Blogs.

On the Waterfront blog:

I think that the line between being a traitor and a whistle blower is very fine, but people easily realize when one has crossed that line to be either a traitor or a whistle blower. It  also depends on the perspective of the person who's judging you as either a traitor or a whistle-blower. For example, if you were to testify in court against a certain gang or group of people, the people in that group would consider you a traitor because you had valuable information that you used against them. However, people that were being harmed by the gang would consider you a whistle blower for doing the right thing and stopping corruption that you see in society.

In the film On The Waterfront, I think that all the characters have very contrasting views on what differs a traitor from a whistle-blower. For example, I think Terry views someone as a traitor right away if they were to tattle on anyone. Terry was very reluctant to testify against the mob, showing that he thinks that anyone who uses information against anyone else is automatically a traitor, whether or not those people had been abusing their power. 

Outside Reading Blogs

#1

For outside reading, I'm reading the book A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Right now, I'm only about one hundred pages into the book. So far, we've seen James go to rehab and struggle furiously against professionals and doctors who are trying to offer him help. James woke up on an airplane not knowing where he was going with various injuries (Frey). I think that James' unwillingness to cooperate is symbolic of the struggles he feels on the inside. James doesn't want to accept the fact that he chose a horrible fate for himself, therefore he doesn't want to accept that he needs help to get back on his feet.

Another thing that is very symbolic of James' struggle is the fact that when he looks in the mirror, he can never look at his eyes. James describes his eyes with great passion, showing that they are very important and meaningful to him. I think that if James were to look in his eyes, it would be helpful but very difficult for him. People say the eyes are the window to the soul; if James were to look in his eyes, he would see the true him and that could be a hard thing to accept, considering that James is an addict on the path to recovery. James makes it clear that accepting oneself on the path to recovery is very difficult because while you're in recovery, you aren't necessarily pleased with yourself and the path you've chosen to live on.

#2

At my point in the book, James is still in rehabilitation and is now beginning to make friends at his rehab center. James has met a woman named Lilly and an older man named Leonard (Frey). James previously established that both Lilly and Leonard have had huge impact on his life as a recovering addict. James is still being extremely stubborn and not wanting to cooperate with the people trying to help him recover from addiction. James' brother Bob came and visited him and brought him gifts. The fact that James found people that care for him was very moving to James, but he still can't participate in the rehab program there for him. 

I think that James still not participating in the programs shows that he's not completely ready to get well yet, but he's getting closer. The fact that James is now open to people at the clinic and talking to people shows that he wants to recover, but isn't completely ready to face the truth just yet. James has began talking more in depth with Leonard, also showing more of how he's opening up to new people and taking in what they have to say. 

#3

The section of the book that I read this week was very significant not only to the plot of the story, but to James. James has a conversation with Leonard where Leonard tells him how he ended up in rehab. Leonard's story is so heart-wrenching for James and allows James to have true respect for Leonard. James and Lilly also begin a very significant relationship in this part of the book. They begin sneaking off and maintaining a romantic relationship, although it's against the rules of the clinic to have contact with the opposite gender. 

When James and Leonard are talking, Leonard breaks down crying in front of James. I feel this is very significant to both James and Leonard. It shows that Leonard is comfortable being around James. It's not easy for a man to cry, let alone in front of another man. It shows that Leonard truly trusts James as a person. Leonard crying is very significant to James because James didn't make fun of Leonard for crying; he accepted it and embraced his friend during his time of need. I think this shows James growing as a person because James was able to see that his friend needed help and give him what he needed.

#4

In this section, James realizes something very important about himself. James, after having meetings with his parents and professionals about his addiction, comes to think that addiction is not an illness, but a weakness and the only way to overcome it is to take heed of the problem and accept it for what it is. This is significant for James because now that he's accepted his problem, he can begin to fix it and see what he's doing wrong. 

James coming to this realization also shows how he's grown as a person. The old James wouldn't have been as ready to get better, but the new James that has lived in rehab can accept what he's done wrong and get himself on the track to fix it. James began the rehab program with his family, showing that he's getting better and stronger. 

#5

This is the first section where James' recovery is tested. Lilly runs away from the rehab center because her grandmother is dying. James literally runs after Lilly, but can't get to her. When James and a few other staff members find Lilly, she is engaging in a sexual activity and it is apparent that she was smoking crack. James has multiple opportunities to smoke the crack, but instead of choosing the drugs, he chooses Lilly and gets her back to the rehab center as soon as possible.

James not smoking the crack symbolizes his dedication to the rehab plan. Him picking Lilly instead of the drug shows how much he's grown to care about new people and has become a sympathetic person. James could've smoked the crack, but he chose not to. This was a huge ethical choice that James had to make. It also shows how much James' personality has strengthened during his time in rehab. 

#6

After the climax of the novel, things are beginning to calm down in the rehab center. Leonard has volunteered to pay for Lilly's extra term at the rehab center which she needed to start her detoxification over again. Leonard completes the course and prepares to leave the center when he asks James to be his son. While completing his rehab program, James confesses that priest in Paris made sexual advances towards him that he wasn't comfortable with. James beat the priest severely, maybe even killing him. James admitting this left him with a new lightness and feeling of freedom. James now knows he's ready to leave the center. 

After leaving, James asks that his brother takes him to a bar. James gets money and orders whiskey. After looking at and smelling the whiskey, James asks the bartender to dump it down the drain. The bartender dumping the whiskey down the drain is extremely symbolic of James' success as a recovering addict. The whiskey represents James' addiction, and the bartender dumping it down the drain represents James ridding himself of this addiction. 

Blog Question #1

In the play All My Sons, it is necessary for many of the characters to make life-altering decisions between family and society. Joe Keller is forced to choose whether or not to send out cracked cylinder heads. Sending them out would keep business running as usual, but would result in the crashing of airplanes. Not sending them out, however, would create a good moral standard for his children, but would halt business significantly. Keller chooses to send out the cylinder heads. He chose the greater society over his family.

Personally, I think it depends on the context of the situation whether or not family is greater than the society. If you know for a fact that your family is a clan of mass-murderers stalking and killing random people, then it's obviously a good thing to turn them in. It wouldn't be easy since they're your family, but it would be a good thing. However, if you knew that one of your parents was beating your sibling, choosing whether or not to turn them in would be an even more strenuous decision to make. What good does turning in a parent do for the greater society in that situation? The doubts go on and on, and it could eventually result either way. Overall, I think that family is extremely important, but if they're hurting the society drastically, it's better to think of society first.

Infuriating.

The movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou" really caught my interest and probed me to do some further research into a lot of the topics that came up in it. I'm not going to lie to you; I'm a curious person. Over the past few days, I've been doing a lot of research on the KKK and what they believe in. Again, the only reason I was looking at this is purely curiosity; I like to learn things. On their website, I came across an article titled "What Are YOU Watching On TV?" in their "Just for Kids" section. The article was written by a girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen. The main idea of the article was about how many television shows on TV are promoting race-mixing, and how that's very bad. The article also talks about how there are so many television shows with African-American main characters and how appalling that is. What's appalling to me is how easily brainwashed children today are. Honestly, reading that article left me completely speechless. I have so many things to say to whoever that girl's parents are. I understand that the way we're raised by our parents has a huge influence on the people we'll become in the future, but how can you be so brainwashed into thinking that every race besides Caucasian and every religion besides Christianity is unacceptable? I know people who have racist parents or grandparents, and those people aren't racist at all. It's extremely possible to deviate from what your adults in your life tell you. Why are there so many children out there being talked into thinking that the complete hatred of everyone but your own kind is 100% right. I'm not going to get too into the religious aspect of the KKK. However, I will say that there are a plethora of Bible verses telling you to love thy neighbor as thyself. If the KKK is so Christianity-oriented, maybe they should listen to the most set-in-stone thing the Christian religion has. 

Here is a link to the article I read: http://www.kkk.bz/whatareyouwatching.htm

Dirty Tears

This is a photo of my younger sister, Aleea. I didn't know if were supposed to title it so I did; it's called "Dirty Tears." 

The Line Between Respect and Agreement

So, my article that I read was about how at a town hall Q-and-A session with John McCain at Lakeville High School, many of the people there to see McCain got angry when they were told to "respect the opponent." McCain was put in the position of having to defend a candidate who's currently beating him in the polls.

I think what McCain did here was very noble. He could have egged on his supporters, telling them that Obama indeed was a Muslim terrorist. Instead, he did the right thing and told his supporters to calm down and "don't reduce their ferocity, but be respectful." 

It makes me wonder if Obama would have the guts to do the same thing. I think he would, but at the same time, how greedy is he for followers? I guess we'll never find out unless the situation arises. I doubt it will, but if it does, I'll be the first person to tell you what went down. (:

Link to my article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/30747614.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs

OJ Simpson Found Guilty?

Yes, you read that correctly. The famously-acquitted ex football player was found guilty not of murder, but of robbing two people at gunpoint. Simpson was charged with twelve counts and was convicted of all of them. I think it's kind of ironic that this would happen. After being proved innocent of murder, THIS is what Simpson gets put in jail for. If you already had such a close call, why would you even think of doing something like that? Any little crime would get him put away. 

Obviously, we were all young when the first OJ Simpson trial happened, so I didn't follow it closely. I don't have an opinion on whether or not he did it, but my view is that if he didn't do it, who did? Simpson having killed his wife and her friend is the only logical answer I can think of. The courtroom is an interesting thing; when you think something's going to go one way, it completely flips and goes the other way. I did mock trial last year, and it was so difficult! It helped me narrow down career choices though, now I know I can NEVER be a lawyer. Ever. Here's a link to the article I read: http://news.aol.com/article/simpson-found-guilty-on-all-charges/199173

Response to Question 3

I think that the concept of Kleos is not at all relevant to modern-day life, for two reasons. One is that happiness is what defines your life, not glory, and the second is that achieving glory in war doesn't do the same thing that it did back in Homer's time. 

Happiness today is what defines the quality of someone's life.  Someone living in poverty isn't likely to be as happy as someone with a stable financial system. While Odysseus was with Circe on her island, he was happy; that's why he stayed there. His life was good while living on Circe's island because he had everything he needed. Another example of this is seen in Penelope. She's been waiting for Odysseus to return for twenty years and is extremely depressed about him not being there. The grief in her life and waiting for Odysseus is causing her life to be extremely low-quality. 

Our country is in war today; I think we can all agree with that statement. Do we ever really hear of soldiers coming back from war and achieving ultimate fame and glory for what they've done overseas? From what I've seen of our country, my opinion is that most of the country doesn't support the war! Odysseus receives the utmost glory from his people after returning from war. He is showered in gifts, offered places to stay, and everyone loves him. However, it's not so much the same in our day-to-day lives. I read an article from an Atlanta-based newspaper about a division returning home. It was about a paragraph long and didn't even mention the soldiers by name. (The link at the bottom of this page is to the article if you'd like to read it). In the span of a few thousand years, we've gone from nearly worshipping our generals and soldiers to treating like they're extremely common and almost saying that their good deeds are useless.

Although Kleos was a very good way of living in Homer's time, I think it would be completely irrelevant and useless in today's society. How could we live off of getting glory when nobody even gives it anymore?

http://gpbnews.blogspot.com/2008/09/soldiers-return-from-iraq.html