The Struggle

In The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I must admit that I was disappointed by the lack of good judgement made by both Ashoke sand Ashima. Not only does Ashoke bring his newly married wife to the United States while he is still in school, but they also have a child together. Ashoke, a P.h.D. student at MIT probably has enough to worry about relating to school work. Bringing a wife while even he is not yet properly settled in my opinion is not the best idea. As I started to read through chapter 2 of The Namesake, I could see an array of issues arising. Most of them originated from the new wife missing her family. She is losing her elderly family members and "wants to go back." Her words show how naive she truly is. After having a child with a husband who is studying at one of the most difficult programs, going back to India may not be the best or easiest idea. We learn early in chapter 1 that Ashima had only come to Boston eighteen months ago, before which she had never heard of the city. Although it's easy to sympathize with her, I definitely think that having a child so early was too hasty. Ashima claims in chapter 2, "I don't want to raise a child alone in this country." Later she also says, "hurry up and finish your degree." I feel like Lahiri has given us strong evidence that a child at such an early stage has added more tension and grief to the parents' worry. Ashima also thinks it to be unfair that she must sit at home alone with the baby while Ashoke spends the day at MIT's engineering department. In Indian culture, the baby is always being cared for by not only the mother, but by the grandmother, aunts, and so on. Meanwhile, she feels lonely to have to do all this by herself. The best solution, I think,  would have been to wait to have the baby at least until Asoke was out of college.

Setting Priorities

I am incredibly confused a to what the Underground Man has set his main importance on. He, on one hand seems to be obsessed with tackling about how "rational" he is. On the other hand, I am angered by how he keeps confusing me by talking about his consciousness. I don't understand what he is trying to point out to us. I honestly think that the underground man needs to get his priorities straight and stop frustrating everybody who tries to understand him.

From the Lion's Perspective

Through their works of writing, Chinua Achebe and Brandon Ambrosino take on single stories to convey how they can lead to a devastating misunderstanding. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe aims to eliminate the single-story by telling it from the perspective of the lions-the “barbaric” Africans. By telling most of the story through the eyes of Okonkwo  the reader, can quickly realize that the majority of African stereotypes that we are accustomed to hearing are incomplete.  The Nigerians did , in fact, have a civilized way of life. There also exists a single story of people who don’t support gay marriage. As Brandon Ambrosino mentions in his article, such people are often identified as “homophobes” and “anti-gay.” Both, Achebe and Ambrosino strive to get rid of the single-story, but by using different techniques: Achibe allows the reader to observe the same story but from the lion’s perspective, while the latter explains why the single-story of the lion is inaccurate and incomplete.

Chinua Achebe eradicates the single story of Africa by telling the story from the viewpoint of the Ibo people. Typically, in the past, all the stories African civilization and white imperialism were told from the viewpoint of Whites, who were typically responsible for setting the stereotype of “barbaric Africans.” As the reader can see in the end of the novel, the white man, Reverend Smith decides to write a story about the Ibo people in his experience in Nigeria. The works these types of authors are shallow, have no detail and are somewhat misleading. “One could almost write a whole chapter on [Okonkwo]. Perhaps not the whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details.” (Achebe 209) The problem with white imperialist in Africa such as the one in Things Fall Apart is that they twisted the truth and don’t give a clear picture of the real story. Therefore, A  stereotype developed in many of our minds that African people are barbaric, savage, and need the help of White people. Without Achebe, nobody was there to prove the stereotypes to be partial, hence the quote, “Until the Lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” Achebe contradicts the single-story by telling the good, the bad, and the ugly features and characteristics of the Ibo people. While it is clear that the Ibo culture has its flaws, the negative stereotypes of them are proven to be incorrect. We can see that there is a decent form of government and that the Nigerians were civilized We also see that there is a social hierarchy and certain titles that gives members of the tribe honor. “Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in nine villages, He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife.”(Achebe 8) All of these important aspects are left out in the single-story and Achebe proves to be successful in completing it.

Like Achebe, Brandon Ambrosino battles a single story in his article, “Being Against Gay Marriage Doesn't Make You a Homophobe.” The title says it all. There seems to be a rapidly growing single-story of people who oppose gay marriage. Ambrosino, a gay columnist, contradicts the stereotypes listed above more directly than Achebe. He clearly explains why not supporting gay marriage does not make one anti-gay. Ambrosino claims to disagree with Paul Raushenbush’s statement, “Let's just be very clear here —if you are against marriage equality you are anti-gay. Done.” Such an incredibly shallow stereotype is bound to lead to misunderstanding. Ambrosino provides clear evidence to show just how absurd Raushenbush’s statement truly is. “If [this] is right, then that means my parents are anti-gay, many of my religious friends (of all faiths) are anti-gay, the Pope is anti-gay, and—yes, we’ll go here—first-century, Jewish theologian Jesus is anti-gay,” Ambrosino argues.. He is able to explain the difference between disapproval of gay people and disapproval of gay marriage. “To me, recognizing the distinction between opposing gay marriage and opposing gay people is [crucial].” Those who disapprove of gay marriage are often called homophobes. “I would argue that an essential feature of the term ‘homophobia’ must include personal animus or malice toward the gay community.”If this is the true definition, then over 95% of people who are called homophobes are truly not. There are numerous other justifications that people have against gay marriage such as religion and its issue with social structure. Instead of showing the story through the eyes of the Lion, those who disapprove of gay marriage, Ambrosino directly addresses why it is incorrect to describe somebody who doesn’t approve of gay marriage as being homophobic or anti-gay.

Although Ambrosino could have taken the easy route and written a negative description about those who previously made the single stories, both of them provided an entire and complete picture of the truth. They teach us that giving an entire story is more effective than giving just another single story. Clearly, both of our lions, the opposition to gay marriage and the Nigerians had a story that had been extremely misleading because of its lack of completion. We learn that in life, we must discourage all single stories in order to prevent deadly misconseptions.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.

Ambrosino, Brandon. "Being Against Gay Marriage Doesn't Make You a Homophobe." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/12/being-against-gay-marriage-doesnt-make-you-a-homophobe/282333/>.

My First Impression of Okonkwo

When I started to read Things Fall Apart, I was extremely fascinated by the nature of Okonkwo. I respected him for striving to be a great man, especially considering he came from a dishonorable background. The difference i responsibility between Okonkwo and his father was incredible. It was impressive to read about his success in wrestling. As the story started to evolve, I found myself disgusted with the manner in which Okonkwo treated his wives and his many children. He really didn't need to be so cruel and violent just in order to play "tough guy." For example, I thought it completely unnecessary to beat his wife just to get satisfaction. I soon understood that Okonkwo was extremely paranoid of becoming anything like his father. He mentions that as his father began to get older, he became more kind and compassionate. Therefore, Okonkwo is sure to be just the opposite: vicious and angry. I began to feel pity for his wife and his children for having to put up with his cruelty. Later, when Ezinma is being taken to the cave, her mother follows because she loves her and is afraid that her daughter will be hurt. Remarkably, Okonkwo also follows with a machete. He not only ones travels to the Cave, which is a long distance away, but he goes four times. He requests his wife to return home and offers to wait for his daughter and ensure her safety. By his fourth visit to the cave he is described as being "gravely worried." This truly shows that despite his cruelty and toughness, Okonkwo truly does care for his family.

What Defines You?

The first Ted Talk I watched was shown in class last Monday. Since then, I have found myself lost watching a countless number of interesting Ted Talks. I had an extremely difficult time deciding which one I would blog about. I wanted to find one that sent a message that anybody can relate to.

Although we aren't faced with an unknown syndrome like Lizzie, I think her story is one that should be heard by all. Throughout her life, Lizzie, now 25 years old, has faced incredible hardship. Somehow, she has risen beyond what others have said about her to find the good. Though she is extremely skinny and small, she is satisfied because she can eat all she wants. She was able to find the   light.

Lizzie uses the negative aspects as a ladder to climb to the top. When she was in high school, somebody posted an 8 second video of her titled "The World's Ugliest Woman." The video received millions of views and numerous comments. One of the commenters wrote, "Please, please do the world a favor: put a gun to your head and kill yourself."

The incredible woman, only in high school, used all the negative to inspire herself and not let others' opinions of her define who she was.

Clint Eastwood as Hamlet

Since I started reading Hamlet, just over a month ago, I have been unable to shake my awe of how many ways the text can be interpreted into other settings. After spending a while contemplating Michael Almereyda's Hamlet movie, I envisioned a backdrop of my own that would truly exemplify the contextual diversity of Shakespeare's work.

I placed Hamlet in a Western ghost town, similar to Clint Eastwood movies (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly or Fistful of Dollars). Taking the place of the kings (Claudius, and previously Hamlet), would be the mayors of such towns. Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet would take the place of the the future mayor and the son of the recently killed mayor. Likewise, Polonius would be the sheriff. This Western setting would give a whole new perspective to the text of Hamlet. The country of Norway would be a Mexican group of bandits. The movie would be set in the late 1800’s.

An example of a Hamlet scene in the wild west would be when King Claudius (Mayor Claudius) and Polonius (Sheriff Polonius) throw Hamlet into a room with the sheriff’s daughter, Ophelia, and spy on him. The mayor and sheriff would be “testing” to make sure that heir Hamlet would be worthy of being the next mayor of this town. At that point, Hamlet would give his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy.

Which Film Is "To Be" Better?

Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy is one of Shakespeare's most renowned. Through the numerous movies of Hamlet, we are able to directly see how each one interprets the scene so differently from the next. 

As I was roaming around on Google trying to find a version that I felt depicted the scene best, I ran into a clip of the soliloquy which I thought was extremely plane and almost boring to an extent. As I watched the clip above, I quickly realized that there was nothing that captivated my attention. The scene is set-up as if the actor is reading directly out of the play. Although he does show some emotion while reading, the actor doesn't help me visualize his thoughts in any way.

Luckily, I came across a version of the "To Be or Not to Be" that tremendously helped me envision the scene taking place. The actor playing Hamlet helps us understand his exact thoughts by showing several examples of what he is talking about take place right in front of him. I found this to be a lot more helpful than just watching the actor read the lines of the play. I am also able to follow the thoughts of Hamlet in the second clip a lot more easily than the first. Being able to see Hamlet's thoughts firsthand was a huge difference for me.

Although the lines were the same, the way the scene played out in the second clip was way more interesting to me!