Two Fates (Ignorance is Strength)

Two fates were given 

to the woman to choose

With both fates, however, 

her life she would lose

"I cant decide on one" 

she spoke aloud

to the eerie spirit

translucent as a cloud

"You must choose one,

and only one

and be wise my child;

what's chosen cannot be undone"

So the woman stood

and began to ponder

but the more she thought

the more she would wonder

Two fates were presented 

to the woman in white

two fates not simple

two fates with great fright

Either live her life

knowing every detail of her death

but live a prosperous, joyful life 

until her late, old rest

Or live without any knowledge 

of the way she would die

but she would live a short life

until her last goodbye

Time came and went

as the woman decided on a choice

until the spirit grew impatient 

and commanded in an angered tone of voice:

"You must choose one,

and only one

and be wise my child;

what's chosen cannot be undone"

"I choose the second"
She said quickly

and the spirit replied 

arguing questionably

"The second you choose? 

Are you sure of it?
This is the last chance

for you to change what you picked"

"I am sure" the woman said 

more confident and full of pride

"Why so sure?" asked the spirit

questioning her said pride

"Because although I shall live rich 

and for a long time

the detail of my death 

would not leave my side

I would would obsess

over the thought 

of knowing 

how my life would stop

But my ignorance of my own death

will not haunt me to the grave

and instead i can live 

and have wondrous days

I will live shortly

I know

but without fear 

of what could have been known

I will be adventurous  

and happy

and most importantly

free"

The spirit stood and glanced 

over the woman in white

and grinned a small grin

revealing her hidden delight

"And so it shall be.
Your own death you will not see" 

and with the blink of an eye

the spirit was gone; history

And so the woman stood alone

questioning her choice

and smiled because she knew 

she had made the right choice 

CARDS OF DARKNESS WAS DOPE.

I don't know if you came up with the game yourself or you found out about it through some teacher website, but whoever thought of this card game did a really great job. It was fun to go through the journey with the card game because if basically put me in the place of Marlo in the best way possible. The card game was a bit challenging at first, but after a few cycles or "months", I started to get the hang of it. I think that sort of reflects the way Marlo or the European colonists must've felt when in the Congo. They didn't really know what was happening or how to go about things clearly in the beginning.

I liked the card's way of he way of always sacrificing truce/trust or a "heart" card when force was used, because it accurately showed how that would be the case in Hear of Darkness as well. The more ruthless or violent one side is towards another, the less that other side will trust the other group. I also enjoyed the way that it was up to us as a group to decide if we wanted to start of forceful or be friendly with the natives. This is where I started thinking about the decisions made in HoD and the thought process the Europeans must've went through to decide their stance.

Ultimately, for me, Cards of Darkness did a great job at putting me in the position of a colonist and showed me the process of what could happen if I were in the same circumstance as Marlo. 

RAGER AT GATSBY'S

     In The Great Gatsby, customs and values in the 1920s were different than nowadays. Whenever Gatsby threw those lavish parties, women would get dressed up in their finest pearls and expensive dresses, and men would put on their perfectly tailored suits and designer pocket handkerchiefs just to attend a house party. When you think about it, house parties now are usually more "chill" or laid back. In the 21st century, house parties are usually associated with teenagers and college kids, or youth in general, but there are those occasional times where they are thrown by adults. These "adult" parties are usually more posh or classy (like a housewarming party); they're not really like the parties depicted in The Great Gatsby. For instance, when Gatsby has his shindigs, women are wearing pearls and expensive attire, however, they are drinking heavily, smoking so much, and having casual sex that it seems as though his events incorporated elements of adult life with the carefree attitude of adolescent teens, which really adds to the way society was in the 20s.
    I think readers during the time that The Great Gatsby was released would not think much about the alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking and partying and sex because back in that time period, drinking and being open and free and having loose morals were the way things worked for a lot of the adults. Many people cared less about rules and less about risks, and more on just living and having fun. However, nowadays people read the Great Gatsby and imagine the "ragers" that must have been taking place and are surprised at how virtually no one gave a damn about pure morals and - what was then - illegal activity. It makes sense that people would be so free and wild back then because in the 20s, after World War I, the economy was booming and people were making so much money and living such a stress-free life that they didn't have as many problems to worry about. People now would also think that it was weird how men and women dressed so nicely only to take part in the types of parties Gatsby threw because the dynamics and aesthetics of house parties are so different now. You would not catch someone with a designer dress and real diamonds at a regular house party in this day in age. I think that combination of adult and adolescent lifestyles definitely sets a pretty clear view on how people lived in the 20s.


1920s Gatsby House Party                                                                              

                            21st Century house party

I Guess You Could Stay I'm Marked for Greatness

           Being different isn’t always a bad thing. In all actuality, it’s majority of the time a great thing; it’s what sets one apart from everyone else. Seeing as so many stories are written where the outcast succeeds, or the nerd gets girl, or the brainiac becomes a millionaire, why is it that we still have societal pressures to conform? That’s what I thought a lot about while reading this chapter; how is it that we can’t pick up on the fact that underdog always wins? Beats me. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to see it written out than actually carried out. Well, while reading, I notice that Thomas talked about how an injury or deformity can be a mark for future greatness, and right when I read that I recalled how I broke my foot at the end of my freshman year. I also broke my wrist my sophomore year as well, so technically I am double-destined. Does that mean I am going to be super successful later in life? I hope so. So I guess you should be honored to have me in your class this school year. But in all actuality, if I were a character in some novel, then yes, according to Thomas, I would be marked for greatness.

          I think the best example to support Thomas’ idea of a character being “marked for greatness” is Aang, the Avatar. Avatar: The Last Airbender is, for one, one of the best animated shows that I’ve seen in a very long time, and it also supports everything that Thomas was explaining in this chapter. Aang, being the reincarnate of previous Avatars (persons/spirits capable of bending all the elements), is the most powerful and spiritual person of all the tribes. As the Avatar, Aang has arrows on his head, hands, and feet, almost like scars (just like Harry Potter), but instead of it aching when danger is near, the arrows glow a bright blue light when he enters the Avatar state during combat. This scar sets him aside from everyone else, even those who are capable of bending elements as well, because this tells everyone that Aand, and only Aang, is the Avatar, and he’s the only one who can save the nations. This scar shows that he is marked for greatness, just like Harry Potter, or Richard the III, or anyone else Thomas mentioned in this chapter.

          I wonder, though, how is it that these creepy deformities or scars, or injuries can mark someone as great? I thought they were to be signs or an enemy or a villain, aren’t they? In all the stories i’ve read or seen, the villain never comes out on top (except that one movie, Megamind, with Brad Pitt). So how am I supposed to know if someone is supposed to be evil or be the one who ends up succeeding? I suppose I just have to wait and see what happens at the end of the story.

Why Can't You Just Be Straightforward, Please?

  I don’t hate symbolism, but I can’t really say I like it either. It’s confusing. I like being able to identify symbols, but figuring out what it means, or what the author intended it to mean, can be extremely difficult. As I followed along with the book and took in what Thomas was explaining, I got answers on some questions i’d always had about symbolism and its uses, but at the same time, the extent of detail that Thomas went into about the effects of symbolism has caused me to become even more confused than I had before I read this chapter. If the symbol is created by the author, then doesn’t he have specific meaning he/she wants us to catch on to? If he/she does, why must it be a multitude of meanings? Why does an author hint towards several meanings in a symbol? Why isn’t an author ever straightforward when introducing a symbol? How do you know if what you believe the meaning behind a symbol is right? Does it have to be right? These questions can go on and on and on, and by the way Thomas explained things in this chapter, there is probably a yes and no answer to all of the questions I just listed - which is very confusing.  In literature, it’s not too challenging to detect symbolism. However, attempting to uncover what the symbol represents it such a tedious, and difficult task.  Since reading this chapter, one of my biggest questions is to know whether or not an allegory a type of symbolism, and how can you differentiate the two. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chief, the main character, has these episodes where he envisions fog consuming him. This fog is present a lot throughout this book and is usually caused by Nurse Ratched.

 When the fog sets in, Chief is entranced with it, losing sense of reality and his frightened emotions. This fog is a symbol for something. For what? For loss of reality? Does it symbolize a sort of mental escape? How can I figure out what it means? I understood what Thomas was saying about using your own knowledge and experiences as well as looking into the text and picking up on clues, but how do you put the pieces together? How about the way Chief describes society as being machines? Is that supposed to mean that those who work and run the ward are just mechanical robots with no morals or feelings? Or does it mean that we as people are made to follow orders, not to have any personal opinions or idea? Or does it mean the patients at the ward turn into machines because of the psychological scarring that the ward puts onto them? Or is it not even symbolism, but a metaphor? And If it’s just one of these meaning that are right, is it considered an allegory, or did Kesey intend for it to mean other things too, and I just can’t figure the others out? There are so many questions to be asked about allegories and symbols, and I think it’s a safe bet to say that sometimes there is no right answer. I wish authors were just straightforward with what they want us to understand. Is that so hard?

When In Doubt, Rain It Out (Literally)

I had never payed much attention to rain when reading a book; I always assumed it was just a mere setting detail and nothing more. Now looking back, I see it has a lot more to do with the story being told and the characters being affected. It’s interesting how weather can determine the fate of a person, and the same weather can mean a variety of symbols. Rain can symbolize clarity and rebirth, but also depression and death, while snow or fog can give off an eerie sort of vibe (like in Misery, the Stephen King novel turned Kathy Bates horror flick).
Rain appears in novels and films countless of times. Sometimes it’s for a purpose, and other times it’s just what I originally thought it was for - just detail. However, when it is for a purpose, a lot can come from story weather. I suppose it this isn’t the example you'd prefer, but I think the film Clueless very well fits what Thomas was trying to get across when he explained rain and its impact. In the film, the main character, Cher, is a very rich, naive, and extremely clueless teenager who decides, one day, to take a new student, Tai, under her wing. After turning Tai from a nobody into almost an exact clone of herself, Cher is startled when Tai confesses that she has feelings for Cher’s ex-step brother, Josh. After getting angry with Tai for telling the truth, Cher is confused about her feelings and her reasoning for getting so upset, so she leaves her home to take a walk in attempt to make sense of everything. Taking a long stroll through the neighborhood to clear her head, Cher contemplates her dilemmas that she has faced throughout the film. After having a failed relationship with an obviously-homosexual-to-everyone-except-Cher student, she questions love, her emotions, and the meaning to everything she has done in the past year. After finishing her walk through the city (and stopping for some retail therapy along the way), Cher makes her way back home. As she walks through her front yard, she begins asking herself a multitude of questions until she comes to the conclusion that she, herself, is in love with Josh (which is kind of gross, seeing as he is her ex-step brother and all). Right when she has this thought, Cher stands in front of the large fountain in her front yard as water begins to shoot out and the lights from the fountain glow behind her. In this scenario, the fountain acts as the rain. She was literally "clueless" and lost, but once the fountain turns on and lights up, displaying a rain-like effect almost, she gains clearness and coherence from her convoluted thought. I don't think it gets any clearer than that.
Personally I have never made any life-changing decisions or any sort of re-awaking while standing in the rain, but I guess I see how it could produce such an effect on us. Like Thomas said, water and its impression on us dates back to as far as we can understand, so really, rain and water speak to us on the most personal level there is.