Alyssa’s AP Blog

Question #1: I feel that Bokononism tries to solve the problem of violent, religious dogmatism by having the intrigue of the religion be that it is an underground organization and that speaking out and violently voicing one’s opinion would inevitably wind up with them dead. The fear factor is used to the advantage of the religion because it makes it dangerous and therefore wanted. Most religions make the mistake of creating such die-hard followers that many of them would fight for what they believe to be the one “true” religion. Bokonon teaches that everything in the Bokononist religion are “bittersweet lies” (1). If the religion is based on lies, there is nothing to fight to prove is the truth. In this way I agree with what SparkNotes said was the reason for the lack of violence. I also agree that the passiveness of the religion causes there to be a lack of violence. Look at the national symbol, for example. It is Mona, who is very chill and will go whatever way the wind takes her, but doesn’t have intense emotions like hatred or rage. If she is the symbol of the people of San Lorenzo, then it shows how they must also be peaceful Bokononists. Though, the whole beginning part about how Bokononists let fate take it’s course doesn’t seem to fit the question (to me at least). I feel like they were trying to make a point, but it doesn’t really come across. The only possible thing that I can think of is that it is a round-about way of  expressing the religious views of passiveness.

Question #2: Felix Hoenikker mocks the idea that evil is humanities’ biggest problem by his innocence. We are taught that there is good and evil and there is no in between. Vonnegut messes with this thought by making Felix have such a childish innocence about them. Dr. Hoenikker had an interest in turtles that was about equivalent to a little kid. The fact that he was a little person also adds to us thinking that he is treated like he is young and innocent. When one of his colleagues spoke about how science has seen sin, Felix asks what sin is, showing that he really is naive. If he were evil, he would be fully educated about his inventions, and still trying to end the world. His naive characteristics take away from the idea that he could possibly be pegged as an evil man. I agreed with what SparkNotes had to say about this, but I believe that my argument was stronger and had more examples in it.

Question #3: The speech at Franks high school graduation was all about how science was the key to life-which seems ironic because it was science that ended so many lives at the end of the book. Science is powerful, but not necessarily always in a good way. When a protein was later discovered to be the “key to life” many people went on the same way they always did, showing how science can have a little effect on normal people. They thought that science would be the key to happiness, but discovered that you can’t whip up happiness in a laboratory. The “truth” discovered by science is misleading. In the case of the ice-9, the readers get to see how something that was supposed to be simple an helpful, caused the downfall of the world.

Question #4: The hobby shop owner, Jack, showed Jonah what Frank worked on as a child and teenager, which offered insight into Frank that could not be seen the first time I read it. I didn’t make the connection until just now, but it makes total sense. On the surface, Frank is perceived as someone with an eye for intricate detail, planning skills, and a vision. Now that I have read the book, I realize that the model city was not an example of just that, but of Frank’s carelessness and indifference to the world. The way he tore down perfectly good parts of his model without giving them a second thought shows his recklessness and inability to appreciate what he had. This is shown through giving away his ice-9 which inevitably ended the world.  His carelessness was what allowed him  to give something like that away without thinking about the consequences fully. The hobby shop model city could also give insight into Frank’s careless and indifferent attitude towards San Lorenzo, because it showed how he didn’t take a stand towards the injustice (because he just didn’t care) and how he didn’t want to govern the people for his own selfish reasons.

The illusion that I uphold consumes my appearance from about 7:40-2:30 every school day. When I brought this assignment up to my mom, she instantly pointed out how I act at school and said that I should write about that (so she obviously knows about it). I create a false impression of myself to the kids at school everyday by acting quite and shy. It is completely unintentional, but usually is due to the lack of sleep from all the homework I do late at night. People often think I am mad when I really just don’t want to be at school. My blank expression is often  mistaken for being angry. I don’t mean to give a false impression of myself, but as soon as the bell rings I get a burst of energy and get back to my happy self. It is not that I am acting like that because it is a comfort to me, because it usually happens because I am uncomfortable. I barely talk in most classes (I actually talk quite a bit in AP Lit) and once I get home no one can get me to shut up. It’s like there is an unconscious switch in me that turns on once school is over. I have been told that I am socially awkward, but never by anyone that has seen me in my own environment. This unapproachable, unhappy looking mask covers me every morning, but my unintentional illusion is taken off every afternoon to unveil a strong, confident, happy, energized girl.

I watched the Franco Zeffirelli version of Hamlet the other day and was surprised by it. It wasn’t what I expected. I hadn’t heard the story of Hamlet until then, and thought that Zeffirelli/Shakespeare did a good job keeping the suspense towards the end. The story itself was interesting and intriguing in a play form (much more interesting than when it is read). Zeffirelli’s choice to change the order of some of the scenes was confusing at parts and made sense during others. For instance, the beginning made more sense with the addition of his father’s funeral. The characters chosen were not what I had expected them to be. Ophelia was a lot creepier than I had expected. She looked dead through most of the performance. Claudius was older than I had expected and his wig was not fitting for him at all. I also didn’t understand why Gertrude had her head wrapped in a fabric bandage type thing. All of the costumes were different from what I had expected based on what I know about the era. Another problem that I had with the movie was that I was deeply disturbed by the scene where Hamlet made out with his mom. Eww!! My favorite part was the end, because I enjoyed the fencing and how the audience didn’t know who was going to die until the very end. The movie as a whole wasn’t my favorite but I thought the actors were pretty convincing in their roles and helped me make sense of the story.

Yesterday when I was writing my blog I was trying to make sense of the text, but realized I was completely wrong today. -But have no fear!! I wrote my way to understanding during the timed write, and would like to share what Huston actually meant on page 145! (Please disregard the part of my post that was completely off about Mrs. Turner’s religious views.) It was during the timed write that I realized that Hurston wasn’t trying to say Mrs. Turner was worshiping with Caucasians -but rather that she was worshiping them. She idolizes them like how religious people idolize their gods. It was all a big metaphor about how she tries to impress them and makes sacrifices to them.  It is through this metaphor that Huston shows Mrs. Turner’s true colors and extreme viewpoints on just how devoted to the white race she is. Comparing her racial prejudice to a religion reinforces her extreme opinions and stubbornness.  (Thanks for letting me write that. Now I feel better. )

Mrs. Turner has some issues, to say it nicely. She is racist against African Americans-which is ironic because she is one. The only one that she likes is Janie, because her skin is fairer than most and she is higher class. Mrs. Turner has a problem with Tea Cake because of his skin color and thinks that Janie would be much better suited with her brother. Mrs. Turner is very proud of her look, even  though most wouldn’t exactly call her beautiful. She looks more Caucasian than most black people and believes that there should be more mixed breading to get rid of African American features all together. Even her religious beliefs are centered around her prejudice viewpoints. She believes that she should only worship at alters that Caucasian people worship at. She also mentioned how she believed heaven only consists of fair skinned people.  It was interesting that another religious view of hers is that “fear is the most divine emotion” (145). We have talked about fear being a motif in class, but this adds some questions about how she has come to this consensus. She is an odd character, but is there to add another road block in the story. She is the new antagonist, and differs from the others because her main focuses are racial issues and social standings (even though she isn’t at the same level of Janie).  She brings up new subjects for Janie to place an opinion on, which brings us one step closer to Janie knowing exactly who she is.

Janie wasn’t mad about Tea Cake’s gambling, because it was a “part of him” (125). She used that to justify that it was alright and to turn her anger towards any “imaginary people who might try to criticize” (125-126). Janie loves Tea Cake and if the gambling is a part of him, she won’t try to fight it. Tea Cake wants to gamble to impress her and win money for her, so it would be hard for her to get mad at his reasoning. The money could represent the gamble that Janie is taking with this relationship. Tea Cake is younger and can’t provide her with the security that she has been provided in her other relationships. She changes her life completely for a chance at true love, not knowing if its going to work out or her life will fold. It could also represent the trust that she is putting in Tea Cake. When she allows him to take the money it is out of her trust in him, but when he just took it, she thought he was cheating or running off with it.

Hurston didn’t just write a random little story about a mule for fun; it related to several important topics of the book through it’s open metaphor. The mule could be a representation of Janie, slavery and women. The reason why Hurston chose to use a mule as the main character was because Nanny called African-American women “de mule uh de world” (14).  This particular mule had to deal with people not giving it the proper nourishment in needs to live, just as how Janie was starving for love. The way Jody “rescued” the mule was almost like how he rescued Janie, and yet neither of them were actually loved and paid attention to by Jody. The way the gender roles were considered back in the day, it was common for the women to be thought of as on a lower level than the men. They were also considered helpless, like the animal that was picked on than couldn’t stand up for itself. Another way to look at the mule is as a symbol of slavery. Slaves were considered a possession (just like an animal), they were bought and sold, and they were treated like animals.

The way I perceived the buzzards was that they were the like the porch sitters, Jody,  misogynistic men, or the slave owners.  The buzzards purpose was to tear the mule to pieces. The men in Janie’s life (and in particular: Jody) all emotionally pecked away at her until there was nothing left, really. Men of that era could be very critical of the women to an extent of eating way at their dignity. The same was true for slaves and their owners, who ripped them apart until there was nothing left. Those were  just a few of the metaphors that could be taken from this story of the mule and the buzzards that explain what’s with it.

I read the Long Term Consequences of the Colonization of Africa, by Gemma Wiseman. I have thought about Africa as colonized and in the form of third world counties now (with kids that have bloated hungry tummies).  Though,  I haven’t really thought about Africa without the entire transformation from a culture/natural resource rich land to a western style metropolis, until now. I was disgusted to find that the population size shrank about 50% by the Congo river under King Leopold’s rule! Europeans leaving Africa was almost as bad as them coming to it for the devastated continent, because of it’s power struggle and greed problems that came with. Also when the Europeans left, so did their funding for the African countries. This essay was depressing but very interesting and informative.

(Do I have to write about all of the essays or just the one that I read entirely?) Vietnam has experienced much devastation, too, since the war, and many U.S. soldiers didn’t come home from the war. (Sorry I went over on the word limit…there’s just so much to say)

In the novel The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, an indescribable bond between sisters provides the will power for them to get through difficult lives. The story is about Celie’s journey to understanding God through a lifetime of heartache and people that love her.

The structure of the book is unique in the way that it is written in a series of about 90 letters. Celie writes these letters to God for half of the book, which shows her devotion to him. She writes these letters to him like they are good friends. She gets to a point where she “don’t write to God no more” (193) and sort of gives up on him, until her friend points out that he is more of a spirit than a person. Celie explains all this in the form of her letters to her sister. There letters help enforce the belief of the spirit of a god in Celie. The last letter is also addressed to God and everyone/thing else to show how she realizes that God, no a physical being, is in everyone and everything.

Walker also use symbolism to indirectly show the power of God is alive and well. The color purple is a frequent symbol throughout the book to show the beauty of God’s creation. Celie imagines that Shug Avery, her husband’s beautiful mistress,  would have a purple dress on (21). Her sister, Nettie, mentions “African daisies” (which are purple and really strange, but pretty) (136). The point where all of the purple images are given meaning is towards the end of the book when Shug says, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it” (197). It is in all of the beautiful things about the world that God creates for us to show his love. After Celie realizes that, her relationship with him grows stronger, but in a more abstract way.

Celie writes to God with a very low diction, in a way that shows just how close she really feels “it”. The diction not only gives the reader an idea of the setting and social background of the characters, but also creates a sense of comfort in the way Celie writes to God. The way she writes to God  is exactly the same as how she writes to her sister, the closet person to her. She doesn’t try to make it formal or like she puts it on a pedestal, but writes just how she would speak. She even uses words like “pussy” and “titties” without a feeling of embarrassment, because of her comfort with God.

I picked up the book The Color Purple to find that it is a depressing and not at all what I expected from it. In the  very first page the main character Celie was raped by her own father! I was in shock when I read that, because normally books ease the reader into such controversial topics-but not this one! As I read on, it made me sad to think that she had to suffer through the humiliation on having two of his children. Celie’s life would be one that I could never imagine. I know other women have actually experienced the same horrible lifestyle, but I would never be able to handle that.

I tried to put myself in Celie’s shoes, but it was impossible. We have very different personalities, so I found myself arguing with her choices as I read. I got really into the book (as depressing as it may be) and found that it was very captivating. That might have been because I completely disagree with the way that Celie was treated-by her dad, husband, and pretty much everyone. I keep hoping that she will start standing up for herself (like how Sofia and I would have done) instead of letting all of the men in her life get exactly what they want out of her without as much as a thank you!! It baffled me as to how it was page 58 and a third of the way through her life before she actually felt like her life was alright. Though I am in an outrage over the characters in this story, I will continue reading this story, in hope that it will improve in a drastic way.