An Ongoing Sorrow

     Ever since I can remember, I have always avoided the subject of racism. Talking about it often made me feel uncomfortable in ways that I find myself unable to clearly define or explain. However, I will make an effort to by presenting one silly example. Often, when I'm watching a movie, I tend to skip ahead when I can make an obvious prediction of the ending from the plot, one that will hurt my favorite character or simply hurt me when the characteristics of the actors change, characteristics that made me like them! Of course through that example, my point is not well taken when it comes to racism for its victims were no actors from a movie, it only explains how I shut myself from the outcome of a situation that seem unpleasant (which is awfully wrong and definitely something that I'm trying to change about myself).
     Racism unlike any movie is ongoing,which makes me strongly despise it abd because I cannot seem to find ways to get rid of it, it makes me feel useless. The sufferings and death of numerous Africans caused by racism makes the topic so sensitive that I become distant every time the subject comes around. It is not because I am carefree of that matter, on the contrary, the fact that it still exists and still costs others' lives is sorrowful and often implants a fear I cannot seem to shake off.
A couple days ago, my classmates and I finished reading Heart of Darkness, a novella by Joseph Conrad; and in all honesty, I did not fully grasp a great understanding of Conrad's work. Many times, in different passages I have wondered if his assertions of the Congo River or the native Africans were true. After all, Conrad was not African, meaning his views and understandings of the Africans and their rituals are biased for his background differs from theirs. Although the question was raised about Conrad's work being racist, it never truly came in mind as I read his novella, until I read Chinua Achebe's essay which addressed Heart of Darkness and Conrad’s use of diction and adjectival insistence.
     Throughout Conrad's entire novella, he constantly describes the natives as savages or kinships and as Conrad's protagonist watched them dying, he viewed them as “nothing earthly...but black shadows of disease and starvation.” It is understandable that Conrad's physical journey differed from his usual kind of environment, so of course his overly repeated impression of the natives came rather blunt and racist then truthful.
     Chinua Achebe's belief that European critics often misunderstand African Literature and culture, through Conrad's Heart of Darkness, his belief is proven right. For if Conrad knew and understood the African culture and rituals, he would not have written a novella in which vulgar prejudices insult “a section of mankind which suffered untold agonies” and even though after his death (Conrad's), that section of humankind still faces those prejudices in many different ways in numerous places around the world.

All For The Things That Are Dear To Us

     Suffering comes to all of us, in ways that vary, of course. We often believe that the way we handle different kinds of suffering define us, meaning the actions we take due to the obstacle faced creates our destiny. After all, our choices determine the events that will occur later in our lives.

     In Wuthering Heights, a gothic novel recently read in class written by Emily Brontë, all characters within the novel experienced some kind of lost leading to their suffering. From the very beginning of the novel, Heathcliff is brought to a new home, revealing the loss of his own family and later the rejection felt from his newfound home. Later in Brontë's novel, characters such as Catherine and Heathcliff endure sufferings through their love for one another. Catherine was stuck between two lovers, her love for Edgar was described as “the foliage in the woods(60)” that will evolve over time. On the other hand, her endearment towards Heathcliff which “resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary,(60)” certainly, Catherine knew which of the two she was the most fond of, but Heathcliff's background and the idea of him never being able to fully take care of her financially helped her make up her mind. Although choosing Edgar meant she could never have a chance with Heathcliff, she chose Edgar who could help her afford a luxurious lifestyle. Edgar experienced suffering as his wife passed away leaving behind Cathy, giving him no heir (meaning his territories will be usurped by Heathcliff). Heathcliff's suffering, I believe was the most intriguing (as weird as it sounds) his endearment to Catherine transformed him into a character hated by almost everyone who surrounded him. As evil Heathcliff seems, his love for Catherine was so profound that he wished she would haunt him as “the murdered do haunt their murderers.(124)” Heathcliff among other characters died from their suffering, revealing how suffering indeed plays a significant role in everyone's life whether in literature or in real life.

     I will certainly not go more in depth on that matter, (I know you wish, but I won't! I refuse to). Wuthering Heights is one of the most intriguing and compelling novels I have ever read. Although I will not lie, at first I had a hard time keeping track of who the narrator is or different concepts used within the novel and why they are important. I have actually recommended this novel to a friend of mine in Florida and so far she loves it!

     Many would argue that understanding this novel can be tricky, so feel free to get help from the audio version (to keep track of who's the narrator or what is going on). Try to keep in mind that good readers/writers are not only the ones who read a work of literature and get it the first time, good writers are as well among the ones who find obstacles and get help from friends, through different types of research to grasp a clear understanding of a work of literature!

Hidden Meanings

    There was a certain point in my life where I came up with the great idea of writing poems! I was really excited, always jotting down ideas out of anything really, it made very happy and I thought then, that I could make something out of it (to be honest, I thought I was going to be famous haha... But maybe I will, who knows?). As time goes by though, I'm realizing that poems are big deals, that behind every one of them a lesson is taught, a new feeling is emerged; and I somehow find that soothing.

Poems can be hard to understand at times (yes! They can be complicated, but if we choose to ignore the structures or poetic devices used within the poems, we will never understand what the authors are trying to convey and we might then hate poetry itself!). In the poem Base Details written by Siegfried Sassoon, the author uses different poetic devices such as visual imagery, sarcasm maybe and others. However, one of the devices I would like to focus on is allegory. This literary device is quite new to me, and might be to you as well so let me shed some light! 

    Allegory is used through either a picture or poem to demonstrate a hidden meaning. Through allegory, Sassoon talks about the unfairness towards the soldiers who were less experienced or did not possess great titles or any characteristics of a great soldier. He used allegory from the very first line to the last “...I'd live with Majors at the Base, and speed glum heroes up to the line to death.(2)” Sassoon described the privileged majors as wealthy men who cared little about the unprivileged ones, and their lives which is the reason why they were to stand in the front line. The author then continues to describe the Majors as men who later after a fight meet to read the list of the dead young soldiers commenting “poor young chap...we've lost heavily in this last scrap” at the mention of their names, as if they were unaware of their wrongdoing. In his poem, Sassoon brings awareness to the young soldiers who sacrifice their lives, and taken for granted by the Majors who stand far from to front line and “toddle safely home and die - in bed. (10)” while the less fortunate lose their lives fighting, the privileged soldiers go home, continue living a pleasant life and putting the others who did not make it far from their minds, after all they did not matter much. Their deaths induced a chance for them to live.

     I believe this poem gave me a great understanding of an allegory work, I was able to understand clearly what the author was trying to convey from his work which is how people at times take advantage of others whom they believe are below them. Without taking the time to know them or without caring about their battles, the takers rest assured while the unprivileged ones lose what matters to them if not themselves (their lives). 

Back from the Start

        Hello everyone! It's been a week, can you believe I'm back so soon? :) mhm neither can I! In my last post, I mentioned how I have been reading Animal Farm and how I was half way...well I literally just finished and it was fantastic! To be honest, my copy of the novel is about 141 pages, so I definitely recommend reading it and finding time to enjoy it. Personally I found it humorous, of course, but sad as well. In that work of satire, the animals underwent a series of mistreatments such as lowering themselves towards the pigs, Napoleon (their “righteous” leader) and the fearful dogs. They worked persistently and often lacked the nutrition needed with the belief that they were tolerating all the suffering because they had to, to be free and so they would not have the lifestyles they had before their rebellion.

        However, one topic I would like to focus on through this post is simple as names given to either people or things we own. We are all given different names at our birth, these names given by our parents or guardians are either because they simply love the names or because they hold some kind of significance. An example would be a girl with the same name as her great grandmother (or just anyone admired by the ones naming her). By doing so, the parents hope their child would inherit some characteristics of that great grandmother or just a way to honor her. Before being named Animal Farm, the farm was called “Manor Farm”, it was governed by Mr Jones and his wife until the rebellion. During Jones's occupation the animals' lives were miserable, they were often abused, lacked the amount of food necessary and killed to be sold. By burning all reminders of their former owner, the animals got rid of any sort of existing liaison. The farm then obtained a new name “Animal Farm”, therefore presenting a new setting. During that period of time (well at first), the animals lived a pleasant life and were proud of their success against the humans, the seven commandments were presented and they were to get an education to become successful. 

Then as the novel is coming to an end, the farm's name changes to “Republic of the Animals” in which Napoleon is elected president as if he hasn't been controlling everyone since he chased Snowball away. As the farm again gets a new name, the environment changes; some of the animals start complaining about the demonstrations ordered by Napoleon and some completely forgot the way things were so they were unable to compare the conditions in which they were living in “freedom” to the ones when Mr Jones was in charge. At the end of the novel, Napoleon gives the farm back its original name “Manor Farm”. At that time, Napoleon and the pigs behaved like humans themselves and broke all the commandments made. 

Right now, I'm reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and I'm hoping it'll be as amazing as Animal Farm! Until next time! :) 

For a Pleasant Life

    A society is composed of people who agree to live in the same environment and to respect the laws made by its government. The people may share different beliefs but all agree that respecting the laws would only lead them to live a pleasant and safe life; it will protect them from creating disorder or hatred among each other. Nevertheless, not everyone follow these rule, they try to bend it a little or "interpret"them differently so they can do whatever they please. In Animal Farm, a book of satire written by George Orwell, a group of animals rebel against their master and together decide to make up laws meant to bring them the happiness their master failed to grant them.
    After their rebellion, they agree to create seven commandments, the two most important commandments were to make an enemy whatever goes on two legs (humans) and to befriend every other animal. Everything at first was going well “...the harvest was an even bigger success than they had hoped.”(27) They were allowed to reach their full potential and were rewarded. Each had some sort of talent or a way to help and together they worked to create a life better than the one offered by their master Mr Jones. However not long after their rebellion, issues started coming their way. The pigs were to surpervise  and direct others while they worked, the pigs however did not work “with their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership.”(27) Their lack of manual labor violated one of the seven commandments about the equality of all the animals. The pigs were allowed to come up with plans and make decisions concerning the animals' lifestyles whiles the others “understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions on their own.”(31) The pigs would then consume more than the other animals by making them believe that they HAD To for they were the smartest and needed more nourishment to preserve their help which could only be beneficial for all because it would prevent Mr Jones's return. Another commandment broken was the first “whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.” This commandment was broken when Mollie left the farm to live with a man whom was “stroking her nose and feeding her with sugar”(46) Since the pigeons revealed her whereabouts, Mollie was never mentioned, she was considered a traitor for she had broken the most important law, which was to stay away from the enemy.
    Although I find the book intriguing, I have only read half it and apart from the first and seventh commandments being broken, the fourth was as well “no animal shall sleep in a bed.”(24) Not only did the pigs violate that law, they as well fooled the ones who were puzzled by their new behavior into believing that the commandment did not address beds but sheets.
    In Animal Farm, Orwell describes the animals' behaviors and characteristics such as their weakness and vulnerability as the ones who were wrongly mistreated and blinded during the age of Stalin, with the idea that they had to undergo a certain situations to live a satisfying life with no fear.

Let Us Blame Ourselves for the Actions We Take

   Lies no matter the size, whether made innocently or to reach a certain objective can be hurtful to the one being lied to. They arise a feeling that only the victim seems to be aware of, or at least at first. Other times, the deceiver so fine in his work, becomes aware of what he is creating within the victim; he insists on unceasing the lie, to bring the one fooled to a point where he wil not be able to control the power of his emotions, and most importantly control himself. But the feeling does not stop from there, it keeps growing uncomfortably, increasing until the one deceived takes the decision to get rid of that sentiment. The actions taken due to those lies are different for everyone, for we all have dissimilar ways to cope with different situations. However knowing such does not always stop us from being mindful of others, their feelings and what those lies we have so profoundly made up can provoke.

    One of William Shakespeare's famous play Othello, is a great work that reveals the characteristics of a determined deceiver, and his resoluteness to get to his objectif, and stop at nothing until such mission is accomplished. Shakespeare 's work also exposes the effects of the antagonist's lies causing the death of many including the passing of the protagonist. In the play, Iago (the antagonist) planned to have his revenge on Othello for not giving him the title he believed he deserved and handing it to Cassio instead, one Iago described as an  underserving man. He also heard rumors that his wife Emilia had an affair with Othello. The antagonist easily got rid of Cassio, by making sure he gets drunk and into a fight with Roderigo (Iago's accomplice) and lose his rank. Iago believed he could easily influence Othello by behaving as his closest and honest friend; he used that "friendship" to lie about Desdemona (Othello's wife) having an affair with Cassio and the proofs he presented to Othello about his claim. At the end of the play, Iago fails to kill Cassio but kills his wife and Roderigo, Othello kills his wife then shortly later himself. 

    Then comes the question "who should be blamed for all those murders? The deceiver or the fooled?) To be honest, I wish I could blame the dead ones, for not being clever enough, for allowing themselves to be manipulated by Iago and not being intelligent enough to at least wonder what was beyond the things they could see. Too bad I cannot, right? So I  choose Othello, he should be blamed alright, I stand by that and refuse to change my mind! But I will explain myself, of course :) I have lived long enough (well...not really) but I am old enough to understand that often life throws us some kind of present, (good or bad, it depends on the way we feel about whatever given) let's saya bouquet of roses, and that bouquet somehow lead us to reminisce about the past or have great hopes for the future and it brings different emotions. Those emotions should not stop us from remembering the thorns of the roses. Then let's say we hurt ourselves for we forgot about the thorns, should we blame life? "I mean seriously, who gives out roses with thorns?" Or should we blame ourselves for not being careful enough, for trusting too much, being naive or negligent? (Well, that is something to think about right?) If Othello did not lack self control and was reasonable regardless of Iago's manipulation, the play would have definitely had a different ending! 

   So here are some tips :) watch out for the thorns!! They are everywhere we go, let's be careful with the things we do and say, let's be mindful of the ones around us and their feelings and lastly let us assume the consequences of the actions and mistakes we make.