The "Great" Gatsby's Acts

          F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby establishes several layers of meaning regarding Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is the mastermind magician of the story, who both tricks and pleases people whenever he wants.
For example, he is seen as deceptive and influential. It is discovered that he decieves multiple people in the pursuit of fortune due to his illegal  business endeavors. He also makes Nick believe that they share a special connection by inviting him to parties and divulging into his fictitious past. Thanks to Gatsby's cunning maneuvers, Nick is stripped of his likeable personality. He goes from being an "unbiased" and honest narrator to a weak, servile, and-gay?-individual who gets entwined in the drama of others. Instead of being a symbol of decency in his corrupted society, Nick's character is reduced to that of a confused young man who is just as immoral as the rest of his deranged neighbors. This is shown when Nick goes along with Gatsby's plans when he knows they are not right.  Gatsby even manipulates Daisy, the woman of his dreams. His idealized version of her far exceeds her actual persona, so she is forced to become the unattainable "perfect woman" or "golden girl" Gatsby has made her out to be. This shows that Gatsby's manipulation could be what results in his downfall.

          On the other hand, Gatsby is also seen as a charming gentleman who spends much of his own luxury for the sake of others. Later, we realize the parties and kind attitude towards Nick were staged, but the fact remains that he is still one of the few characters free of carelessness and bigotry. Therefore, the reason he is "great" is because of his determination and faith that he can change his identity. The illusion of "Gatsby" created by Jimmy Gatz is what makes him truly great and awe-inspiring.

Violence in Humans

          In "The History Teacher", Billy Collins allows us to perceive the teacher as harmless and eccentric. The educator is immune to tragedy and is a comical character for the students as he can see only the benefits of protecting their innocence. This leads to the serious message of the piece which conveys that he fails to see the potential evil in his students. The cruel children of the playground are preparing themselves for the future in which they too can perpetuate crimes against humanity. Perhaps if the children had been taught properly about the past and the consequences of violence, they would not have been so eager to behave so harshly towards others portrayed as inferior to them.

          Nevertheless, this is only speculation. We don't know for sure that exposing the unfortunate truth of the past will instantly cure kids of their desire to attack others. In fact, might it not produce an opposite effect? Here in America, nothing is shielded from children. We grow up with a sense of entitlement; the feel that we have a right to know whatever we want, regardless of boundaries. It is an accepted component of American society, along with the tendency to constantly compete with others. Therefore, "The History Teacher" stanza on bullying children can impart the idea that violence is a vital part of history that will remain for evermore.

Defending Survivors: Why are they special?

          The piece Sanctuary: For Harry Potter the Movie displays the significance of survivors and how they are protected. In this "poem", Nikki Giovanni draws a connection between the famous scar-marked teenager and a baby elephant in Africa. They are both survivors; both a symbol for a wronged individual saved by his mother.
Yet, why did Harry survive in the first book? Because his mother sacrificed herself for him? So out of all of Voldemort's other victims, not one of them had a family member or friend who loved them at least as much as Harry's mother loved him? Moreover, if it was a simple as that, why didn't Dumbledore or somebody say "Hey, everybody! All you have to do is love someone and be willing to die in his place, and the Dark Lord is powerless!" These views only emphasize the fact that Harry is not all that special; his predicament could be the same of any other Wizarding child loved by his parents.

          Going back to the baby elephant component of the metaphor, Giovanni claims "The alpha female takes up the charge while the other females surround the baby" (line 16-17). While the mother takes on the attacker, the rest of the herd seem to take it upon itself to protect the child. The other elephants  isolate him and make him a survivor by their beliefs in the necessity of the young creature living to remember his past.
          Therefore, the only reason the elephant lives is because his companions want him to exist as an idol of their struggle. Likewise, Harry is rescued  because he is a reminder of love: the only force potent enough to defeat Voldemort. This is why it can be seen that society chooses who to defend and let survive because it wants to preserve hope for itself no matter the costs.

A Complete Review of The Scarlet Letter

          I am now ready to share my thoughts on the whole book. Maybe I was too quick to judge it last week, because my view has drastically changed. Needless to say, I actually enjoyed it very much. The imagery is mind-blowing in the second half. Before, the words accented the attributes of the character's problems, whereas now they paint visions of the open, verdant forest enveloping a crystalline brook and rosy-bright wildlife. This can relate to how in the first twelve chapters everything seems utterly irrevocable, and how hope blooms--admittedly, not for long--for Hester and Dimmesdale's situation.

          Another positive aspect shown is Hester's transformation from a shamed woman to a determined and capable individual. After harboring two mens' secrets for so long, she finally does something about it by confronting them and speaking her mind. This really endeared her to me because I was finally getting the action and twists of a good mystery story, not to mention the joy of seeing a broken person repair herself and go after what she wants after years of hardship.

          The scarlet letter also takes on a whole new meaning by the end of the text. It ingrains itself into Hester's identity, and eventually, becomes insignificant by perspective which depicts the pointlessness of society's judgement and punishment. By the end, the 'A' stands for 'angel' which is what Hester is perceived to be by the townspeople. The book's last line pronounces "On A field, Sable, the letter A, Gules" (Hawthorne 259). The dictionary meaning of sable and gules is black and red, which can show that the scarlet emblem brands her even in death's dark hold. The death of Hester and her shame ends the story, and with it, my thoughts on this book.

A Review of the First 12 Chapters on The Scarlet Letter

          This week was devoted to studying The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. While I realize it is a key component of any American Literature class, I also discovered that I am not that big a fan of this book. First of all, there is the Custom House chapter. My first reaction to this section was When is this going to end? because it seemed like blocks of pure description for over forty pages.
Re-reading it, I discovered that Hawthorne uses satire to mock his situation and that it is actually pretty funny. The sad part is not that the narrator loses his job, but that this is probably the best part of the whole book.  It has a light-hearted tone that of which is not seen anywhere else in the novel. The next twelve chapters have a gloomy and serious feel, which relates to the events portrayed, but also really depressed me. Not only does the mood dampen the lives of Hester and Dimmesdale, it makes me less enthusiastic to read this book.

          Moreover, the characters are too unrealistic for me. I understand the novel is supposed to be dramatic, but I feel Hester is a little too ready to dedicate her life to proving a point; Dimmesdale gets too obsessed with his sense of guilt (which remains dormant for three years and then flares up like crazy); and Chillingworth is too maniacal about his bizarre 'revenge'.

          The pacing of this book is extremely slow. This has to do with Hawthorne's tendency to tell us about his characters rather than let us infer meaning from their dialogue and actions. Therefore, because so little actually 'happens', this supposed mystery story doesn't have all that much suspense or excitement.

          Also, Hawthorne uses the phrase "the scarlet letter at her breast" at least fifty times. And after the first few repetitions, it isn't even interesting anymore. Rather than emphasize her distinctiveness and ignominy,  it only seems to trivialize the symbol by making it appear  frequent, commonplace, and hopelessly stuck to Hester's character.

          Hopefully the story will pick up a bit in the next half, but I have to say, with exception to the first few chapters, The Scarlet Letter is too dark and sluggish for my liking.