The irony of a clock

The characters of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress experience a great shift in their lives when they embark on a journey to Phoenix mountain. The villagers and the main characters' lives become moved deeply by simple things such as clocks and books. Everyday objects ironically transform to become of great importance and in turn transform the characters.
The villagers on Phoenix mountain experience their own "cultural revolution" when they meet Luo and the narrator. Ironically, everyday objects to two city boys become idols of worship for remote villagers. "The alarm clock seized the imagination of the peasants. It became an object of veneration, almost. Everyone came to consult the clock, as though our house on stilts were a temple." The villagers become so fixated on a clock that they don't notice that its masters tell it to lie to the villagers. They also become entranced with another common city activity: the cinema. "Phoenix mountain was so remote from civilisation that most of the inhabitants had never had the opportunity of seeing a film, let alone visit a cinema." The cinema also becomes another "forbidden palace" for the villagers; they send Luo and the narrator to see films in place of the village headman. The villagers show the irony of the restrictions in China. The villagers are not allowed to be religious, but they worship common trinkets with a zeal much like religion . The cultural revolution, which was meant to suppress educated children like Luo and the narrator, instead gave the villagers a sweet taste of the city: like "a dish of beef and onions."
The western books transform the two city boys and the Little Chinese Seamstress as they absorb the limitless information of the western books. The boys become "seduced, overwhelmed, spellbound by the mystery of the outside world, especially the world of women, love, and sex as revealed to them by these Western writers day after day, page after page, book after book." They become enlightened to western thinking; they "find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined." The books initiate a different metamorphosis in the Little Chinese Seamstress, however. She begins "not civilised, at least not enough for [Luo]." The simple books mixed with the urban passion of Luo drives the Little Chinese seamstress to become a city girl. By the end of the book, "the lovely, unsophisticated mountain girl had vanished without a trace. Studying her new look, Luo was filled with the happiness of an artist contemplating his finished creation."
The Cultural Revolution was a time of much cultural turmoil, and people became encumbered with the weight of Mao's new country. Common items such as books were not what they were; they became entire worlds within a few hundred pages. Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress shows the irony behind these objects; they became worth much more than face value. The everyday items ironically had an immense impact on the characters; they learned to appreciate the "small things" in life.

Othello Test

The choices of the characters in Othello lead to unexpected results. Iago shovels plague into the men of Othello until they spew the pestilence onto each other. None of the men know who poisons them; they blindly clash with each other like gladiators in an arena. The women of the play are thrown into the arena as well; their demeanors attract conflict with the men, and they also become victims in a battle of souls. The lone spectator, Iago, throws tomatoes from the stand to initiate fights among the gladiators. Tragically, the characters in the play are not aware that they are being put on display until they are mortally wounded. Iago turns people against each other to enmesh them all in a destructive explosion of his tragic vision.

Iago fuels the emotions of the men to react destructively with each other. He "pour[s] pestilence into [Othello's] ear." Ironically, Othello instinctively takes the pestilence because he feels a stronger relationship with Iago than with Desdemona. Othello's romanticism also feeds his self destruction; he takes the slightest hint of betrayal as an apocalyptic calamity. Cassio feels the invisible hand of Iago too. Iago tells Cassio "the general's wife is now the general" while Iago is the real puppet master of the Venetians. Iago plays Cassio like a pawn; Cassio's need to regain his reputation leaves him vulnerable for Iago to take advantage of him. Like Cassio, Roderigo becomes a vehicle for Iago's revenge; the two men are used like disposable batteries and discarded when their purpose is served. Iago is an expert at creating convincing fabrications that warp the opinions of the other characters. The men of Othello ensnare themselves in the entangling lies of Iago, and they eventually suffocate in the net Iago weaves.

The womens' personalities in Othello lend themselves to being abused by Iago. Iago does not need to influence the women to do his bidding; they already possess that characteristic. Emilia is "nothing if not for [Iago's] fancy." She is an unwitting sidekick to the "Prince of Darkness." She does not know she is being used as an instrument in Iago's symphony of destruction. Tragically, she makes the correct intellectual choice by bringing Othello's handkerchief to Iago, but she falls when she learns that she assisted in the destruction of Desdemona and Othello. Desdemona's virtuous beauty and intellect designate her as a prime target for Iago's plans. Desdemona's alliance with Cassio brings her downfall because she was too kind and loyal. She served Othello too well; they "loved not wisely but too well." Desdemona's blunt honesty ironically leads Othello to believe the opposite of what she says. Desdemona and Emilia became victims of their own dispositions.

Iago places tinted glasses over the eyes of the characters in the play. He works his magic by restricting the view of his victims. The characters turn on each other because they see each other as "green-eyed monsters." Men stab what they see as monsters until everyone is wounded or dead. Iago's evilness comes from his relative obscurity within his deeds; he only lights the fuse and hides before he is caught in his own explosion. Iago's tragic explosion that he creates eventually intensifies until he too is caught in his own blast. All the characters are victims to the tragedy, but they also were fuel to the fire.

Evilness...

What makes people evil? Nobody is really evil; evil is a point of view. America was evil to Japan in World War II; Guitar was evil to Milkman; Pharaohs were evil to their slaves. Evilness isn't born into people; instead, it is worn on people. Someone may see an act as harmful or malicious, but everything is relative to one's opinion. Voldemort was trying to be a good guy and create a pure world of witches and wizards--or he was a crazed powerhungry warrior bent on utter destruction. Guitar was trying to do his job when Milkman got in the way--or he just wanted revenge on his friend for not cutting him in for part of some gold. Evilness isn't universal, so people cannot be born evil. If someone declares themselves evil and the world agrees, though, then the person may be evil.

Iove

I take love in so many different ways. My mom says "I love you" and it's different than one of my friends saying "I love that boy." The tough part is that love can be interpreted in different forms. It's like a quote in the yearbook two years ago: "to love is nothing, to be loved is something, and to love and be loved is everything." Love complicates us in how we give it. I may love someone because they are good looking or they are good at piano or whatever. People may love me for the same reason. We all need both to love and be loved. But on a deeper level, we need to have a connection with each other. Love changes hands very quickly. complexities arise when we don't know if someone loves us or not. One day I may say "I love you" and the next I don't want your love. Or like Milkman, one may get bored of easy love. For Hagar, this stripping of love leaves her confused and alone. She wants Milkman's love, but he won't giv eit to her. The bond between Hagar and MM is broken, and Hagar can't repaair it.

Ohh my pathos hurts

youth is definately wasted on the young. My mom's always yelling at me about some "How can anyone navigate through your room with all this crap in the way" or "why did you wait until the night before to type that three page report when you knew about it for two weeks?" I guess my parents are too old to understand what it's like to be a teenager. There's no time to do work; I mean, I barely have time in the day to be lazy as it is right now. Responsibility has got to be the hardest part of my life. I don't do my homework at home. I barely pay attention in class. It's just too much of an overload to remember to turn my shirts right side out while I'm in deep thought pondering the metaphorical value of milkman's existence (yeah right). And then I never get to show that I'm responsible because of past irresponsibilities. Why can't I take the car out if I forgot to turn off the lights last time? I mean I learned my lesson... Oh well. It's so hard being such a tender age. I'm stuck between childhood and adulthood. Total freedom is a couple years away, but I'm leaving my childhood for lots of work and old age. It reminds me of some guy I saw on the street. He was lecturing his kid because the kid was whining about going to some party or something. He said "Growing up sucks. You better enjoy your life before you grow up." Of course, we all wish we were someone else because we will never be that someone else. Little kids wish they were older and I wish I was a little kid again.

Fam

My family is very close to me. Sometimes they are a bit too close. My mom always makes me have dinner with her and my sister. Every night we sit down to a nice dinner. Nobody can eat until we bless the food. Nobody can leave until everyone is done eating. We don't eat out very much either. I feel like I'm spending too much time with my family and not enough time with my friends. It's always good though to see my mom or dad at my lacrosse games or crosscountry meets. I really rely on my family for support. My mom needed help on the computer, and only I could show her what to do.

I also have too many family gatherings. All my relatives on my dad's side used to live in Georgia. We would have thanksgiving at my grandmother's condo, christmas at my aunt's house, and other "get-togethers" at my uncle's house. I sometimes wish people would give me space. But I don't always feel like that...

Uh... yeah.

I'm so stupid

Today I still don't know anything about fate and free will. What happens if I learn my fate and my fate changes? For example, in some greek story, a king learns his grandson will kill him, so he throw him into the sea in a chest. The grandson survives (of course) and grows up to be a great athlete. At some Olympics match many years later, he accidentally throws a discus into the crowd during discus throw and kills his grandfather. Now if the grandfather had never gone to see his fate, his grandson may have never killed him. Or the Oracle could have said something different that would have come true instead.

The hardest question I can't answer is what to do when I learn my fate. Should I accept it if it stinks? I know it would come true no matter what, but I might just change my life to a degree to where it does come true. Maybe the answer is in Harold Crick: I must accept my fate and be responsible for it. Or maybe there's no answer, and I'm a Govinda getting in my way of searching.

The Ultimate Answer

There's definitely some fate in the world. As people say, "History repeats itself." Sometimes I know if something will happen to me, and sometimes I don't know, but it's going to happen either way. I guess we all know somewhere in our subconscious minds about the future. I always seem to have deja vu. I'll be dreaming a dream, and it comes true after a while. I usually forget the dream until I have deja vu though.

Live or die (hard)

If you had to choose between #1 or #2, which would you choose?

1) Live a long life, but remain known only to a small group of people. (be an average Joe)

2) Or live large, die in your early twenties, but be insanely famous for the next 1,000 years?

"Logan: It's your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me, it's one less minute you haven't lived." (Gilmore Girls)

I guess the way most people will answer the question will be to tell their life goals and what's important to them. The problem with me is that I can't get the best of both worlds.

Life is pointless without goals and challenges. I'm not going to live twice so I might as well shoot for the moon. If I become insanely famous and die at 21, I can say my life had purpose. I shouldn't settle for less than the best I can achieve. Of course, I would essentially be trading longevity for fame and glory. I guess this would be all right if achieving fame was for the right reason. I wouldn't want to be known as some serial killer after I die.

On the other side of the coin, I would die if I had to live such a short life. I measure my life in each day, and hundreds of days off my life would be a waste for some glory I couldn't grasp in my lifetime. Of course, if I lived long enough to find out thatfame over life is the better choice, I would be living with many years of regret. I would be able to confide in myself that I made the wrong choice instead of dying before I could judge if glory is better than life. My curiosity might even be the one to kill me early if I chose fame. Long life without purpose is not really living though. I would rather live twenty years doing something that motivates me than sit myself on a backburner for 60 years. If I lived long, my friends give my life meaning. Everybody in the world doesn't matter to me, so I can be fine with my core group of friends. I care more about what I think of myself than what the world thinks of myself.

The question I'm struggling with is "is there a correct answer?" Both choices are double-edged swords, and neither situation is win-win for me. If a stranger (or a teacher) gave me the two choices, I would probably choose long life. I would rather take the time to learn about myself than for everyone else to know about me for a thousand years. Usually fame and glory are the reasons people die early, not the other way around. I just want to be happy with myself with school, work, and my friends.

Back in the day

My favorite books from when I was young were the abstract stories my mom and dad would read to me. Dr. Seuss's "fox in socks" was my favorite book. Whenever I saw my grandparents I would make them read it to me. They would get so tongue twisted they couldn't even talk. It made perfect sense that fox was in socks in a box with clocks. Another favorite book of mine was "Wacky Wednesday." I always had fun looking for the hidden oddities in each picture. It reminded me of a Richard Scary story or an Ispy. I guess I had a Freudian curiosity in my subconscious world of craziness. Shel Silverstein always wrote poems which inspired my imagination. There was always something mythic about a little girl who piled pounds of food into her. I always wished I could fly away on a gigantic shoe.

The Western World

"The world, friend Govinda, is not perfect or on a slow journey toward perfection; no, it is perfect every moment; all sin already bears its forgiveness within itself; every little boy already bears the old man within himself, every infant bears death, every dying man bears eternal life. No one is able to look at someone else and know how far along on his journey he is; in the highwayman and dice player lurks a Buddha, in the Brahman lurks the highwayman." p. 77 Siddhartha


In life everyone tries to define us. My parents tell me how to act, but they can't change me. I'm like a crumpled up piece of paper that must unfold. I already have everything: my personality and individuality. People shouldn't be judgmental towards me because I dress a certain way or talk funny, but people are always trying to change what they don't like and not accept it. Everyone feels the need to shape the world with their opinions, but some are more aggressive in conforming others. People that listen to others don't think for themselves, and like Govinda, they cannot be truly happy with their self.

Western thinking dose not agree with this thinking. People in school are supposed to have their friends. Everyone must act as part of a greater group or risk being excommunicated. That thinking is contradictory to being an individual, which is another Western value. Can anyone really be unique and part of a group, and can they live on not being uniquely part of the world? Western thinking tries to promote the individual and suppress it at the same time. The paragraph, however, says that there is no similarity or difference in anyone; we are all the Buddha, the highwayman, the old man, and everything else at some point in our lives. We all encounter each other in ourselves at some time in our lives.

Coca-Cola

Everyone's favorite drink. Over 400 brands under the Coca-Cola company. Sold in over 200 countries...

American culture has had a profound effect on the world today. Symbols such as Coke and McDonalds are seen throughout the globe. Why is everyone so eager to envelop these products and what they represent? Coke is not a drink anymore; it's a symbol of America. The American way has spread throughout the world. Coke is now the "most recognizable brand". We relate to Coke as part of our history. People in China might see Coke as a new fad or just an American necessity. Either way, Coke is in the minds of everyone everywhere.

High school...

My highschool experience is a paradox within itself. I don't want to go to school most days, but I drag myself out of bed anyways. I like to learn, but I hate working and writing. I would rather just sit and not take notes but still learn what I feel like. Some of my classes are slow or boring, but I still don't want them to speed up; I just wish I was somewhere else. I guess I measure my life in days. Some school days are fun and go by quickly, while others are a drag. I don't really dwell on the past or look to the future much, so every day is something different for me.

Another Icon

Alrighty...

Martin Luther King Jr. is an American icon. He represents freedom and equality. When you ask people about Martin Luther King, they will tell you about his fight for civil rights. He died embracing his ideals, and he is an icon for equality among men. Without him, there could be segregated schools and workplaces and public racism. There is an MLK holiday and countless statues, buildings, and other things erected in his memory and in our memories. Martin Luther King pervades our minds.

An Icon

Cigarettes stick themselves to our brains every day. They represent freedom of choice to some, rebellion from uptight parents to others, or even a daily necessity for people. What makes them so pervasive in America? The smell is instantly recognizable, and the sight of someone lighting up carries a different message to everyone. Cigarettes invade our lives every day.

Quotes

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do about it." -Charles R. Swindoll

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you're doing, you will be successful." -Albert Einstein


As I go forward each day, I see these quotes as they hang on my refrigerator. I find that the best part of life is doing what I love and taking opportunities as they come to me. I strive to make the best of each moment, and I try to learn as much as possible to help me on my journey through life. Every day is a new experience and a life lesson for me. Success will come to me because I love what I do.

mmm...