April Monthly Blog

Over time, society has continued to value youth and beauty while evading aging as long as possible. Although death is a tragedy on all accounts, whenever a young person passes society reacts more intensely than when an elderly individual does and responds with phrases including "He was just so young" or "She had her whole life ahead of her". The nature of humans to cherish youth is extremely prevalent today and is evident within various works of art and literature. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the obsession Dorian has with his youth is extremely obvious in the way he wishes he could be the painting instead. Not only does he wish to be young and flawless forever, but he believes it to be unfair that the portrait may stay youthful while he must grow old. Such adoration of youth is evident again when Sybil Vane dies and society is taken aback by her young age. While I understand and agree with society that youth is valuable and should be cherished, I also feel that focusing too much on it takes away from the long life that is available to people. I believe that just as many wonderful memories, if not more, are able to be made later in life when you've developed laugh lines around your smile and your skin is slightly worn and aged from your endless adventures. If people were more open-minded and lived each moment to the fullest, there would be no need to put all the pressure on the young members of society to make their early years their best years.

March Monthly Blog

Throughout history, individuals have always believed that the enemy was the stranger or the one who had the gun. After years of war after war, some have realized and shared that the real enemy is no one but ourselves. The truth behind this statement is proven through Dr. Faustus and his various choices and actions which only seem to worsen. Throughout the whole story, there is never a friend or a stranger which causes an issue with Faustus, in fact the people are the ones that often encourage and support him. Instead, it is the "devil" within him that pushes him to make the poor decisions he does and eventually brings him to his unfavorable end, proving that the only enemy you truly need to be scared of is yourself. Again, this issue can be found within Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as the only reason Jekyll continues to meddle with the science is his own selfish and diabolical desires. It is never anyone on the outside that causes him to suffer or commit the crimes he does but his own mind. In the end, it is himself that brings his life to such a tragic end. Even after all this time, people continue to listen to the devil over the Angel and are forced to deal with the consequences. This is why individuals end up in jail and regain freedom, only to find themselves in a cell once more. It is never because of something someone else did, not an enemy or a stranger, but the enemy within themselves that causes their ruin. While I realize that there are individuals out there that we should probably fear, it is nine times out of ten our own minds that are the true enemies. If everyone would simply stop pointing the finger and placing the blame on others and re-evaluate their own thoughts and choices then they would be happier and much more successful.

February Monthly Blog

Continuous Discrimination 

     The constraint of women in society has been a long and never-ending battle. They have struggled to make a living and have an independent self due to society's restrictions and expectations. Such issues are evident in Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own when Woolf comments on the extravagant and conversation filled luncheons of men and the simple, quiet manner of the women. For a long time in history women were expected to be obedient individuals that simply acted as property, not even their own person and this expectation is shown in this instance as even when they are among women they do not feel the right to have intelligent conversation or treat themselves to grand foods. This is a significant thought because it proves that restrictions such as these are capable of changing and influencing society for a very long time. Even today there are numerous individuals who are stuck in these times where women were not treated as equals and it disgusts me to think that people still enforce and spread such ideals. This is obvious in the endless comments made among the media about women and their inferiority which our society indulges in every day. I strongly believe that until these jokes and comments are stopped, our society will never truly have an equal sense of men and women.

Rights and Roles

           Gender equality and roles within relationships have been continuously focused on in the recent pieces of literature. The rights and responsibilities of men and women have been endlessly questioned and analyzed. In A Doll's House the worth and personal rights of women are obviously presented in a critical way. Nora is introduced in such a a way that makes her out to be an ignorant, innocent, spoiled, and helpless little creature. Her inability to support herself in both monetary and emotional situations creates a superior male role as well as a useless female character. This inferiority is evident in Edna in The Awakening as well as Edna is not given the choice to decide for herself and instead is forced to live the life provided by her husband. Both works bring to light the struggles women have had to deal with and overcome over the years. Today, it is obvious that women have fought hard for independence and individuality that they rightly deserve. We still see women and men fighting every day for total equality in numerous areas including workers wages and issues such as rape. The unfair stereotypes and expectations for both men and female have come a long way but are still in need of improvement. While I do approve of and support the fight for equality, I believe the fight needs to be evened out a bit among the genders. There has been so much focus on women's rights that sometimes men are overshadowed and overlooked. Specifically, rape accusations are often overlooked when men are the victims and I feel this is going backwards from where society is today and should be taken far more seriously and equally between both genders.

December monthly blog

     

Fear        

            The world is entirely dominated by fear. We fear what comes next, what may happen, even change is feared. Even for those who seem fearless and free, there is something hidden somewhere that they fear even if they don't know it yet. Many of the stories we have been reading express this control fear has and proves that even some of the bravest and courageous characters have fear. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo is honored and respected within his clan because of his great strength, power, and bravery. His character seems to be far too confident and courageous to have any fear, especially when he takes part in Ikemefuna's death. Okonkwo never once admits his fear of anything or anyone in words however it is obvious that he is not thrilled about the changing of tradition within his clan. He is so adamant about keeping tradition and honoring his ancestors because he actually fears the change. He is happy with his position in their current society and fears what may happen if this new religion changes his people. His fear is what influences his actions and controls his life. He is cold and strict with his family and does not show much love and affection in fear of losing his reputation and he feels the need to kill Ikemefuna for the same reason.
The topic of fear controlling society is very relevant today because of recent terrorist attacks and continuous terrorist groups. Our society is so afraid of groups like Isis taking over that they have forgotten their own morals and beliefs and begun to treat others badly. They have no right to treat these people with disrespect simply because of their religion or background and yet their fear has turned them against each other. Personally, I understand the power and dominance fear can have over one. However, I wish and hope that people will realize there are beneficial ways to cope with such fears. When fear starts to control you, there are ways to control it instead and I believe that so many individuals would find benefits from controlling their fears

Monthly Blog November

Monthly Blog
November 2015
Mary Thomas
AP English/ Burnett

Cultural Relativism 

I believe the idea of cultural relativism is a beneficial one. If everyone was able to put their culture aside for a moment and simply look deeper into another's to understand, the world may live more peacefully. Human beings are so quick to judge and criticize based on their own values and customs, they never take into account that there may be more similarities between theirs and another society's than expected. This idea is extremely relevant to our world today and every day of the past. If each of us tried to understand other cultures and didn't push them aside because of our preferences for our own, there would be much less war and trouble. Right now in the world we are dealing with major terrorist threats because they are attempting to push their ideas onto everyone else. This is only making life worse for everyone and if they realized that our culture is equal to theirs then there would be no problem.
We all come from different ancestors and therefore different cultures and traditions. In Things Fall Apart, even each individual clan practices its own customs within that culture. While it is normal for people of Umoufia to be aggressive and war ready, some of the other clans act with more reason instead of action. Although the practices of the other clans are not always understood, they still respect them. If we were all to keep this in mind, we might be able to be more accepting and understanding. We need to step back and look from the outside instead of from our societies. America has grown as a place of freedom and cultural diversity and has strived to function successfully in doing so. I believe that if we were to really think about this ability, we would realize that not one culture is correct or superior and we would be able to appreciate each others beliefs and values.

Monthly Blog October

Monthly Blog
October 2015
Mary Thomas
12 Ap English/Burnett

Worth 

Every day millions of people are prematurely judged based on their appearance, social status, and numerous other reasons. The famous quote "Don't judge a book by its cover" has been taught to each of us since birth but has yet to make an impact on our actions and thoughts. Within Beowulf and The Importance of Being Earnest the theme of judging others is continuously apparent. In Beowulf, the characters are all referred to as the "son of" or the descendant of some ancestors. This is significant because they are judged based on what family they come from and what social status they hold, if they have money or are known for their great deeds they are treated with much more respect than if they are not. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Bracknell bases the entire idea of marriage on the wealth and social status of characters. If they are not wealthy and appear to be unsuccessful and unimportant in the world, she feels they have no worth and are not worthy of marriage. For example, Lady Bracknell questions Ernest when he wants to marry Gwendolen but none of her questions relate to who he is as a person or have any substance at all. They are simply questions about his family name and what he does with his life.
Sadly, after so many years this judging is still happening in society today. Now we base off of physical appearance in order to determine whether they are successful, wealthy, or worthy. If someone has tattoos and non-designer brand clothes there are many people who immediately shun them and refuse to accept them into their lives. They have taken no time to get to know them or to find out what their personalities are like but instead decide based on what they wear or how they do their hair that they must not be a valuable person.
The judgmental ways of our society are sickening to me. It is unnerving to see so many people be judged not based on who they are on the inside but who or what they are on the outside. People such as Lady Bracknell have no grasp on the value of individuals and I hope that one day our society is able to take that more seriously.