As I was watching the news this weekend I was shocked by the amount of outrageous accidents that occurred on "Black Friday". A pregnant woman was trampled by a mob and had to be taken to the hospital, for example, and a store clerk was actually killed by the crowd as he let them into his store. These types of ridiculous stories really made me wonder what the world is coming to. Correct me if I'm wrong but this just does not seem like something that would have happened 50 years ago. I find it highly disturbing that people could be so self-consumed as to harm someone else in order to be the first one to the iPod display. This kind of ignorance and lack of concern is a major problem with this generation and the overall lack of values is truly upsetting and foreboding for the future.
I feel that a lot of this behavior can be attributed to the high priority society places on material aspects and the fact that, through TV and videogame violence, a good portion of this generation has grown desensitized to other human beings. We are so accustomed to seeing violence both on TV and in real life that we tend to overlook it. As we get more used to being around violence, we also become more accepting and less upset by it. This degradation of values and the appreciation for human life is depressing at best.
The fact that the day after Thanksgiving could be so filled with materialism in itself is contradictory to the spirit of the holiday. Thanksgiving should be a time to appreciate the things that matter in life, family and friends, not a time to rest up and leave at 1 in the morning to hit the sales at your local mall. In my opinion, Thanksgiving has become far too commercialized as a shopping oppurtunity and much of the original value of the day has been lost in translation. Thanksgiving should not be all about shopping and eating; it should be about people and memories. Too often I believe people lose that meaning. Any thoughts?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A reflection on life's changes
"It's now 1990. I'm forty-three years old, which would've seemed impossible to a fourth grader, and yet when I look at photographs of myself as I was in 1956, I realize that in the important ways I haven't changed at all. I was Timmy then; now I'm Tim. But the essence remains the same. I'm not fooled by the baggy pants or the crew cut or the happy smile—I know my own eyes—and there is no doubt that the Timmy smiling at the camera is the Tim I am now. Inside the body, or beyond the body, there is something absolute and unchanging. The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice: a little kid, a twenty-three-year-old infantry sergeant, a middle-aged writer knowing guilt and sorrow" (236).
To a great extent, throughout our lives, we retain many of the qualities and characteristics we were born with. Though experience serves as the greatest teacher and, through experience, people are inevitably shaped as they grow, there are values and traits that will never change. Albert Einstein stated that, "Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." This quote supports the fact that each and every one of us will change with time as we continually expand and broaden our scopes. This, however, does not mean that we become new people as we age.
There are traits that will be influenced with new knowledge and personal experience and there are traits that will remain from birth until death. Intellect, political persuasion, and the ability to be understanding and empathetic are all examples of things that could change with time and experience. Generally speaking traits involving morals and values do not change too dramatically with time. The basis of our conscience is rooted in the value system instilled in us from a young age by our parents and guardians. Each and every one of us is taught the difference between right and wrong, in varying degrees from family to family and with various interpretations, and this knowledge stays with us throughout life. Essentially, it is the experiences that one goes through that change the person one was and shape the person one becomes but some element of that person's prior self will always remain.
O'Brien writes, "The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice". I agree with this statement because our current viewpoints and feelings are an accumulation of our past. As we grow, we take each and every new experience and add it to our databank of memory and we expand as a person, we do not completely change. We do not forget the way we were before, it stays with us forever and that is what O'Brien means when he says that though he has changed from Timmy to Tim the essence remains the same. The components of our personalities are built on the things we have learned; the "essence" of ourselves remains the same because when push comes to shove we revert back to what we have always known, back to the values our parents taught us. Though critical aspects of ourselves do indeed change as we age and mature, an element of that inner self will stay with us forever.
I know that I am not the same person I was in middle school, for instance, but there are certainly things about me that have not changed and will not change. My personal principles and values have not changed and I recognize that though I am much more talkative than I was then, I will always be the quiet, refined girl I was in kindergarten. By that I mean that, though I may force myself to be more outspoken now, I still have that nagging self-conscience aspect that will most likely never cease. That element of my original self, though I may try to channel it in different ways, will always be there. Some things just do not and will not change. I don't believe that anyone can honestly reflect back on their younger years and say that they are not the same person, in any way, they were then. Some piece of each person travels with them for life, whether they were the little boy who was made fun of for wearing cowboy boots to school or the popular girl who was admired by all. Memories last a lifetime and though things may change, some trace of those memories live on inside of us.
To a great extent, throughout our lives, we retain many of the qualities and characteristics we were born with. Though experience serves as the greatest teacher and, through experience, people are inevitably shaped as they grow, there are values and traits that will never change. Albert Einstein stated that, "Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." This quote supports the fact that each and every one of us will change with time as we continually expand and broaden our scopes. This, however, does not mean that we become new people as we age.
There are traits that will be influenced with new knowledge and personal experience and there are traits that will remain from birth until death. Intellect, political persuasion, and the ability to be understanding and empathetic are all examples of things that could change with time and experience. Generally speaking traits involving morals and values do not change too dramatically with time. The basis of our conscience is rooted in the value system instilled in us from a young age by our parents and guardians. Each and every one of us is taught the difference between right and wrong, in varying degrees from family to family and with various interpretations, and this knowledge stays with us throughout life. Essentially, it is the experiences that one goes through that change the person one was and shape the person one becomes but some element of that person's prior self will always remain.
O'Brien writes, "The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice". I agree with this statement because our current viewpoints and feelings are an accumulation of our past. As we grow, we take each and every new experience and add it to our databank of memory and we expand as a person, we do not completely change. We do not forget the way we were before, it stays with us forever and that is what O'Brien means when he says that though he has changed from Timmy to Tim the essence remains the same. The components of our personalities are built on the things we have learned; the "essence" of ourselves remains the same because when push comes to shove we revert back to what we have always known, back to the values our parents taught us. Though critical aspects of ourselves do indeed change as we age and mature, an element of that inner self will stay with us forever.
I know that I am not the same person I was in middle school, for instance, but there are certainly things about me that have not changed and will not change. My personal principles and values have not changed and I recognize that though I am much more talkative than I was then, I will always be the quiet, refined girl I was in kindergarten. By that I mean that, though I may force myself to be more outspoken now, I still have that nagging self-conscience aspect that will most likely never cease. That element of my original self, though I may try to channel it in different ways, will always be there. Some things just do not and will not change. I don't believe that anyone can honestly reflect back on their younger years and say that they are not the same person, in any way, they were then. Some piece of each person travels with them for life, whether they were the little boy who was made fun of for wearing cowboy boots to school or the popular girl who was admired by all. Memories last a lifetime and though things may change, some trace of those memories live on inside of us.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Frank McCourt--> Why I Write
There was no single motivation behind my choosing to write, no one force that demanded my attention; more a collaboration of emotions. I knew since I was a kid that I wanted to tell my story one day for others to grow and learn from, but Ireland in those times didn't give a poor kid much leeway in breaking the ranks of societal prejudices. America was different, much different, and I was able to move much more freely toward my goals. I wanted the world to understand that out of poverty and hunger do not automatically arise misery and sadness. We can learn from that which challenges us and I hope that my presentation of my story has conveyed some sense of perspective to those who read it. My writing parallels my growth from a niave child to a mature adult.
As a young child I didn't comprehend the full extent of my family's dire situation. When you are born into a life filled with hunger and poverty, you know nothing else and you make due with what you're given. You have no reason to think that things are better elsewhere when most of those around you are living in similar conditions. Overall, I was a happy kid. People tend not to understand that, they think for some reason that I must have been in constant misery, but again I was more grateful for the little I did have than most.
Having experienced the confusion of growing up, made all the more wonderful by Catholic Ireland, I understand the difficulties of finding balance. As a kid I was plagued by the smallest of incidences that I believed may be considered a sin. The old Irish "guilt-trick" is one that I am beyond familiar with. Guilt and worry were key players in my childhood and, when taken from a more grounded perspective, the things I concerned myself with were quite ridiculous. Of course as I entered my adolescent years things changed dramatically for by that point I was tired of the worry and wary of the Catholic hypocrasy.
Life becomes more clear only as we grow. By writing very factually and portraying my growth as an individual through my early years, I hope that most can take a greater appreciation of life. Don't sweat the small stuff; in any situation there can be found some light, regardless of how small. Take advantage of the things you have, look more to that than to what you wish you had. Through incorporating some humor, at least I hope most readers found some humor, I meant to lighten the mood of the story; to lessen the depression and bring forth the fact that things are never as bad as they seem if we can only allow ourselves to look at the positive. In everything I try to find humor because nothing is as out-of-control as we sometimes find ourselves viewing it. Just take a step back.
It's easy to make mistakes in life but it is what we do with those mistakes that makes the difference. Mam, bless her soul, failed to see the light in her life. One mistake will only dictate your future if you let it and Mam, as hard as she tried not to, let her mistakes cloud her view of the light. We live in a country where socioeconomic class does not have to hinder your ability to persevere and find success. In Ireland, I probably never would have conquered the perceived notion of "nothing but another poor kid" which usually raised prejudiced questions of my integrity. I was rejected by even the church, the oh so pious church, in two of my early attempts to push forward. To break class status, and thus to break poverty, were, to say the least, not encouraged.
Overall, I write to prove a point: where you came from doesn't determine where you're going, and from everything we experience in life, we can learn. Not everything is the end of the world, in fact nothing is, and if we would all lessen our burdens of worry and anguish, we could move forward.
As a young child I didn't comprehend the full extent of my family's dire situation. When you are born into a life filled with hunger and poverty, you know nothing else and you make due with what you're given. You have no reason to think that things are better elsewhere when most of those around you are living in similar conditions. Overall, I was a happy kid. People tend not to understand that, they think for some reason that I must have been in constant misery, but again I was more grateful for the little I did have than most.
Having experienced the confusion of growing up, made all the more wonderful by Catholic Ireland, I understand the difficulties of finding balance. As a kid I was plagued by the smallest of incidences that I believed may be considered a sin. The old Irish "guilt-trick" is one that I am beyond familiar with. Guilt and worry were key players in my childhood and, when taken from a more grounded perspective, the things I concerned myself with were quite ridiculous. Of course as I entered my adolescent years things changed dramatically for by that point I was tired of the worry and wary of the Catholic hypocrasy.
Life becomes more clear only as we grow. By writing very factually and portraying my growth as an individual through my early years, I hope that most can take a greater appreciation of life. Don't sweat the small stuff; in any situation there can be found some light, regardless of how small. Take advantage of the things you have, look more to that than to what you wish you had. Through incorporating some humor, at least I hope most readers found some humor, I meant to lighten the mood of the story; to lessen the depression and bring forth the fact that things are never as bad as they seem if we can only allow ourselves to look at the positive. In everything I try to find humor because nothing is as out-of-control as we sometimes find ourselves viewing it. Just take a step back.
It's easy to make mistakes in life but it is what we do with those mistakes that makes the difference. Mam, bless her soul, failed to see the light in her life. One mistake will only dictate your future if you let it and Mam, as hard as she tried not to, let her mistakes cloud her view of the light. We live in a country where socioeconomic class does not have to hinder your ability to persevere and find success. In Ireland, I probably never would have conquered the perceived notion of "nothing but another poor kid" which usually raised prejudiced questions of my integrity. I was rejected by even the church, the oh so pious church, in two of my early attempts to push forward. To break class status, and thus to break poverty, were, to say the least, not encouraged.
Overall, I write to prove a point: where you came from doesn't determine where you're going, and from everything we experience in life, we can learn. Not everything is the end of the world, in fact nothing is, and if we would all lessen our burdens of worry and anguish, we could move forward.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Angela's Ashes: relationship to quote by Oscar Wilde
"Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night."
This quote is an excellent parallel to Angela's Ashes for so many reasons. The way Poverty, Sin, Misery, and Shame are personified can correlate to their roles within each member of the McCourt family. Poverty is the primary root of their misery, sin, and shame, though there are many factors at play. Shame takes the spotlight early on in the memoir when reflecting on Frank's conception and the fact that he was born out of wed-lock, something considered most disgraceful in the Irish culture where religion takes precedence. "They knew that Angela, unmarried, had no right to be in an interesting condition and they would take steps" (McCourt 15). It was also considered shameful that Angela, from the South of Ireland, was to marry a man from northern Ireland. Throughout the novel the sectional, ethnic, and religious differences are glaring and not taken lightly. A person from Ireland is not just Irish: they are northern, southern, Protestant, or Catholic and you simply don't associate with those that are not of the same classification as you. "...He was a disgusting specimen but what could you expect from the North of Ireland" (18).
Shame is a motif weaving through most aspects of the novel, especially caused by Malachy's severe drinking problem, which brings shame to the entire McCourt family. Malachy is clearly aware of his out-of-control behavior and the fact that he wastes his family's little money on the drink, and is ashamed of it, yet refuses to turn himself around. I believe that Malachy has been regarded as such a useless drunk for most of his life that he believes it and feels sorry for himself rather than taking the initiative to change his ways. "Uncle Pa says that's a disgraceful thing to do and Dad cries on his shoulder" (76).
Shame "sits with [the family] at night" as Angela and the children wait desperately for their father to return with some money, fully aware that he will not be home that night until every penny has been drained into a cup. McCourt refers to the drink as "the black stuff" to indicate how dark and damaging it has been to his life. "It's getting dark now and the coffin seems whiter than ever before in Dad's arms" (89). This quote contains an excellent comparison of innocence. Eugene's innocence, as symbolized by the whiteness of his coffin, has never been so prominent as when compared to his father. His father has made numerous mistakes and refuses to learn from them; he causes a great deal of the misery that his family is forced to suffer day in and day out.
McCourt's description of his childhood includes many dark and dreary images. "...What's the use of trying to make funny faces and letting things fall off your head when they can't see you in the dark?"(32). This theme of helplessness and misery is represented in various ways, especially the numerous references to flight and birds. "...The swings are frozen and won't even move" (29). McCourt wants to be free of his troubles but poverty and misery continually bring him down. Like they say, "you can't pull yourself up by the bootstraps when you don't have boots", and McCourt, through no fault of his own, has no boots. Sin, and shame, comes in to play when Frank steals bananas from a store to feed his hungry, crying baby brothers. "But what am I to do with the twins bawling with the hunger...?" (32). He was forced into a dilemma, having to choose between whether to disobey his mother's orders to remain at the playground with the babies or to follow directions, and in which case, steal food for the twins.
Sin is blatantly evident in Malachy's selfishness and greed as well. His family is obviously not his number one priority. "When the farm money is gone he rolls home singing and crying over Ireland and his dead children, mostly about Ireland" (95). McCourt purposely draws attention to the fact that his father puts even Ireland before his family. He cries most over Ireland, not his dead children. He seems to be more concerned with his own self-pity and unfortunate life than that of the children which he inflicted with the same life. He claims that "he'd never stoop so low as to ask a farmer for anything" (95), yet he doesn't mind allowing his own greed to interfere with the well-being of his family.
The overall atmosphere of Frank McCourt's childhood is so dreary and downtrodden that this quote seems to fit it perfectly. He has nothing really to call his own and he is aware that his parents cannot, and do not, do much to help. Angela is so caught up in her own depression that she can hardly take the time to nurture and properly care for her children and Malachy is more consumed with his own problems.
This quote is an excellent parallel to Angela's Ashes for so many reasons. The way Poverty, Sin, Misery, and Shame are personified can correlate to their roles within each member of the McCourt family. Poverty is the primary root of their misery, sin, and shame, though there are many factors at play. Shame takes the spotlight early on in the memoir when reflecting on Frank's conception and the fact that he was born out of wed-lock, something considered most disgraceful in the Irish culture where religion takes precedence. "They knew that Angela, unmarried, had no right to be in an interesting condition and they would take steps" (McCourt 15). It was also considered shameful that Angela, from the South of Ireland, was to marry a man from northern Ireland. Throughout the novel the sectional, ethnic, and religious differences are glaring and not taken lightly. A person from Ireland is not just Irish: they are northern, southern, Protestant, or Catholic and you simply don't associate with those that are not of the same classification as you. "...He was a disgusting specimen but what could you expect from the North of Ireland" (18).
Shame is a motif weaving through most aspects of the novel, especially caused by Malachy's severe drinking problem, which brings shame to the entire McCourt family. Malachy is clearly aware of his out-of-control behavior and the fact that he wastes his family's little money on the drink, and is ashamed of it, yet refuses to turn himself around. I believe that Malachy has been regarded as such a useless drunk for most of his life that he believes it and feels sorry for himself rather than taking the initiative to change his ways. "Uncle Pa says that's a disgraceful thing to do and Dad cries on his shoulder" (76).
Shame "sits with [the family] at night" as Angela and the children wait desperately for their father to return with some money, fully aware that he will not be home that night until every penny has been drained into a cup. McCourt refers to the drink as "the black stuff" to indicate how dark and damaging it has been to his life. "It's getting dark now and the coffin seems whiter than ever before in Dad's arms" (89). This quote contains an excellent comparison of innocence. Eugene's innocence, as symbolized by the whiteness of his coffin, has never been so prominent as when compared to his father. His father has made numerous mistakes and refuses to learn from them; he causes a great deal of the misery that his family is forced to suffer day in and day out.
McCourt's description of his childhood includes many dark and dreary images. "...What's the use of trying to make funny faces and letting things fall off your head when they can't see you in the dark?"(32). This theme of helplessness and misery is represented in various ways, especially the numerous references to flight and birds. "...The swings are frozen and won't even move" (29). McCourt wants to be free of his troubles but poverty and misery continually bring him down. Like they say, "you can't pull yourself up by the bootstraps when you don't have boots", and McCourt, through no fault of his own, has no boots. Sin, and shame, comes in to play when Frank steals bananas from a store to feed his hungry, crying baby brothers. "But what am I to do with the twins bawling with the hunger...?" (32). He was forced into a dilemma, having to choose between whether to disobey his mother's orders to remain at the playground with the babies or to follow directions, and in which case, steal food for the twins.
Sin is blatantly evident in Malachy's selfishness and greed as well. His family is obviously not his number one priority. "When the farm money is gone he rolls home singing and crying over Ireland and his dead children, mostly about Ireland" (95). McCourt purposely draws attention to the fact that his father puts even Ireland before his family. He cries most over Ireland, not his dead children. He seems to be more concerned with his own self-pity and unfortunate life than that of the children which he inflicted with the same life. He claims that "he'd never stoop so low as to ask a farmer for anything" (95), yet he doesn't mind allowing his own greed to interfere with the well-being of his family.
The overall atmosphere of Frank McCourt's childhood is so dreary and downtrodden that this quote seems to fit it perfectly. He has nothing really to call his own and he is aware that his parents cannot, and do not, do much to help. Angela is so caught up in her own depression that she can hardly take the time to nurture and properly care for her children and Malachy is more consumed with his own problems.
Friday, September 5, 2008
"Our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they're all on fire, and we're all trapped"
I believe this quote has much impact on the understanding of Oskar as a character. His ability to think in such analytical and frank terms and put aside his emotions puts Oskar ahead of many adults in a lot of ways. Oskar does not have the clouded and childish "everything is wonderful" view of the world that most kids his age have because it has been stripped from him. The abruptness and confusion of his dad's death forced Oskar to prematurely face the reality of everyone's eventual mortality. Though morbid and depressing, this quote makes a very interesting and true connection; in reality we are all going to die, it is just a matter of when that varies from person to person.
This quote also speaks to the fact that Oskar feels hopeless in his search for understanding of his father's death and he is paralleling his desperation in this situation to the overall desperation that everyone faces due to the fact that they are "trapped" in a life that must end sooner or later. No one knows how fast their smoke is rising but everyone can be sure that it is, in fact, rising. Oskar faces a reality that most adults have difficulty accepting and from this, Oskar's intelligence and shocking maturity shine through his words. While most kids are playing with their toys and giving themselves "cootie shots" , Oskar is on a quest for his own identity and recognizes that life is finite. The death of his father clearly instilled in Oskar a sense of the perpetual passage of time: time stops for no-one and, unfortunately, we have no idea how much time we have.
I think this quote represents Oskar's awareness of the fact that, just as his father only had so much time on this earth, so does Oskar and he does not want to waste it. By befriending almost everyone he meets and searching for meaning in everything, Oskar seems to be trying to make the most out of his life. He seems to want to help those who are clearly not making the most of life because he understands that everyone only has a limited amount of time. Oskar wants to understand human emotion, as is obvious through his constant attention to the feelings of others. He is much deeper and more intuitive than any child his age, or adult for that matter, that I know of. His ability to recognize and face the facts regardless of how insightful or painful they may be really made me both admire and feel close to Oskar as I read Foer's novel. Facing one's own mortality seems to be such a taboo thing in our society and I believe the fact that Oskar so readily addresses the topic puts him heads above others in his level of thinking and comprehension.
This quote also speaks to the fact that Oskar feels hopeless in his search for understanding of his father's death and he is paralleling his desperation in this situation to the overall desperation that everyone faces due to the fact that they are "trapped" in a life that must end sooner or later. No one knows how fast their smoke is rising but everyone can be sure that it is, in fact, rising. Oskar faces a reality that most adults have difficulty accepting and from this, Oskar's intelligence and shocking maturity shine through his words. While most kids are playing with their toys and giving themselves "cootie shots" , Oskar is on a quest for his own identity and recognizes that life is finite. The death of his father clearly instilled in Oskar a sense of the perpetual passage of time: time stops for no-one and, unfortunately, we have no idea how much time we have.
I think this quote represents Oskar's awareness of the fact that, just as his father only had so much time on this earth, so does Oskar and he does not want to waste it. By befriending almost everyone he meets and searching for meaning in everything, Oskar seems to be trying to make the most out of his life. He seems to want to help those who are clearly not making the most of life because he understands that everyone only has a limited amount of time. Oskar wants to understand human emotion, as is obvious through his constant attention to the feelings of others. He is much deeper and more intuitive than any child his age, or adult for that matter, that I know of. His ability to recognize and face the facts regardless of how insightful or painful they may be really made me both admire and feel close to Oskar as I read Foer's novel. Facing one's own mortality seems to be such a taboo thing in our society and I believe the fact that Oskar so readily addresses the topic puts him heads above others in his level of thinking and comprehension.
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