Realities & Dreams

Realities & Dreams

Many novels use contrasting places to represent opposing ideas. Steinbeck plays out this technique in his novel, Of Mice and Men. The two places in the book are first, the ranch Lennie and George work at and their dream house they want to buy and live in after they gather enough money. The ranch represents the harsh reality and the sad futures of workers. The house represents dream and hope, it is also what motivates George and Lennie to work hard and save money. And through these two places, Steinbeck shows how important companionship is in a lonely world.
The book takes place near Salinas, California around the mid-1800s. George and Lennie like many other working men at the time move around ranches and work until they earn their money and wander about. However, unlike George and Lennie many of these men spend money on drinks and women becaues they know that they can never elevate themselves up. When George and Lennie arrive to the new ranch, the conditions are not good. The boss's son gives Lennie a hard time and George has a hard time looking after Lennie. Lennie asks George numerous times while at the ranch when they can leave. He complains how he cannot stand the horrible place. There are only men at the ranch, the only woman is Curley's wife, who is the wife of the boss's son. All of the men here are hopeless -they adjusted their lives and needs just enough to live and work. There is no real friendliness, everyone keeps their guards up and do what they are supposed to do. When Lennie gets upset, George starts talking about their future dream house -a place where there's a warm oven, alfalfa patches, rabbits running around, chickens and cows to raise, a place where they would have their independence and freedom and do whatever, whenever they want to. The more Lennie and George talk about it, the more real the dream becomes. The dream house not only appeals to George and Lennie but one of the old workers, Candy is infatuated by their goal and joins in. He too wants a place to stay to spend the rest of his life. The dream then becomes more realistic with Candy's help from all the money he saved up.
These two contrasting places contribute to Of Mice and Men by showing the importance of companionship in a lonely world. George knows that it is Lennie that makes him believe that they could buy the house more. It is Lennie's naivete and his support that further drives George. Candy, too, who used to be independent and distant as the other men, becomes close with George and Lennie when he joins in the plan. The more real the dream house becomes, the less real the ranch becomes. However, when Lennie dies at the end of the book, George and Candy give up on all their plans and faces 'reality.' George states that he knew that it wasn't a realistic goal but that Lennie made it seem real. Therefore, Steinbeck reinforces the fact how harmful loneliness can be, it is only companionship that made George and Lennie's dream more real than the harsh reality they live in.

In the book, Dracula, by Stoker, a group of people are out to take down Count Dracula once and for all, in hopes of preventing his evil from permeating in the rest of society. This small group is led prominently by Van Helsing. Helsing is not a well-known doctor. His medical practices are different and rather skeptical to most people. He is rather quite shunned from the general people. Even the people who want to get rid of Count Dracula, are hesitant with following Helsing. However, ironically, Helsing is the one who saves society from evil. His practices and beliefs proved to be very strategical and effective in the end. Helsing's conflict in society uniquely benefits the whole.
When a dear friend of the protagonist, Mina and Jonathan Harker, Lucy dies because of Dracula, everyone becomes drenched in fear. Her death was not a common death. A continuous lack of blood and her eerie change in behavior suggested that no common medical procedure could help Lucy live. Even the town's Dr. Seward who is proficient and knowledgable in the field of Western medicine fails to help Lucy. In the end, Van Helsing is called to take care of her. He uses odd methods such as spreading garlic flowers around the room and transfusing blood directly to her. These methods puzzled everyone at first, but Lucy became better -she died because her mother removed the garlic flowers, and her blood was drained out too much that blood transfusions didn't do any good.
Helsing's beneficiary practices can also be seen when Lucy arises from her grave. Helsing and few of the other men one night see Lucy out of her grave, drinking blood from a crying infant. To prevent Lucy from killing other innocent people, Helsing tries to weaken her with a communion wafer and cross. To put her in 'peace' forever, he also advises the men to cut her head off and stab her heart. Dr. Seward and her ex-fiancee are hesitant with mutiliating her corpse, but nevertheless, they follow and respsect Helsing's advice. Once they do so, they see that Lucy's anger and evil disappeared from her body and face. They are assured she is at rest and feel glad they listened to Helsing.
Through these events, Helsing gained the men's respect and trust. He starts leading the group to once and for all diminish Count Dracula so innocent people would no longer die. When Mina gets 'infected' with Dracula's blood, he observes a change in her behavior. To contain her, Dracula uses his communion wafers multiple times and shouts out religious verses. In the final confrontation, Helsing destroys all of Dracula's boxes full of sand which is needed to keep him in during the daylight. He also marks up the gate to Dracula's castle so he would not be able to enter. Under Helsing's leadership and advisement, the men are able to track down Dracula and kill him. Mina gets better and everyone lives in peace after. There happened to no longer be any more mysterious deaths, disappearances, and behaviors.
Nobody in town used to need Helsing's help. Everyone relied upon the friendly, young Dr. Seward who has been able to help the sick with medical treatments. Helsing's obscure practices were in conflict with the general belief of the society which relies on practical western medicine and looks down upon superstition. This was the general idea back in the Victorian ages in Europe. However, when society fell in danger, Helsing was the only one who was knowlegable enough about the "undead" to help. If the men did not accept Helsing's help then Dracula would have prevailed. If Dracula remained alive, he would have destructed all social constructs. He would have lured in as many women as he could so he could use them as pawns to further control the men, thus owning society. Though Helsing was initially perceived as an 'outcast' he was the one who saved society.

And Still We Rise Week 2

Miesha's talent is perseverance. I never thought about what my talent is. I came to a conclusion that my talent is tolerance. I think I am able to accept a lot of things and just try to deal with them. So my talent of tolerance has to do with patience mostly. Tolerance helps me, just like Miesha, to do better in school. Miesha uses her perseverance to consistently do good at school even when her family is going through trouble. She ignores the bad and tries to focus on her schoolwork. My tolerance helps me manage the things I have to do and do them effectively. I don't try to create the best environment for me to work in either. If I can't, I would tolerate that condition, and still try to do the best of my work. I was first thinking if optimism would be my talent, but I don't always think the best nor am I always in a positive/happy state. I wouldn't be happy for a certain condition (e.x: family went bankrupt..?) I am in -that is why I would be tolerant of it. Being tolerant uses the things I can't control or do and helps me learn to accept it. Perhaps, tolerance is what keeps me going.

I think Jesus's point is that talents are given for a reason. They are a gift from God and it is best to use the gift. Each person's talent is unique to them and can be used for different purposes which can be seen through the different uses of 'talents' in the story. The third man thought it was best to bury his talents but he is beaten for hiding his talent. Talents are given so each individual can exprsess themselves differently. There is no certain time for talents to be used, talents are given to be constantly expressed.

Miesha and my talent is related to this story in the sense that each of our talents make us different than per se my friends at school or the people at the mall. Everyone has our talents -you can easily find people with peseverance and tolerance. But the way Miesha and I use our talents, that may be a different story. Miesha does not hide her talent, but expresses it daily at school. Her peseveration sets her apart from many students in her gifted and talented program. Like Miesha, my tolerance for some school work perhaps sets me apart in terms of work ethics and diligence.

I guess the story can work at more than one level.
One more way I see it is that the third man was very arrogant about the way he used his talents. He thought his master would be proud. He even states, "Master you'll be most proud of me!" To only be beaten and kicked out of the house later. I think this shows that being arrogant about your talent works against you. You should be happy for the talent that God bestowed upon you, but you should not flaunt it, but be humbly thankful for it.

Symbolism prompt.

The symbolism in the book Dracula by Bram Stoker is blood. Other than the fact that blood
represents vampires' food, in the book, it stands for a deeper meaning. The Count only takes the blood of women because he understands the influence that women have on men. Dracula victimizes women not only to hurt them, but to also indirectly attack men. By doing this, Dracula attacks all formal ties between people and the peace of society. When first reading the book, it may seem like a simple gothic, horror novel, but it is actually used to target the rigid structures of the Victorian days, one of them being sexuality. He uses blood to symbolize the sexual relations men and women share since it was a very repressed subject.
In the beginning, Lucy Westenra, a good friend of Mina Murray is Dracula's first target. Dracula's attacks have many sexual undertones. Dracula hungers for blood like all vampires, but his desire for blood is very sexual. When Dracula lures in his target at night, they lose their conscience and start wandering to Dracula. Back in the days, women are first of all supposed to be very reserved and not aimlessly wander around the night in their night gowns. When Dracula first pierces through the skin of Lucy, it represents the first sexual encounter of a virgin. She bleeds and is more heavily trapped under Dracula's spell. When Dracula's blood also enters her body system, Lucy turns from a reserved, sweet lady to a voluptuous, violent monster. She was a woman who all men wanted to marry before, but after her transformation she acts in a way that undermines her reputation. Lucy's health faltered. She turned pale and weak that the men did everything they can do save her. Professor Van Helsing performs multiple blood transfusions to keep her alive. Even during the blood transfusion, the symbol of blood and sex appears. The intimacy of transferring blood to another person's veins can be noted. Not only that fact, but when Arthur Holmwood (Lucy's fiance) transfers blood, he becomes worn out while Lucy's starts gain color which appears in her cheeks, like she is flustered.
Prostitutes were ostracized and considered a social outcast, so Lucy's transformation also shows the effect her character has on others. To make Stoker's message more 'tangible/physical', the blood in Lucy eventually kills her, but Lucy rises as the "living dead" and hunts people down for blood. In one scene, she kills and sucks the blood out of a crying infant. This shows the threat sexuality can impose on social order.
Mina is Dracula's next target. Mina is even more reserved and rather timid than vivacious as Lucy was. She is engaged to Jonathan Harker and a devoted partner who does whatever she can to help her fiancee. She tries to learn to type so she could easily type out some of Jonathan's journal and studies maps to help the men track down Dracula. All the men love and respect her. Mina represents the ideal woman of the Victorian age. When the men see Mina mindlessly drinking the blood from Dracula's chest, they become concerned. Mina starts becoming sick and they do their best to save Mina from ending up the same way as Lucy. They do not want to see the 'perfect' women falling into the hands of a monster. The men also mention that saving Mina and killing Dracula is for the sake of future generations which implies the potential threat Dracula can impose on society.

To use blood to symbolize sexuality was a subtle way for Stoker to exploit that subject. The hunger for blood for vampires (who in a way represent the outcast of society since vampires live in the dark, up in the mountains in Transylvania away from other people) represents the lust of humans. This hunger for blood kills people as how it killed Lucy and many other innocent people. This represents the one theme of the Victorian society which was against open sexuality. Stoker then characterized this message in his own 'vampirism' story that sexuality can ultimately destroy society. The fact that he also attacked women only was to show how men are weak in front of 'voluptuous' women. Stoker thus successfully used the 'symbol' of blood to portray and satirize the forbidden subjects of the Victorian days.

reviews

Discussion #2

Even though I only read the first 61 pages of "And Still We Rise" I still felt the same way as the book reviewers. All the students seem so real. I feel like I met them already. I know that once I finish reading the book, I will be more into the book than I a now. I also know that what is going on in South Central is real -it doesn't sound exaggerated. Usually, I find myself questioning some things I come across reading, but I know that this is real. Corwin basically wrote a documentary. I can picture the students' lives. Everything is just so alive. Never have lived in a place like South Central, I would never know what the lives for students there would be like. Of course I've seen a glimpse in movies but just as Welch said -the book is not about gang members, but gifted students who try to succeed in a environment that discourages them so. I am excited to read more. In a way, this book motivates me to do better in school just thinking about the kids that can't even make it to classes just to make a living.

I usually don't look at reviews before I purchase a book. A lot of reviews I read sometimes are bluff or either spoilers so it ruins the book. Although it isn't the best way of judging, I always look at the cover and just glimpse over the summary on the back cover. Covers and summaries influence my purchases :) And yes I am more apt to listen to a friend who recommends because I feel that my peers and I will share the same general taste in books.

And Still We Rise

Crenshaw High School & Mililani High School Comparisons

Community:
I don't find the communities of Crenshaw and Mililani that similar. Crenshaw's community environment is not very compact. Members of the community are too busy and preoccupied just trying to live. Because of the hardships and sufferings all individuals suffer, the agencies that provide help are weak. For instance, none of the foster care homes for Olivia were good which causes her to leave to live by herself numberous times. There is nobody to check if the home is a nice environment for Olivia to live -"The foster mother locked the girls in their rooms all day". Because there is a lack of community support, Crenshaw high school students end up joining gangs which only worsens the community environment. Students encountering near-death incidents, or death. Sadi decided to transform his life "seeing the flash of the gun, just inches away..." (pg 35)How can students at Crenshaw focus on succeeding in school if they live in shabby places and have to focus on basic sustenance? Even the teacher Ms. Little in class even claims "THE STUPIDITY!" she shouts, 'Not one teacher is an activist here. I stand alone. The conditions for teaching here are becoming intolerable." (pg 45)

Mililani, on the other hand has a more stable, compact community. Because the community environment is peaceful and calm, individuals don't have to put all their strength into trying to live so local agencies such as foster care, hospitals, community service work are abundant. This in effect, allows students in high schools to stay in school and live a normal life.

School Environment/Students/Faculty:
Although the Miliani's school environment isn't as extreme as Crenshaw's there are some similarities that can be found.

1. There is a distinct division between the students who want to succeed and the students who are 'laid back.' The students who want to go to college and become successful take AP Classes which is like the magnet program of Crenshaw High. Taking those classes, already distinguishes the students because students who take APs basically (mostly) only see other AP students in other classes. And of course, the AP students are the "minority" of the school.

2. There is also a clear distinction between AP teachers and non AP teachers (or non AP higher level courses such as Physics and Calculus that most students do not end up taking in high school). The AP teachers are like the Crenshaw's Little and Braxton, the teachers who fight and go out of their way to make sure the students' talents are well demonstrated. Little and Braxton are lone voices though as the quote above from Ms. Little shows. Maybe it is becasue the magnet and AP teachers are motivated working with inspring, motivating students, but the teachers who teach non-challenging courses sometimes lead many to doubt their capability to teach.

3. In a school where most of the people tend to be "laid back," the popularity most likely falls under them. Not only do Mililani High School students want to have some sort of "status" but all high school students virtually want the same kind of attention and respect. In "And Still We Rise" most students in the the challenging courses are not in gangs which is a big part of Crenshaw. There is a different social interest. Just like Crenshaw, you would find fewer AP students who would do drugs or drink alcohol than the other students in Mililani.

4. Because there is a lack of AP teachers, the AP teachers of one subject are often overloaded with students and work just like Braxton and Little. In the book, Little gets very frustrated when she finds herself teaching a class crowded with students and how the administration is indifferent to Little. The adminitsration fails to understand what the AP Lit class environment needs to be like in order for students to effecitvely learn. "Little pounds a fist on her desk and quiets the class. 'This class is too damn big. I can't believe they dumped all of you on me. I can't properly teach AP English with so many students. She rolls her eyes and sighs heavily." (pg 22)

There are a lot of similarities with the division among students and teachers in the school just like Crenshaw. Although Mililani may not be a gang ridden community, the school systems can still appear to be the same but of course with far less extremity.