writers not just for their words but also for their use of rules or rather how they make their own. We arent in school just so we can learn all the rules but also how to make writing into something that sets us apart from others not make us the same.

Annotating

Something we've done often in our english classes has been to annotate written works. As the classes got harder and it became more strenuous, people became annoyed of the process. I, for one, enjoy annotating. I'm crazy, I know. Yet, it's solely for the reason that we as students are capable of finding a deeper meaning to a book, phrase, or even a name.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester's daughter, Pearl, provides one of the biggest symbols in the novel. Her name gives much insight into her as a person and it feels great to put together the pieces of how to two are alike. A pearl is derived from an oyster, the oyster lives a painful life upon delivering the pearl, the black pearls, that mimic Pearl's appearance, are the most beautiful and unique, etc. As we found all of these correlations from Hester's daughter's name to her life situation, we obtain knowledge of a deeper meaning as to why the author chose that name, it fits her to a T.
Authors will often find ways of incorporating meanings or correlations into details in their works. Though, you have to find them and make the connection. Again, a process I enjoy.

Judgement; Letter or not

In the Scarlet Letter, Hester is forced to wear, on her clothing, a letter A. The A represents the sin committed by an adulterer. Though, what would the world be like if everyone was forced to wear the letter of their committed sin?
In our society people judge. Most of the time they don't know if what they're judging you for is true or not yet they do it anyways. They could be envious of a quality you possess or an object you attain. In Hester's case she was beautiful as was her letter. It made the women of the town even more envious and nasty, much like what happens in our society. It gave them a way to make certain remarks or faces at her. A leeway into projecting their hatred.
Everyone will perform a sin of some kind, small or large, in their life. Having a letter to represent the largest one visibly on your clothing would share it with the world. It would give people an automatic viewpoint of you and make room for their judgement.
The main point of this blog post was to share my opinion on the similarity between how people judge each other, letter or not. Because at least to me, it doesn't seem like much of a difference.

This is water...

The commencement speech "This is water"'s  profound and meaningful tone as well as it's back story to the speaker made it my favorite speech to this day.
Upon reading this speech aloud, i noticed that my voice would gain more aggressiveness or calming tones depending on what part I was reading. I would stop and think after every paragraph, compiling my thoughts as the diction made it compulsive. The literary and rhetorical devices added to it's interesting premise. Yet, it was the speaker, David Foster Wallace, and his own personal struggle that made this speech the most unrivaled I have ever taken the time to read.
The meaning behind the speech that Wallace wishes to convey is to live a meaningful life. In which, he definitely did. Yet, he struggled with depression and suicidal tendencies. His natural inclination was to focus on self. With this personal struggle of his he determined that everyone struggles with it at some degree. "Selfishness is the root of all kinds of evil." In my opinion, his personal story gave this speech more depth and meaning even though I already loved his piece without knowing much about him this added a type of vigor. Thank you, David Foster Wallace, for your speech has definitely changed my outlook on many things.

Women In Today's Society vs 1600s

In our society, there are many "jokes" or statements rudely made about women. "Get back in the kitchen that's where you belong", "women are bad drivers", and "men are smarter" are just a few of the ones i've heard in public, on T.V., etc.
It's almost as if men can't get past the idea that both genders are equal. In The Crucible, women were found strange to read anything other than the bible; like Giles's wife. The men could whip the women and say cruel things and they would just take it. They basically imply during the whole movie and piece that women are inferior and are property of men.
Women these days still ask permission by their spouse about whether or not to do some things. Maybe over the course of time women still have the "they're the boss of me" type of thinking still in their brain. Or maybe they were brought up that way, not to have independence or think for themselves.
To me, I think it's sad that women are still, in a joking way, being treated like this and that their mind set it as if they're living in the 1600s. Thought we would've gone a long way from that.

The Difference

The Crucible incorporates an abundant amount of accusations within the piece. Accusations that might not even have stern proof to indict the person for it. Yet, it continues to occur while the citizens are left defenseless to their coming fate.
Abigail Williams, a vengeful young lady with the gift of telling a great lie gains power when starting to accuse other citizens of practicing witchcraft. The courts turn to her in this onerous situation and she manipulates the other girls into stating what she's saying is accurate. This power and importance she builds on gives her the mobility to say as she pleases knowing she will be trusted. The courts have no proof of these people doing such a thing other than Abigail's word. This proves to be a great example of false accusation.
In our society, accusations are expressed very often. Whether it's because of their race, sex, etc. and most of it's false accusation. On the news, in the papers, gossip magazines, they all inform people of accusations. Who knows if it's actually true unless you were there or are that person. This issue makes for a great connection to our time period where everyone believes what others say or they make their own assumptions about others.

What started it all

Something had to model a change for Contemporary American Literature, however was it the Puritans who inspired it? Could it have been the wickedness of Jonathan Edward's section, or maybe the religious aspect of Bradford's piece that opened new doors for the possibility of new forms of writing?

Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" gave quite a radical perception of how he views religion. Applying words such as "tormented, "damnation", and "everlasting destruction" give it its menacing feel. In that time, Edwards inspired multiple writers to begin this new style of writing. Though, it didn't spark a huge change in that time. Many authors nowadays have adopted his style, yet it still isn't a popular form of writing even in this day. 

In contrast, Bradford illustrates a view of religion in a calm atmosphere. He writes about hope, looking to god for help, and the importance of Jesus. He and his friends were on a small raft when they finally found land. Kissing the sand, Bradford thanks the god of heaven for this grateful moment. Bradford provided American Literature with religious piece which most didn't write about. Again, like Edwards's piece, it didn't give us this incredible new genre that everyone was amazed by.

Authors to this day still write like Edwards and Bradford. They've inspired many but in my opinion, they didn't model any kind of big change.

Stereotypes...

What would the world really be like without any stereotypes? Would we all see each other in the same light? I've come to the conclusion, after a few experiences, that people will find a way to judge you in any type of manner. Though, stereotypes give a leeway into bullying people for who they are.

Being a Muslim in Troy, i've rarely ever had an instance where someone would think of me any differently. However, there was a certain experience that really made me ultimately question what people were actually thinking. I was in the 7th grade sitting in my world history class when we got put into groups. This specific boy, who never hesitated to speak his mind, was seated right beside me. The topic of religion had come into conversation and within seconds he blurts out, "So you're involved in some kind of terrorist attack right?" This aggravated me very much so believe me, I gave him a piece of my mind. The thing that ultimately upset me was thinking what if multiple people thought this... What if he is basically speaking for all the people in this classroom? After coming to terms with the pure fact that this is a part of life, being stereotyped, I thought about how many people get stereotyped everyday.

Stereotyping is an ugly thing that unfortunately most people do, joking or not. They will never realize its effect until they experience it.

Does it define who you are?

Heritage is generally perceived as something a person inherits or acquirers through birth. I, however, regard it's the personal experiences you go through and what you attain from them that establishes who you are as a person.

In Jeanette Walls's The Glass Castle, Jeanette and her siblings are raised by a pair of erratic parents. The father, an intelligent man who's faults lie in a bottle of Whiskey, can never provide enough for his family and the mother, a so-called "self-proclaimed artist", cares very little about her kids. Through the obstacles they overcome in the varies towns they live in and the life lessons they learn through all the confusion and heartache, you take in the characteristics they begin to acquire. Each child has a mind of his/her own, yet it's still very dissimilar to how their parents are. They go on to do immense things for themselves, which their parents could've never done. 

The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain portrays the same idea. Huck Finn is brought up into a southern society that at the time felt they were superior to African Americans. His father, who was barely around, was very much a racist as the majority of the town was. Huck, however, doesn't fall into this stereotype. He helped a runaway slave by the name of Jim escape and became his best friend. At times, Huck feels dishonest about his actions but in the end he comes to term with his decisions.