Works Cited

Collins, Billy.  “Introduction to Poetry.”  Class Reader 0.5. Print.

Hwang, David Henry.  “Sound of a Voice.”  Class Reader 26-40. Print.

Hwang, David Henry.  “Trying to Find Chinatown.”  Class Reader 41-45. Print.

Satrapi, Marjane.  Persepolis. New York: Pantheon, 2003.  Print.

Wasserstein, Wendy and Anton Chekhov.  “Man in a Case.”  Class Reader 19-25.

Print.

Benigni, Robert, Dir. La Vita E Bella. Cecchi Gori Group, 1997. Film.

Typhoon Haiyan

I know this probably has nothing to do with English, but I started the blog with a post about the Philippines and I thought it would be fitting to end it with one.

As you may have heard, Typhoon Haiyan was one of the worst and most destructive natural disasters ever recorded. Whole cities and islands have been wiped clean almost as if it was the second coming of the flood that cleansed the Earth from Genesis. Sons have been picking out their mothers from the ruble, people have been tripping over bodies littered across the streets, workers have been evacuating thousands of unidentified bodies in body bags, relatives have been cut off.


The current death toll is around 3,000 and counting. The Filipino people are strong; they are resilient, but we can't recover without help. I wish I could help out there but, in the meantime, I'll be praying for those that are. Our country may not be big or powerful but we're part of this world too.



During our Persepolis presentations, Lina gave a heart wrenching presentation about the Peace Corps. Many of us probably thought, after seeing her photos, that we wanted to make a change. Well, this is our chance. Even the smallest things can make the biggest difference.

"I don't know much about the Philippines, but I know that whenever there are people in need, the world needs to come together to help. We are all one community and I fully support your message in this post. May the Avatar help those affected from the Typhoon. Oh wait, that Avatar is in my world..."

Who are We Really?

Black, white, yellow, red, caramel, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate. People have been described by a variety of different labels, many of which are starting to sound more and more like sugary sweets. "Trying to Find Chinatown" shows two characters arguing about the importance of race. How big of a part does it play in our lives? Can we really be free of stereotypes?

Race issues have been part of history for as long as history has been recorded and, no matter how hard we try, nothing will ever be equal. As much as people nowadays preach equality, we will never be equal. There will always be racism in the workplace, there will always be that man or woman that locks their doors or holds onto their belongings just a bit tighter when they see a minority walking by. Whether we like it or not, we cannot escape our background, but we can accept it. Like Ben, we can accept who are and grow from the lessons of our ancestors or we can be like Ronnie and completely disregard that part of ourselves.

Our lives and our destinies are our own choice, we decide who we want to be and how we want to live, with our without our culture. If we can't get away from who we are, then why not accept who we are? The only way for complete equality is for the world to be blind.

"In my cartoon, everyone is always scared of me. Just the rulers of my nation are despotic and tyrannical, I'm always classified in their class. Everyone where I'm from is always seen as 'bad' or 'evil' when, in reality, many of us are really nice people. I'm not a bad guy. I'm sick of the stereotypes, and I'm sick of the blind hatred. I hope one day your world can come together and ignore small, irrelevant differences." 


*Image from a Yahoo article about a black equality movement at the University of Michigan

Poetry Kinda Sucks

"I personally love poetry. I don't get why you're so bitter." 

In reality, I like poetry. I like poetry that I can understand, poetry that can have a deeper meaning but is ultimately accessible to just about anyone. Everyone should be able to bask in the beauty of poetry; it's all around us.

"What kind of poetry are you talking about now?" 

I'm talking about the sound of the birds in the trees, the sight of a fat guy selling dirty hot dogs on a street corner, the smell of fresh baked cookies in the oven, the feeling of your bed after a long day, or the taste of lemonade on a hot day. Everything has potential to be beautiful, to be poetry; you just have to see it the right way. Or poetry that's beautiful in its simplicity. You don't need complex schemes or rhymes to make a masterpiece, you only need the right subject and the right words to express it.

"So what poetry sucks? Your title is irrelevant." 

The poetry that I don't like is what we studied in high school. Granted I liked some of the poems, but I, more often than not, got sick of them. My high school teachers destroyed any chance for me to like poetry because they beat it into the ground. Study the rhyme schemes. What does this mean? Notice the complexities of the meters. Honestly, I could care less about that; I only want the message of the poem. What if the author was just referring to a blue flower and not the sadness that overcame him/her during a time of depression that is represented in a blue flower that also symbolizes death? What if it was just a blue flower? I understand that many times the author does intend to use symbolism, but stop beating it into the ground. I get it.

My teacher junior year told us a story while we were reading Joy Luck Club about Amy Tan responding to a journalist's attempt to dissect the book using Buddhist beliefs and a variety of other ludicrous ideas. You know what she said?

"He's full of shit."

I'm paraphrasing of course.


*Me during poetry units

Acting

"I wish I could act. I can't really act because... well, I'm a cartoon."

Who knew that our class could act. I'm not saying we were all good actors/actresses, but we have the ability to act. Regardless of our acting ability or experience, we managed to laugh and have a good time.

"So did you get anything from acting? I mean, you already read it so what else could you have gained?"

To my surprise, I did get something from the whole experience. I heard things I missed when I read the plays, I saw the characters in action, and most of all I saw us having fun. In what should have been a mundane assignment, there were no awkward or boring performances because, I guess, we're all just that comfortable in our surrounding. Only a few days left; I'll really miss it.

Isolation

Do you like being alone?

"Of course not. Who does? I had company everywhere I went; being a lone would have driven me crazy." 

In "The Sound of a Voice" Hanako, the woman, constantly took in visitors only for them to leave her alone for long stretches of time until the next visitor arrived. 

"How long would she have to wait" 

It doesn't say, but what I do know is that human interaction is vital to keep your sanity. You can see or learn as much as you want, but, without someone to share it with, what is it really worth? Whether we want to admit it or not, we need each other. 

"I think I could do just fine without you. In fact, I'm a pretty hot commodity" 

Well that's great to hear, I think? What I'm trying to say is that there's a reason there was Adam AND Eve. No matter if we're committing sins or good deeds, we need someone to share it with to really make our life worthwhile. Life isn't defined by the amount of money we make or the amount of degrees we have hanging on our wall; we're defined by the people we surround ourselves with and the good times that we can share. I think that's what drove Hanako mad; she had nobody to turn to, she had nobody to love or be loved by. All she wanted was the sound of a voice.

Besides, being awkward wouldn't be as much fun if you're being awkward alone

The F-Word

"What starts with F and ends with -uck?" 

What...

"Firetruck!"

I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about feminism. Here you see Rosie the Riveter, the epitome of feminism, the symbol of strong women worldwide. Many of the times I agree with many of the values feminist try to assimilate into the world such as women being the equals of men, however, sometimes I think that feminists are just looking for a reason to argue. Regardless, I do believe that eventually feminism will become obsolete as our society becomes more accepting over generations; there are just some ignorant bigots preventing that from happening.

"So what does this have to do with 'A Man in a Case?'" 

Be patient; I'm getting there. You see, feminism is, as Oxford Dictionaries defines it, the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. I don't see that at all in "A Man in a Case."

"But Varinka was freely riding around her bike without a care in the world. How can you not call that feminist? She's breaking the norm for women in her community. She's empowering herself to do what she wants and I think that's what feminism embodies." 

Yes, you can make the argument that it is a feminist piece because Varinka rides a bike, but so what? Varinka ends up getting scolded for riding that bike anyways. In Byelinkov and Varinka's world, men are superior and women have a place in society where they need to follow a strict set of unwritten rules about what they can and cannot do. So how could this piece be feminist? Varinka is not an strong, independent woman; she wanted a husband so that she can be normal and not stand out as a single, lonely woman. From what we read in class, I don't see Varinka being empowered at all; I saw her coming second to what Byelinkov wants.

"So what would you call this?" 

I don't really know what I would call this piece, if anything, but I sure wouldn't call it feminist. If it were truly a feminist piece, it probably would be a whole different story.