Different Goals

     


      The gender of a person determines the type of relationship that people will have. A girl's judgment in guys is based on personality and security. Myrtle is with Tom because of his stature in society and he has enough money to spend at her whims. This is shown by her request stating that she wants "to get one of those dogs" (Fitzgerald 27). He immediately buys her the dog at an expensive price. The same goes for the men. Guys search for girls that they can provide for and that makes them feel like a man. Nick didn't marry the girl from his old town because according to him he is "too poor" (Fitzgerald 19). Gatsby also had to pretend to be well off for Daisy because that is what she expected. He would also have to provide comfort for her. Gatsby tries to show off his ability to provide for Daisy in terms of material possessions and lavish parties. He owns a car that Nick looks at "with admiration" (Fitzgerald 64). The relationship between two guys is different because their goal is to look for a buddy to hang out with or someone to compare themselves against. Tom is an example of the second case; he looks for other guys to be jealous of him. However, Gatsby becomes friends with Nick and he invites Nick to go "up in the hydroplane" (Fitzgerald 53). The gender of a person decides how they will be treated and their expectations of other people.
Resources: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm Right and You're Not

           
                                             


               Secrets are a controversy in the daily lives of the human race. Teenagers are a particular group that delve into unraveling the frustrations and the power that comes from this concept. When you are the only person that doesn't know a secret, you are left out, an outsider. The person who knows the secrets of others has leverage and can use that to their benefit. If you are the person on the outside and your friends know something that you don't; then you start thinking up of ways to get them to talk. Secrets are not limited to truths that very few people know. A secret can be anything that is even partially covered up. The poem : The History Teacher demonstrates this idea. The events of history are known to many and therefore history is not a secret. However, history becomes a secret when the teacher changes the course of history with the intent  of protecting his student's "innocence". The students then do not understand the importance of history and they do not learn from the mistakes of the past. The truth covered up can also impair the judgments of a person leading them to make ignorant decisions that can affect many lives. Then, as people might think, it would be best if everyone told nothing but the truth. Wrong. Truth to an individual, is based on a person's perspective and their past history. To the history teacher, the War of Roses is a series of wars for the throne of England. To the students, their truth is that "The War of Roses took place in a garden". They are both truths to the individuals and therefore truth is not objective but subjective. That is why, in our society, there is the concept of lying. It is to judge another person's truth or subject our own truths to be evaluated as fact or not. In the end, the person with the most facts that are tainted with the least emotions holds the highest truth. This person has the power to change other peoples perspectives and can influence many others. Talk about pressure. 

Resources: The History Teacher by: Billy Collins
"Wars of the Roses." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2014. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses>.

The Link

   

       
      Punctuation. A personal fear of mine and one of the many subjects in which I definitely do not excel. However, my dislike of punctuation does not change the fact that punctuation is vital to the English language. The rules to punctuation is forever present but the rules that we wish to adhere to, they change. As Elizabeth Austen said she wishes for the "the sweet interrupting dash" (Doc A). This clearly describes the rules for the use of the dash but it was the choice of this author to use the punctuation, or not to, in her piece . The author of Semicolons: A Love Story (Dock B) tells of his change from a student who listened to his teacher's advice to a self-educated author who follows his own experiences. The rules for symbols such as the "snark" and the "hedra" (Doc C)are the same as they were when these were created. This is completely separate from the use of these and both the hedra and the snark are no longer in use. Every rule of punctuation goes down in history to be looked back on as a guide to the previous generation's thoughts. That is why no punctuation can change. Punctuation, or the lack of, is the link between the literature between past generations and future language. 

Resources:
   Doc A: On Punctuation by Elizabeth Austen
   Doc B: Semicolons: A Love Story by Ben Dolnick
   Doc C: Punctuation, Social Media, and Evolving Rules of Communication by Henry Hitchings

Pauline's "Blue Eyes"

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          Morrison's style includes many soft words that make the passages flow more smoothly and quietly. This lets even the most shocking portions seem less appalling and more like a dream. A single passage that illustrates Morrison's use of repetition, metaphors, and the logic to her character's actions is when Mrs. Breedlove starts to push away from her family. As Morrison puts it, "more and more she neglected her house, her children, her man--they were like the afterthoughts one has just before sleep, the early-morning and late-evening edges of her day, the dark edges that made the daily life with the Fishers lighter, more delicate, more lovely" (Morrison 127). The simple repetition of the word "my" shows that the house, kids, and Cholly belong to Mrs. Breedlove; she is deserting her life to serve the Fishers. The metaphor that Mrs. Breedlove's life at home is just the beginning and the very end of a day where nothing is happening determines that, to her, that time doesn't matter . The most important part of the day is the middle and all of that is spent at the Fishers; in including this the thoughts and feeling of Mrs. Breedlove towards her family situation is captured. To Pauline, working at the Fisher's home gives her everything she could want and it is equivalent to what Pecola believes that she will get if she has blue eyes. The diction in this sentence such as "lighter" and "lovely" leads to a fragile, soft feeling of the passage. However, the message of distaste towards her own possessions in the section reveals a unsettling situation. 

An Indication

                            

      In this day and age many people have cats and dogs that they have learned to cherish (or hate). People who own a cat doesn't necessarily own a dog and vice versa. There are many people that are labeled as being a cat person or a dog person which lines up with their personalities. Studies show that dog lovers are more lively, outgoing, and stick to rules-- sounds very much like the personality of a dog. Cat people, on the other hand, are introverted, open-minded, and sensitive. People who said that they like dogs better stated that it was because of the companionship that dogs offered. Cat lovers stated that they like the affection cats give. This leads to an insight as to why Geraldine from The Bluest Eye is a cat person.  She prefers the affection of her cat over the company of her husband; who can represent the dog. Geraldine likes to sit at home reading magazines with the cat in her lap instead of going outside. Her personality lines up with the statistics. Gender can also play a part in the cats vs. dogs inclination. Cats are associated with femininity and dogs are definitely placed under masculinity. There are always jokes about the cat lady-- also known as the old lady who owns 97 cats, but there has never been jokes about a cat man. Dogs are also said to be a man's best friend, but dogs aren't said to be a woman's best friend. Although the word "man" in that sense refers to human kind as a whole; it still gives a sense that dogs are under the possession of the male.

Resources: Rettner, By. "Dog People vs. Cat People: Who's More Outgoing? More Intelligent?"                     LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 27 May 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Mayer, John. "Can You Tell the Cat Lovers From the Dog Lovers?"Psychology Today: Health, Help,                Happiness Find a Therapist. 17 June 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.