Impending DOOM

Chris began a new independent reading novel this week. Long gone are the days of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Here are the days of Frankenstein. Chris realizes now that the name of my blog is as obsolete as Mariah Carey when it's not Christmas. Having no knowledge of how, nor energy to, change the name of this wonderful work of literary art, Chris digresses.

"Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction."
"Such were the professor's words- rather let me say such the words of fate, enounced to destroy me."

We all know the overlying story arch of Frankenstein. Man creates monster, monster turns on man, angry mob, yada yada. So it comes to no surprise that Mary Shelley's book is oozing with foreshadowing, suspense, and just a dark, eerie aura of impending disaster. The narrator, Victor Frankenstein (from this point on Chris will call him Vic), is retrospectively relating the story of his demise to the readers. There appears to be a reoccurring theme of destruction- but what kind of destruction? Vic is telling the story, so Chris is assuming that he survives. Could it be a destruction of everything Vic holds near and dear? His father, his friends, his adopted sister (who may or may not have been "given" to Vic on his mother's deathbed, but this relationship is a whole other story)? Or could it be a destruction of morals? Is Shelley warning that tampering with science and nature and the very essence of man could be our undoing? Chris is certainly excited to find out. Chris is also wondering about the whole brother- sister thing as Chris is a little confused and worried. Poor girl has no idea what she's getting into. Stay tuned.

Pressure Makes Diamonds

An increase in pressure occurs with a decrease in area. In "A Raisin in the Sun," the entire Younger clan is smushed into the tiny apartment. They bounce against the walls, and against each other, until the pressure becomes so great that an eruption occurs. Everyone in this apartment feels the pressure and the squeeze, the iron vice of poverty. The most depressing vision of poverty in this story occurs when watching Travis. Travis sleeps on the couch every night, in a room that Walter uses to conduct "business" with his friends. Travis goes to sleep late each night, wakes up early every morning, and goes to school. All of the pressure to get out of poverty leads Travis to take on an after school job at the tender age of eight years old. He is being robbed of his childhood, not being able to play outside, have fun, and make memories as often as he'd like to, due to the fact that he is carrying groceries in order to make some more money for his family. Child poverty is extremely difficult; trying to keep up with the other children your age who have more money, better toys, and more opportunities. And even though Travis is making money, it is not nearly enough. Looking on the bright side, this pressure will turn Travis into a moral man. Travis is learning the value of a dollar, how good rest feels after a hard days work. These life lessons can only be taught by experience, giving Travis an advantage over those his age who have never lifted a finger in their lives. One day, Travis will look back on these days and know that while the work was hard, the reward was well deserved.

One is the Loneliest Number

Two can be as bad as one- its the loneliest number since the number one. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, it may seem impossible for characters to ever feel lonely based on the fact that five people are all living within one apartment. The loneliness I shall be discussing is a loneliness of the mind. Walter Lee is different from the rest of his family. Being the only man in the apartment, paired with the fact he does not make as much money as he'd like, often emasculates him. He dreams of making enough to support his wife and child comfortably in their own home. Thus, the liquor store plan. Walter Lee, sans support of Ruth, wishes to invest the insurance money in what appears to others to be a "get rich quick" scheme. Perhaps this is only because they refuse to read the details. Perhaps this plan is a definite way to make money. If Walter were a woman, would the other women listen to him? Could sexism be playing a role in Walter's voice being drowned out? Sexism usually occurs against women, which is why many people are not able to recognize that, in this instance, Walter's gender actually puts him at a disadvantage in his matriarchal family. The question then becomes, what happens to a lonely man's dream deferred?

LET MY PEOPLE GO

Today we are going to discuss the big O. That's right...... oppression. Celebrated playwright Lorraine Hansberry dives headfirst into this issue with her play A Raisin in the Sun. Are people today free from the chaffing shackles of slavery, or are we as bound to another human as African Americans were during the 1800s? The slavery of today is an invisible slavey, born in the corrupt minds and cold hearts of our ancestors and bred into us; an almost instinctive trait to dislike or fear that which does not resemble us. For some people, nurture conquers nature and they can look at people for who they really are. For others, their eyes go only skin deep. People are denied opportunities for "other reasons," a politically correct term used to "Keep America White." I do not know the solution to this problem; this problem that began with our great great great great grandparents and possibly even before them. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel; and that light is in fact multi-colored. As generations pass, people are becoming more accepting towards minorities. One day, the majority of society will be able to truly become America- The Melting Pot. This day is not in the near future. But it is in the future.

Shaking the Foundation

There are many things that unsettle people. Whether its a derogatory word, or phrase, or even a rampant attitude that everyone seems to have. Each person is unhinged by different things. Personally, I cannot tolerate anti- gay people. I just get angry when people make fun of someone for being gay; it literally does not make sense to me. Nor does it make sense when men feel like just because they know a gay man that that man is attracted to them. Not every straight woman ins attracted to you, why should every gay man? I also extremely dislike people who are just openly anti- gay, people who go out of their way to show other people how heterosexual they are. One of my biggest pet peeves is the phrase "turned gay." In my opinion, you do not "turn gay." You are born that way; and it takes some people longer to figure it out than others. And that is okay. Why are we condemning people from being themselves? And when people say that gay couples "ruin the sanctity of marriage" they look like complete ******* because I can think of a miiiiiliion examples of straight marriages that are less than saintly. Its time for people to stop making gay people's lives so hard and just let them live. For the record I am not gay, which makes these views even more unpopular because not very many straight people are okay with homosexuals. Hopefully the current trend in progressing gay rights continues so that America can be one step closer to living up to "...and liberty and justice for all."