Translations

We discussed in class whether or not a person could fully claim to be a part of a culture if they do mot speak the language. I think no. I think you can't be fully a part of a certain culture unless you speak the language--fluently. This is because, as each of us who fluently speaks english knows, there are little phrases that mean certain things, that when literally translated, are changed. In the play, Yolland knows this because he is trying to learn to speak Irish. My thought is that, if Lancy knew Irish, he would not have ordered so many  of the names to be changed into English because he would have appreciated the history that accompanied the Irish names. The lack of language knowledge made him think that there was no significance in the names.  

Jamie Soto

Turns out she did know where the panther was! Ok, so what I don't understand, and what I also don't think Omishto understood, was why Jamie Soto was so keen on banishing Ama if she knew all along where the panther was? She seems to be an accomplice in the whole thing.

Another thing I don't understand is why Omishto doesn't feel more resentment toward the clan for banishing Ama, the person that she may love most in the world. She's never going to see her again, which would make me blame the elders. But in the end, Omishto goes and joins them! I don't understand how she can be ok with joining the people that sent away her beloved Ama.

I also thought, maybe Ama had a plan all along. She knew that the clan was dying out. Omishto would be a natural choice of someone to carry one the traditions. Perhaps Ama sacrificed herself so that Omishto would join the traditional way of the clan and therefore give new life to the dying tribe. That's just a theory, im still unsure of what really happened in the end of this story.

Does anyone else think its unsettling the way that Ama dissapears forever and Omishto joins the people who bannished her?

The Panther

I would like to make a prediction. After reading today I think there is something weird going on with the whereabouts of the Panther. I mean, where could it be? I think Janie Soto knows where it is. Here's why. When Dona picks Omishto up after the storm and after Ama had been taken away by the police, Omishto learns that Dona and Mama gave Janie Soto a ride because for some reason she was down near town, away from Kili. The first time I suspected that something was going on was when Dona says, "And her bag. She was carrying a bag that seemed a little heavy. She didn't say anything except when we asked if she'd seen you and she just smiled at us. Something like a smile. . . I offered to help her or carry the bag but she wouldn't have it" (88). For some reason this bag she was carrying reminded me of the bag Ama had the panther in. It could be this, or even part of the panther, like the head.

Then, I suspected more when Omishto is being questioned by the elders. The old man says "Did you know you were to bring it to us if one was killed?" Ama says yes and "Janie Soto and Annie Hide exchange a glance. The oldest, Janie, shifts her weight. She is the woman who told Ama about the cat, the stories. This is the woman who has watched Ama all her life" (166). This secret glance between Janie and Annie seems uncomfortable, as if they know something the old man doesn't. Maybe im just making my own story here, but it could be. Since Janie has known Ama so long, maybe she felt like she needed to help her hide the panther, or protect her in some way.

What do you think?

Another quick thing i found that was interesting is a video from YouTube that shows pictures of the Florida Panthers wearing the tracking collars. I imagined the panther as black in the book! But these panthers it shows are more brown. Interesting. (The video wont load right now there's an error so i'll try again later).

Omishto's relationship with Ama

By reading the first part of Power, we see that Omishto has a strong relationship with Ama. But what we also find is that she has an internal struggle with herself between the old, tribal, magical ways and the new, American ways. Because she goes to school, she knows things like logic and reason. She learns not to believe in magic. But I still think she's holding onto the old ways. This is where her relationship with Ama comes in. Ama never went to high school, so she wasn't taught things like reason that is forced on Omishto. But Ama is not completely "old world" either. Omishto says that Ama claims there needs to be a balance in between the old ways and the new ways. I think this is part of the connection that Omishto feels with Ama. She is not ready to completely give up the ways of her tribe, and Ama represents a way to be in the middle. Omishto also says how her mother is completely Americanized even to the point that she converted to Christianity. Omishto seems to resent this and says that she doesn not want to be like her mother. Maybe her connection to Ama is that Ama has not completely let go of her culture, and Omishto respects that because it is different from her mother. Ama becomes a new mother figure because Omishto has a strained relationship with her own.

Lucy's relationship with Peggy

From what can tell from the reading, Lucy is attracted to Peggy as a friend because she is different. Peggy is the polar opposite of Mariah in the way that she looks and acts. This leads me to think that there is a connection between Lucy's past relationships and the new ones she decides to make in the United States. From what we get in the novel from Lucy about her past, her relationship with her mother has caused her a lot of pain and frustration. Then, when she meets Mariah, she sees her as a mother figure. She notes that Mariah is very different from the women in her country, but she recognizes the same motherly qualities in her. I think this is one of the biggest things about Mariah that make her reject getting close with her for most of the novel. Therefore, I feel like this is part of the reason she gets along with Peggy. Peggy is not anything like either of the motherly figures in her life. Lucy even says they have nothing in common, so it must be something else that keeps them together as friends. Does anyone else think that Lucy has some type of obsession with anything that is outside of the ordinary?

The 'Other' Veil

The most interesting idea that came out of the talk given at the Diverse Student's Leadership Conference on muslim women covering for religious reasons is how it changed my idea of the oppression of women. I will admit that I had considered the fact that muslim women cover themselves a shame. I have been taught, in western culture, that women should be proud of themselves and have confidence, and that beauty should be shown to the world. Because I was brought up that way, I wrongly assumed it was the best way. I assumed it was the preferred way, and that only women who were oppressed and didn't have a choice wore veils to cover their heads and sometimes faces. An interesting point that the speaker brought up is that it is a silly question to ask if muslim women are oppressed. The better question to ask is, are WOMEN oppressed. Because we can't only think of oppression as a symbol such as a veil, visible to the outside world. Women are oppressed all over the world, even here in the United States, whether they wear a certain dress or not. The speaker emphasized that the majority of muslim women wear the veil out of choice so that they can feel more religious. She then showed us pictures that served to contrast the western view of the muslim woman, to stop generalizations. I know it is true that some muslim women are oppressed, but so are many Christian women. Do these women look oppressed? 

let me just add one more input. . . I still have a hard time believing that the veil is USUALLY not a sign of oppression. Ok, I know that the speaker has more authority on the subject than I do and she did influence me to change my stereotypes. However, one of her arguments is that the women wear it so that they can feel comfortable, and like they belong in their society. They would feel discriminated against if they did not cover (by bad looks if nothing else). To me, this is a clear sign of society oppressing them, because how much of it can we surely say is really their choice, and how much is what they think they should do so therefore it is their choice? 

LUCY

Lucy was an interesting story to me. First of all, it was nice that it was such a quick read. Secondly, Lucy's character isn't boring. I thought Sanjeev's character was dry, and Lucy's is a nice contrast to his. I just keep wondering what her background is. It seems like her mother loves her because she keeps sending her letters. I wonder what could have happened to make Lucy not open any of them. I hope the book ends by telling us a little about her background. Or I at least hope that we keep getting glimpses into her past thorough the story to explain some of her mannerisms. Isn't it interesting that in our culture we need an explanation of why someone is the way that they are? I remember we had this discussion about Othello and Iago. We were wondering why Iago does what he does. What is his motivation? Is there something more that jealousy? But Shakespeare didn't give us a background on Iago, nor on why Othello was so prone to jealousy as well. I think the author has given us a few hints as to why Lucy is cynical so far, but I know I want more information. Overall, it was an interesting story so far and I enjoyed it.

This Blessed House

The short story "This Blessed House" confused me a little bit. I had trouble figuring out the character of Sanjeev. Obviously he and his wife are both very intelligent because he went to MIT and she went to Stanford. It seems like he is already getting sick of her. Maybe that means he should have waited more than a few months to get married... anyway, the point is why did he marry her if he isn't sure if he even loves her? Maybe he was pulled into his mom's view, that he needs a wife for functional purposes, one that cooks and sews like the suitors from India. Maybe he figured that since he already had a grreat career and money in the bank, it made sense to have a wife as well. I can't tell, though, if he adores her (because it seems like that in some parts) or he regrets marying her (which seems to be the case more often than not). We'll see what we discuss in class I guess. . .

O

After watching the movie "O" I was thinking about how easily Shakespeare translates into different times and places. He's always thought to be such a universal playwright, and in most ways I agree that he is. I mean, he would have to be because after all, he took most of his ideas from ancient myths and stories and adapted them, so why can't we adapt those stories further to fit our life. Its just how history works. But some things just do work better in the time they were written. 

In the "olden days" honor was one of the most important things in a person's life. Thats why there were so many duels! Because it was just accepted that if someone offended your honor, you had to fight to get it back. Death was considered better in many cases that being dishonored. That is why I didn't think twice when I read "Othello" and found out that Othello had to kill Cassio and Desdemona for 'dishonoring' him. I still don't think its right, but it was easy to see how in the time of Shakespeare is was not surprising. 

In "O" im not sure if I feel the same way about how well this part translates. The overall theme of jealousy that Iago/Hugo feels is very easily to translate. But the fact that O feels he has to kill Mike and Dese is almost too far fetched for what we believe as an american society now. I know there is violence and crime in america, but this story line is less practical translated into the twenty first century than it was in the time of Shakespeare. 

Then I thought, "who would just jump to the conclusion that they need to kill the people that betrayed them?" I've known a lot of people that have been cheated on and they've never thought to commit murder over it. This is why I also think the character of O has inherent temper problems or some sort of complex to merit the drastic measures that he takes. He is for some reason more susceptible to the prodding of Hugo than "normal" people would be, because not just anyone in the world could be manipulated in the same way. 

This could also be true in part for Othello's character, but it is much harder for us to tell because we did not live in the place and the time. We can't be sure how much his surroundings influenced his actions and how much of it stemmed from insecurities. We can only make assumptions! 

Representations of Othello on Screen

I see this time and time again, but the power of artistic license never fails to amaze me. Especially in Shakespeare, I notice how many different ways a play can be performed basing on the original (or what we think is the most original) text Shakespeare wrote. It makes me admire directors as well as actors for making sense out of old English words that are hard for me to focus into when in writing. In the clip of Othello we watched together in class, my favorite representation was that of Othello. When I read the play I didn't register the emotion and the anguish that accompanied Othello's decision to murder Desdemona. I think that the actor interpreted the emotion that Shakespeare most likely meant to put into Othello during the act so well. The sadness he showed was perfectly mixed with the anger that he felt toward her because he believed himself betrayed. If I had to rethink that particular scene and try to imagine what Shakespeare most likely would have envisioned, that would be it. 

I would also like to clarify a point that I made in class. I mentioned that I thought the way Iago was represented was interesting because of how the directors portrayed his perception of the damage he caused. When I first looked at it, I thought he looked a little sorry for what he had done because of the way he was looking at Othello, and the way he was denying to answer his questions. At first look, I took his quietness to mean that he was afraid in a way to answer to Othello about what he had done. Because I didn't see glee in his eyes, I automatically went to the opposite which would be shame. When I re-watched the scene, I saw more indignation than repentance. This makes more sense because I think that the director would have had to make a very big use of their artistic license to show Iago as sorry for what he had done. I don't think the text gives enough evidence to legitimately make that call in a film representation. 

OTHELLO

Ahhh Shakespeare's tragedies . . . they always have such thoroughly horrible endings. Yes, the bad guy dies but so do all of the good guys! Here is a picture of the scene where Othello murders the most innocent and pure woman ever . . . irrational men. 

I want to talk about why Othello falls for Iago's scheme, when he and Desdemona had such a love struck relationship. I think this play brings to light a certain  inherent   quality that humans have to trust the bad or the negative.  What I mean is that Othello easily falls into the trap set by Iago by believing that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. Its like the old saying i've heard that goes something like this: If someone tells you they are not in love with you, why is it so easy to believe? Shouldn't it be as easy to believe if someone tells you they really do love you? But for some reason it isn't! And I think Shakespeare is creating this similar situation. I know some people are more positive than others, and some always see the good in people before the bad. But for some reason it is so easy to believe that people can do bad things and that bad things can happen to us. When good things are happening, we tend to think, " Wow check out my luck! I hope it doesn't end soon, knock on wood!" I think this is why Othello falls for Iago's trap. . . I think he has a tendency toward the negative. Maybe he was surprised that he "won" (I.III.95) Desdemona (perhaps based on an insecurity about the color of his skin in company of fair skinned nobles) that he is prone to thinking that something could go wrong between them no matter how much he loves her. . . And no matter how much she says she loves him! 

 

Girl, Interrupted

In Girl, Interrupted, one of the things I most noticed was female discrimination. I saw it in many places which made me think of "The Yellow Wallpaper" because there are so many of the same themes. The first parallel I saw was when the doctor told Susanna that she needed rest to cure her. This is the infamous "rest cure" still being used in the sixties that we saw in "The Yellow Wallpaper." The interesting thing is that in both the movie and the story, the rest cure is imposed by a man and does not help the patient. In fact, it makes both women go even more insane than they were thought to be before they were admitted into solitude. Another place I saw sexual discrimination is when Susanna's mom is emotional about her daughter's 'borderline personality' and cries in front of the doctor. I saw his discrimination toward her when he looked straight at her and said that this disease tends to run in the family. The fact that he assumed that it would be the mother who passed the tendency on to the daughter rather than the father shows discrimination because this disease was known as a woman's disease. 

Power in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

I think the theme of power is very present in Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" in a variety of ways. The ugly yellow wallpaper is something that has power over the "nervous" woman. She thinks about it all the time, she looks at it constantly, and touches it. It bothers her to the point that she can't do anything else but be obsessed with it. John also has power over her because he considers her inferior. She does what he thinks is best for her, and talks to her sweetly but condescendingly. No man will listen to her opinion. That is why i associated the yellow wallpaper with men. They both have power over her and she resents that power. Men have women trapped behind them, and she saw the horrible yellow wallpaper as having a woman trapped behind it as well. I think her progressive insanity gives her the courage to make her attempt to break away from the trapping pattern of male dominance. When she rips off the paper, she is happy and she is strong. When she is freeing the trapped woman, who is herself, she reverses the traditional roles between her and John. She calls him, "young man," a term similar to the one he uses for her: "little girl." He is the helpless one, who is locked out of the room, and he is the one who faints at the end as if he were in a nervous state. 

Women in the Future

To me, one of the most interesting things that Virginia Woolf ensures her reader knows, in "A Room of One's Own," is that for her to provide an absolute truth about women and fiction is an impossibility.  I think this applies to so many other topics as well, and it's smart of her to state that she "can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold" (4).  What comes to my mind is the way philosophers, at least the ones that I have read in classes, insist that their philosophy is the correct one, and try to make it truth to their readers.  The reason she is so wise is because she realizes that with the time passing, so many things change, including truths: "Even if one could state the value of any one gift at the moment, those values will change; in a century's time very possible they will have changed completely" (40). 

This leads to the other thing that struck me about Woolf;  her ability to tell the future for women.  She foresaw that in 100 years, women would be occupying a more powerful role in society, the role that is in her time, reserved for men.  By her estimation, the times have moved even faster than she anticipated.  We still have 19 years to fulfill her prediction that "the nursemaid will heave coal" and "the shopwoman will drive an engine" (40).  If Woolf's prediction came true this fast, it makes me wonder what our society will be like for the relationship between the two sexes in another 100 years. Women are already "soldiers and sailors and engine-drivers and dock labourers" (40), so what is next?  

Trying to write is like trying to pick out an outfit when all the laundry is dirty.

It is extremely stressful when I have an event to go to, and I have to spend time picking out the appropriate outfit. I pull all sorts of tops and pants and skirts and shoes out of my closet. Most of them don't match.  I change around my outfit for what feels like hours, and nothing looks put together in the right way. There is always something I feel the need to change. I can't easily find the right combination of fabrics, or end result that I had in mind from the beginning. There are too many style and color combinations. With the event approaching, I get more frustrated and frantic, and sometimes I try crazy things out of chance that they'll look good. Of course, this rarely works, because even if my wacky outfit seems pretty cool to me, I'm far too afraid of what the other people at the party are going to think of it, or say about it. It may simply be too much for the occasion. I try on accessories of all types.  Sometimes these extra belts, headbands, and jewelry help the outfit a little, but if I over use them, the outfit looks worse. I am never completely satisfied with the final outcome, but sometimes it just has to be good enough. 

Even if I get a brilliant idea of an outfit I could try on, I realize it's only an idea, and not one that will be easy to accomplish, because the top for the outfit is hidden in the bottom of the dirty laundry.  I could take the time to dig it out, and wear it dirty because I don't have much time or energy to wash it. This still, however, doesn't give me the perfect outfit, because the top is wrinkly. Washing it would take a lot of time, and perhaps the outfit would be perfect once I put on the top. . . but that is a big risk I have to think about. What if the top really doesn't look perfect when it's clean? I would have wasted all that time and maybe even be late for the party! 

Finally, I often give up, throw on some sweats, thinking i'll go to the next party tomorrow instead because I don't have the energy anymore tonight.