Monstrous Behaviors

One of the unit essential questions from this unit "monsters and ourselves" has really stuck out to me, especially when you take into consideration what our school is currently going through. The question I am talking about is #4, "What nature of human beings would you describe as "monstrous"?

The behavior I consider to be "monstrous" is when people allow their personal agendas to get in the way of important issues, and when people abuse their power to get what they want.  Both of these behaviors are extremely selfish as well as childish.  Holding power is not a bad opportunity, however when one utilizes their power so that it has a negative impact on somebody this is where the line needs to be drawn. 

In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll had the power to create Hyde.  The power he had initially was used appropriately, but soon as Hyde was re-created multiple times he became dangerous.  He effected people in negative ways, so that they have become scared for Dr. Jekyll's health and sanity.  This is when he misused his power as a doctor/scientist.

This is similar to that of the situation that is occurring in our school.  Before, I go any further I must say that as a student I personally have deep respect and appreciation for both Dr. Madden and Dr. Fischer....that being said, I do not know the entire story or if what I know is true.
Dr. Fischer's conduct of "relieving Dr. Madden of his duties indefinitely" was managed poorly.  Although, we don't know the complete story and all of the facts that go with it, I have been told by a reliable source that the reasoning for the superintendent to do this is because he and Dr. Madden have always been enemies.  This has been a dispute that has been ongoing for years now.  For Dr. Fischer to utilize his power to release our principal and to then not give us any information as to why and to expect us to continue on as if nothing has happened is flat out ridiculous.  This is when the monster in him is shown.  He allowed his personal issue, agenda, to interfere with what is best for the students, teachers, parents, staff, and others of Oxford Area High School to suffer.
The seniors will now have a commencement ceremony this June that is lead by a man, new principal, who we don't even know.  We all want our principal who has come to know us very well over the past four years, to speak from his heart and tell a real story at graduation...not some guy who will have been in the school for a month and a half(interim principal).

The past few days, as I have walked through the halls and gone to class there has been an indescribable feeling.    Something just has not been right, teachers and administration will not answer the students' questions, the halls are a little quieter, people just are acting differently.  I can't put a finger on exactly what has changed, but a change has definitely occurred.
We have had a principal/vice principal from one of the other schools in the district watching over us each day, waiting for someone to riot.  They are there to scare the student body and staff into not doing anything, what they don't realize is that once a mob mentality starts it becomes more powerful than the power these principals hold.

I apologize if I have offended anyone by my words, but my blog isn't called "Mich's Thoughts" for no reason.

Where Would we be Without the Work of Those Who Were Here Before Us?

Where would a student be without the inspiration of their teacher? Where would young boys aspiring to be great baseball players be without Jackie Robinson's success? Where would future basketball players be without Magic Johnson's dedication to the sport? Where would female politicians be without the elegance and courage of Eleanor Roosevelt? What does this have to do with English class you may ask, these individuals all broke barriers that contribute to where our society currently is.

In Virginia Woolf's essay A Room of One's Own, she discusses the difficulties women writers faced in order to become successful.   The female writers discussed in this essay such as Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen paved the way for future female writers who are now considered genius.  In order for change to occur some brave soul has to take the initiative.  These women rose against society at a time where women were only supposed to cook, clean, and have babies.  They were supposed to satisfy their husbands and perform domestic chores.

We live in a society where change is something scary. " the fear of the unknown" frequently over powers the opportunities for change and new experiences.   Although, we have drifted from traditions of the past, some things are still present. For example, strong females who are able to work and be a good mother/wife are often criticized for entering the work force.  Men often feel threatened by a women competing against them, which brings out this arrogance in them.  For some reason these men feel entitled as if they are more qualified for a specific position simply because they are a male.  In some households the father's opinion over rules the mother's.  Several weeks ago I was watching The Middle and the dad said to the children, "The only opinion that matters in this house is mine."  This statement did not settle well with this character's wife. She was upset with this, and it took the male character the entire episode to simply admit that he was wrong for saying this.  This really irked me, because I have grown up in a house where both of my parents opinions were equal. There is no over ruling in my house.  I hope that these gender slants eventually fade away to nothing because they are frustrating to live with.

Cookie Cutter Molds Need to be Broken

The role of men and women has supposedly changed over time. But has it really? The cookie cutter molds that everyone is supposed to fit into are still existent and thriving. People like the idea of being their own person and not fitting into the stereotype given to them by others, but when they have the opportunity to do so they seem to not accept the challenge. It has always been that men are the “bread winners” with the job making money, cutting the lawn, taking care of the house, maintaining the cars, and doing yard work. Mean while, women are expected to give birth and care for their children, do the cooking, do all the cleaning, and maintain a “perfect” household for their children to grow up in and always have a hot meal ready for their hardworking husbands. Obviously nobody lives up to every aspect of these stereotypes. Some people strive to mirror these cookie cutter lifestyles, while others do everything in their power to be the opposite of these things. 

            There has always been a negative slant towards females. They are continuously underestimated and taken for granite, in society today and in literature of the past as well as present. Men seem to think that they are more powerful and therefore are entitled to tell women what they can and cannot do, which is absolutely absurd.

            In The Awakening, Edna lived her whole life doing what others expected of her. She married her husband Robert because that is what her father wanted her to do, and then she had children because it was what everyone else had expected her to do. The connection between Edna and her children was pretty much non-existent, but somehow when she left the world for her sake it was the wrong choice in the opinion of everyone else. She was stuck living a life that was created for her by men rather than a life that she created for herself. Ultimately, Edna’s choice to take her life was what was best for her even though she left her children. However, Edna was never that deep rooted in her children’s lives, so the initial shock of their mother’s death would affect them but that feeling would wear off quickly.

            Personally, I could not imagine living my life the way that others instruct me to. I feel that I should have my own hobbies, husband, children, career, etc of my choice. I also think that once I do get married to the husband of my choice we will share the responsibilities of cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, cutting the lawn, caring for the children, etc. I do not care what others think of me and I will stay true to what I want and what I feel is best for my family and me. Just because a mother works doesn’t mean she does not love her children or take good care of them. I am not going to be the girl that boys say “make me a sandwich, bitch.” This is the opposite of what Edna was. 

            In today’s society there are many movies about females fighting against a fate that was set for them by somebody else. For example, in Mama Mia, Sophie thinks she knows whom she is going to marry. Everybody says this man is going to be wonderful for her, but Sophie is regretful and knows that this man is not the right one for her. During the wedding procession, Sophie explains to everyone that she can’t marry this man because she is in love with someone named Sam. Cancelling the wedding ceremony Sophie stands up for herself and to a man. She could have easily gotten married and stayed in a relationship with a man who she doesn’t love but feels obligated to stay with.

Ignorance vs. Tolerance

Ignorance is the root of many problems in today’s society. This topic is discussed throughout the article, “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”. People think that their approach on things is the right one and that everyone else who has a different approach is wrong. People think they always have the right solution, but in reality there isn’t always a right and wrong solution. There can be multiple solutions, and multiple ways to reaching a solution.  However, many people are so thick headed that they are unable to see that there are more ways to do things, other than their own. People do not care about anything besides what affects them, or what their opinion is.  These differences come into play when different cultures mesh together in one area.

            Each culture brings its own morals. These morals are important to the people of this culture, but people outside the culture don’t respect the morals. The reasoning behind this is that it is an instinct to human nature to reject something that is unfamiliar.  This disrespect or ignorance is what creates many issues in society today.  An example from this article would be the Eskimos. In their culture, it is normal to do things such as leave elderly feeble people out in the snow, killing female babies with parents’ discretion, and the head of their tribe was able to “get regular sexual access to other men’s wives.”  The people outside of the culture did not look upon these things fondly.

            These traditions lead into the classic novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  In this novel the missionaries come to Onkonkwo’s village and try to take over with their Christianity, schools, etc. However, Onkonkwo does not allow this to happen willingly. This is an example of how conflict occurs when multiple cultures collide.  Because the missionaries were forcing what they viewed as “right” upon Onkonkwo’s people, conflicts arose.

            If people would not force their opinions and such upon others then the world would be more peaceful. I personally don’t like to be ignorant toward things, which are unfamiliar to me. I like to embrace newness with open arms, as I see change in a positive light as opposed to change being bad. If we never allow change to happen then we will never be able to make the world a better place.  I found this article incredibly interesting because on a daily basis I see cultural differences and how people deal with them. With the new year approaching I hope that the amount of tolerance people have out numbers the amount of ignorance.

Speaking the Truth

Oedipus was a truthful, legendary man. He was given the plague to protect his people and fight the man who killed their great leader. Little did he know that he was protecting his people from himself. The man he killed was his father, and not knowing this he continued on with his life as if nothing happened. That was until he realized that he married his mother, and that he was the one to murder his father, the great king of the land. Initially Oedipus was astonished that he was the one who he was actually searching for. After long contemplation, he gouged his eyes out and then exiled himself from others. This act demonstrates honoring the truth. Oedipus told his people that he would punish the man who killed their leader and that was what he did. He followed up on what he promised his people he would do. Essentially he spoke the truth and stuck with it, and did not shy away from it but face the truth and learn to accept it.

Truth is a concept that is difficult for mankind to wrap their head around. For each person has their own personal definition of what truth is and what it should be. According to the dictionary truth is a noun that means “sincerity in action, character, and utterance.”  The truth is the opposite of a lie, it is what is real. Sometimes, the truth is difficult to find in today’s society. People like to stretch the truth in order to make them look better. Is this the right thing to do? Well, that answer is differs depending on the person who you ask. For me, I feel that the pure truth is more important than a lie that makes you look good because ultimately you should do what is morally right not what will make you look socially better than others. In today’s society, I find it difficult to find many people who honor their word. You often want to believe that people are telling the truth and honoring their word, but in reality you know that they are not. This disappointment and unsatisfactory let down is a constant. I try my best to always honor my word and tell the truth and I wish my peers would do the same. I find that lately people not telling the truth is becoming more frequent. Not telling the truth can hurt people, but those who are telling these lies do not realize their impact. It is unfortunate that this is what our society has come down to. Will the truth ever become pure again? Will the truth ever over power lies? I hope that these things occur, but until then I keep hoping that the future becomes better than the present.

Leaders Contribute to the Destiny of Their People

               Is a leader a person who holds a position in office? Or, is leadership something that comes natural to people? Who defines who our leaders are? Leadership has a large amount of meanings for everybody seems to have their own definition of what a leader is. There are people who hold positions of leadership but are not necessarily qualified leaders. The position of leadership just allows people to be heard by those who are followers. According to the dictionary leadership is defined as the capacity to lead. I personally feel that a leader is one who goes first and then leads by example, in order to motivate those who follow them. A leader must have a commitment to the goal that they are striving to achieve regardless of how many follows they have accumulated. In essence, a leader should lead based upon what they think is right and not for the status, recognition, or any other perks that a leader receives.

            In today’s society people do not know what to do unless somebody tells them what to do, what to believe in, what to wear, what not to wear, what is deemed as acceptable and unacceptable, etc. Where people look for these answers is from their leaders. Leaders can be presidents, teachers, peers, celebrities, etc. is all considered to be leaders. If people do not have someone to look to for advice then they become lost and some are struck with a feeling of panic. This is the reasoning why leaders are so important to society because they maintain justice, order, and provide people with a sense of security.

            People follow their leaders religiously causing their destiny to be defined by their leader. If a leader does poor job leading then society will come crashing down. Leaders have to fight for their people even if it means they must put themselves in harm’s way. Leaders must have the ability to take risks and not be afraid of the possible repercussions.

            In the poem Beowulf the main character, Beowulf, is the leader to his people, the Geats. Beowulf battles three antagonists throughout the poem. In his first battle Beowulf defends his people by killing Grendel. Grendel is a beast who has killed several Geats and has been attacking the home of warrior in mead hall.  In Beowulf’s third battle, he puts up a fight against Grendel’s mother because she is threatening to attack the Geats. In order to protect his people from being harmed, Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother. Beowulf’s third battle is against an unnamed dragon. However, the outcome of this battle is not favorable for Beowulf as he ends up dying as a result. Beowulf refused to accept help from his warriors in this battle because he wanted to fight the dragon himself so that he would be harmed instead of any of his people.

               Beowulf exemplified leadership qualities numerous times throughout the poem. He was constantly risking his life in order to save his people. These acts that Beowulf performed were crucial to the destiny of his people, the Geats. If Beowulf had not fought in these battles then the Geats would have been in danger. This shows how the destiny of society can be dependent upon the actions of a leader.

What defines an individual?

What makes you different from the people around you, or is there even a difference between you and your peers? Do you like to be different from everyone else, or do you wish that you could be more like the people you are surrounded by? What separates us from the people who we are surrounded by is what is known as individualism. Individualism is a concept that has always been and will always be difficult for people to conquer. In today's society people pride themselves on being an individual. But I ask myself what truly defines someone as being an individual? Is it the people you are friends with, your family, the clothes you wear, where you live, where you go to school, how intelligent you are... What is it? There are always people that attempt to help others become an "individual", but in reality these people are just trying to guide others to become more like them.

This summer as I read Invisible Man, The Fountainhead, and Power of One the concept of weather to be an individual or blend in with the crowd was a theme that was reoccurring throughout all three works of literature. The characters in these novels were continuously faced with hardships which helped define them as individuals. People that were influential in the characters' lives would try to guide them and help them become an individual, with the intentions that they knew what would be best for this character. Growing up in today’s society you want to be an individual, but you also want to please people as well. I found that this topic was really apparent in Invisible Man. The main character in Invisible Man was craving to have his own identity. However, he did not want to be different from other people, which is why he joined the brotherhood. As a member of the brotherhood he would give powerful speeches about topics which sometimes he has no opinion about, but because people cheered him on during his speeches he continued to speak. This character did not necessarily agree with the motives of the brotherhood, but because he wanted to belong to something so bad he allowed the opinions and thoughts of others control his life. Throughout this novel, the invisible man constantly searched for his identity but was never truly successful at holding onto it.

There is a fine balance between fitting in with others, and being their identical twin. I think it can be challenging to find this balance, but I personally came to terms with who I am and how I want to live my life after sophomore year. I enjoy being, what I consider to be, and individual. I don’t allow the opinions of others to influence how I live my life. I am sure that some people view me as a conformist to my peers, but I would disagree with them. I am content with the fact that I do things which are not seen as the norm. I enjoy setting trends as opposed to following them. The way I dress is solely based upon my own style, the way I treat others is how I would like others to treat me, I don’t judge people based on what others think of them, and I enjoy having my own independent thoughts and feelings. I believe that people discover their identity and how to be an individual at different ages. Some people may discover this at the age of ten while others it may take them until they are eighty years old. I think in high school everybody likes to believe they are unique but in reality everyone knows that all a teenager wants is to fit in with their peers. From reading Invisible Man, The Fountainhead, and Power of One I was inspired by the ways the main characters in these novels dealt with being an individual and how they were strong enough to fight for what they believe in.