We Need Structure

As I relax at home on this Sunday afternoon with an entire winter break ahead of me, I am forced to reflect on the discussions we have had regarding structure and freedom. The break ahead has about the least amount of structure a possible; I do not really need to be anywhere until 7:40 on January third. Although this seems great right now, it caused me to think about the benefits of a structured schedule. When we are in school, we learn from 7:40 until 2:50 (2:50 exactly… not when the bell rings). Then depending on each student’s schedule after school, they will at some point work on some homework so they can be prepared for class the next day. On the other hand, during this break I can try to educate myself some or I can take the lazy route and not do a whole lot. For example, today all I have done is watch football from 1:00 until about 7:15. Basically, what I am trying to say is that I think we all need structure in our lives. As teenagers, all we ever seem to want is freedom and time to do as we please. But I think that truly everyone desires some type of schedule. We act like free spirits but deep down everyone wants to be told what to do to some degree. And as a patriot, I think we all need to be told what to do a little bit. People think American students are falling behind students around the world but no one seems to want to do anything to fix it. The previous Ohio Governor wanted to add days onto the school year and we about had an outrage. What he was doing was taking away some of our unstructured and unplanned days and replacing them with structured education. I think that in order to maintain atop the world rankings in terms of educated children we need to make some sacrifices and I think structure is the way to do this. Young students cannot be trusted to learn on their own or review material on their own over the summer so the only way to fix this is to add a couple of school days on. Now granted, this is easy to say because I will be out of high school but I think it is something we should consider. And if we do not consider it, then no one should complain anymore about United States students moving down in the rankings.  

The Martyr

When McMurphy is moved to the disturbed floor he is like a martyr for his fellow patients, but then when McMurphy is actually killed, he truly is a martyr and it is he who inspires Bromden to change his life. As we discussed in class today, after the fight with McMurphy, Chief Bromden, and the “black boys,” Nurse Ratched moves McMurphy to the disturbed wing of the hospital. She thinks that by moving him out of her ward she will be able to regain some control and power over her patients. Contrary to her expectations, McMurphy’s absence actually creates more unrest among the patients because they imagine all sorts of heroic tales of McMurphy and his legacy grows while he is gone. This actually inspires the patients to resist the nurse and her instructions at times. Nurse Ratched even realizes it herself that she needs to bring McMurphy back into her ward because “she saw that McMurphy was growing bigger than ever while he was upstairs” (291). She eventually does bring him back because while he is not on her ward she recognizes that “A man out of sight can’t be made to look weak” (291). McMurphy acts like a martyr in this case, but then after he dies, he really does fit the definition of a martyr because he serves as a symbol for some cause that he tried to fight for during his life. The message in this case is resistance towards tyrannical authority and encouragement of his fellow patients to take control of their own lives. Chief Bromden decides to escape when Scanlon states, “[McMurphy] showed you how one time, if you think back. That very first week.” (323). Even though McMurphy has died, he lives on to inspire Bromden to break a window and then escape the insane asylum. I said in class that I did not think McMurphy accomplished much during his stay but I would like to change that viewpoint for obvious reasons. Upon further thought and additional reading, I realized that McMurphy actually was able to accomplish very much. He not only helped to expose the inhumanities of mental health treatment during the 1950s and 1960s, but he inspired several patients to release themselves from the mental health ward and try to face society. We can compare McMurphy’s effects as a martyr to those of John F Kennedy or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Like President Kennedy, McMurphy is remembered in a very positive light. Many readers, definitely me, tend to overlook some of his negative characteristics when he dies because we only reflect on all of his positive qualities. John F Kennedy was very similar because we remember him as a great president who was able to accomplish so much for our country, but in reality he never even served a full term. We view President Kennedy in a very nostalgic way because of his tragic assassination. It is merely human nature to stray away from thinking about some of his negative or bad qualities. Then, like Dr. King, McMurphy’s message becomes even stronger when he is jailed or given a lobotomy. After Dr. King was placed in jail on different occasions, protesters and civil rights activists were even more inspired to join his movement. Similarly, after McMurphy is given a lobotomy, many patients sign themselves out, move to a different ward, or even escape. The fact that we can compare McMurphy to President Kennedy and Dr. King shows just how far reaching and important the message was that he was trying to convey. 

Am I Insane?

This started out as a comment on Kathryn’s blog post, but I quickly realized that I had too much to say about my own insanity. I have many habits and odd behavior that could be perceived as insane if a nurse watched my actions every minute of everyday. Nurse Ratched watches the patients’ from behind a sheet of glass and she carefully records her observations in her notebook. If Nurse Ratched were to follow me around for a day, I am afraid she would use her tyrannical powers to keep me in her ward for years, like she threatens to do with McMurphy. First of all, one of my odd behaviors is that after completing some assignment or something I am writing, I always click my mechanical pencil so that the lead goes back inside and it is not sticking out. This in itself is not unusual, but I do it multiple times and I always click it on the sheet that I just wrote on. This is extremely weird, I know. It is ridiculous and I do not really know why I do it. Unfortunately, this is a common pattern in my life; I unnecessarily do the same thing multiple times in a row. Another example of this is when I am working on something on the computer, I save the document two or three times after I finish. It makes no sense, because if the document did not save the first time, why would it save the second or third time? I do not know why I do things like this, I think it is just because I like to be extra sure that my document is secure before I move onto doing something else. Likewise, when I get out of the car somewhere, I lock it three or four times. Once again, I know it locked on the first time but I guess I just like to assure myself that no one will be able to open any of the doors. Also in relation to my car, when I get out I make sure that I turn off the lights. However, after doing this I still watch and make sure that the headlights go off after the thirty second delay. I know that I physically turned the lights off but I do not feel comfortable walking away while they are still on the thirty second delay. Another very odd thing I do, is that I always put my cell phone in my right pocket and my keys in my left pocket. There is no good reason for this, but I have to do it. I cannot switch it up because it just seems weird. If Nurse Ratched followed me around, she would be constantly scribbling notes to herself because I have so many insane mannerisms. After this self-reflection, I am more concerned than when I started. It really brought out everything crazy about me and it makes me seem more similar to Chief Bromden and his fellow patients. I think everyone has some degree of craziness and that if Nurse Ratched observed anyone closely for a day there would be some insane behavior. Luckily, we still exhibit less insanity than those placed in mental institutions.

Americans Are Just as Intelligent

Like some of my fellow classmates, I work one afternoon a week at Math Monkey. Math Monkey is an academic enrichment program where parents can send their children to learn more about math. It is designed for students who excel in math and want to learn more than their teachers can teach in school. As an assistant in the classroom, we help students to understand the concepts being taught and we give them problems that they try to complete for the game that the class plays at the end of the class period. Interestingly enough, at work today I realized some similarities to the mental health ward that Ken Kesey describes in his novel. We must be strict with the little kids and we do not answer all the silly questions. Also, we want them to follow directions and do as we say. Now obviously, this is only for one hour of their day and not their entire life, but in order to maintain control and a sense of order we must rule with an iron fist. We treat the crazy and hyper students like the patients in the mental ward because this is necessary in order to teach the lesson plan and try to help everyone learn. All the students must be doing the same activity at the same time, whether it is the warm-up, the practice problems, playing the game, or starting the homework. However, this is not the style of education that all people favor. Some parents and educators think that a Montessori school better educates children. In a Montessori school, students can choose what activities they want to work on and when just as long as they complete certain assignments by the end of the week. With small children and mental health patients a schedule planned out to the minute seems necessary.

The second thing I pondered while I was exercising my authority was the ratio of Indian children and Caucasian children in the classroom. The percentage of Indians in America is much smaller than the percentage of Caucasians, however, in the classroom at Math Monkey, the breakdown is roughly equal. I found it very interesting that such a high number of Indian American parents choose to send their children to math enrichment classes. Some of the students, such as Jahnavi and Aambar, have a mom and dad that were actually born in India. For my previous data sheet I found that over sixty-four percent of Indian Americans have earned at least a bachelor’s degree. This number is extremely high compared to the national rate of only twenty-eight percent. There is a similar phenomenon with Chinese Americans. The fact that these two populations seem so much smarter than Americans makes us feel second-rate and inferior. I think Americans are much to critical of themselves; we are a very intelligent population and the numbers are skewed for Indian Americans and Chinese Americans because only the best and brightest from India and China make the journey to America to receive an education and then start a life here. We have the best universities in the world, so we attract the brightest students from the rest of the world. If India had the best universities, then the most intelligent students from America would go to India to get educated and then start a career in India. And then Indians would be impressed with the intelligence of Americans, because they would only see our very best. The reason for this blog post is because I become frustrated when Americans are intimidated by the intelligence or hard work of Indian Americans or Chinese Americans. We are just as smart as they are and we work just as hard in many cases. Our elite American students (AP English students) equal the elite from not only India and China, but the rest of the world.  

We Are All "Manipulators"

On page 27 of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, Miss Flint and Miss Ratched discuss a potential “manipulator” in their ward. When Miss Flint asks Miss Ratched why a “manipulator” would want to come to a mental health institution, Miss Ratched responds: “comfort and an easy life, for instance; the feeling of power and respect, perhaps; monetary gain—perhaps all of these things. Sometimes a manipulator’s own ends are simply the actual disruption of the ward for the sake of disruption” (27). Like everything in my life, I could not help but relate this to our AP English class. Miss Ratched’s definition of a “manipulator” made me realize that all AP English students are “manipulators.” Henry enjoys disrupting discussions in class mainly for the sake of disrupting but also to create interest and controversy, so he clearly is a certain type of “manipulator.” Then there are the “manipulators” who choose to take AP English for the feeling of power and respect. We all like the feeling of power that we get from the knowledge that we gain. Our English skills have improved exponentially from the beginning of our junior years and this gives us a sense of power. Additionally, just being in AP English forces other students to respect us and the amount of work we willingly complete. Automatically, when I tell another student that I am in Ms. Serensky’s class, they respect my intelligence and drive to work hard in high school. Everyone in AP English is seeking monetary gain. In addition to learning about literature and writing, we all want to earn a high enough score on the AP test in May so that we can test out of some classes in college and in turn save some money on our college tuition. Also, we can gain monetarily by learning about proper writing and analysis and which enables us to charge other students a small fee to write their English papers or essays for them. Lastly, we are “manipulators” because we want to be in AP English because it helps us create a comfortable and easy life. AP English does not provide a comfortable and easy life in terms of the amount of work we do or the stress we feel with the big assignments and papers. However, AP English does provide comfort and ease in the sense that we can achieve peace of mind by knowing that we challenged ourselves in high school and that we are trying to learn as much as we can. I hope this is comforting that we all fit the definition of a “manipulator” as defined by the nurse in a mental health institution. 

Lebron James and the State Championship

Recent events have inspired me to reflect back on the idea that we learn more from the bad than we do from the good. Lebron’s choice to “take his talents to South Beach” and then coming back to Cleveland and scoring 24 points in the third quarter on Thursday followed by a loss in the state football championship are all pretty unfortunate occurrences. However, as a result of these let downs, we learn more about ourselves, others, and how we should act. Lebron’s hour special on ESPN to announce that he would be betraying the city that made him, taught us a lot about him and how we should behave. First, it showed us that Lebron is a disloyal and dishonest sidekick, but much more importantly we learned to always treat one’s hometown with the respect and honor it deserves. Lebron could have left with much more class but instead he taught us how to handle the big decisions in our lives. We learned the importance of effective communication and showing gratitude to those that support us. No one can fault him for leaving to go to Miami, but we can be upset with the method in which he chose to do so. If Lebron would have announced his decision differently he could have had us clapping for him last night but instead we booed every time he touched the ball and every single fan participated in the “Akron hates you” chant. We also learned not to be so self absorbed and conceited, Lebron thought that because he was so important, he should have an hour long show on national television to announce his betrayal. Now, on to last night, what did we learn after his point scoring extravaganza? First of all, we learned that he is in fact a great basketball player but we also learned who he really is. He is just a cocky and arrogant kid; he was taunting his own former teammates after he hit big shots. Lebron helped us to realize that no matter what, let our actions speak for themselves. He was scoring at will and even though it was impressive, he made a fool out of himself by talking trash to his teammates from just six months ago. We know to never stoop this low because we must always act with class and respect. Speaking of class and respect, I was very proud of how the students behaved at the state championship today. We did maintain our class even in the face of defeat. Even when the outcome looked bleak, we continued to cheer on our team and try to motivate them. We learned about the resiliency in us all despite the score on the scoreboard. It is my belief that we could not have learned so much about ourselves, others, and how to act properly if the three recent events would have had a positive outcome. And for this reason, it all makes sense why the books we read in AP English usually are not the happiest or do not end with a Disney ending. Ms. Serensky has a motive behind everything she does and by reading depressing or unhappy novels, we are able to learn more and earn a higher score on the AP test. 

I Met Gogol

During the Thanksgiving break my family got together with many of my cousins, aunts, and uncles. However, it is my twenty-three-year-old cousin from Washington D.C. in particular that I would like to focus on because of his striking similarities to Gogol. In a physical sense, my cousin closely represents Kal Penn’s portrayal of Gogol in the movie during his college years because he is tall and thin and has long dark hair that he keeps tangled and messy. My cousin does not like his first name (which I will intentionally omit) and instead chooses to be called by his middle name, James. James, like Gogol, has one main disagreement with his parents. James’s parents wanted him to go to college and earn a degree but he chose not to. Also, James maintained a fairly distant relationship with his parents until their divorce several years ago. After the divorce he grew much closer to his mother and he looks out and cares for her. Similar to Gogol, James has a girlfriend that his family does not approve of. I met her a year or two ago and I can definitely understand why. However, it is not James’s similarity to Gogol that prompted me to write this blog entry, it is his one main difference with Gogol that has inspired me. Gogol educates himself at Yale while James unfortunately has never gone to college. This is such a shame because James really is an intellectual person and I think he would have enjoyed the academic environment at college. Additionally, without a college degree it is difficult to have a real impact on the world. James I think has sadly learned this the hard way. He is a very driven and motivated person and he campaigns and speaks out for what he believes in. He has traveled the world to protes the G20 summit, he has protested capitalism, he has gone to great lengths to support the labor movement, and he now labels himself as an anarchist. He can protest all he wants, and he can act out for what he thinks is best, but without a college degree it is nearly impossible to actually have an impact or work to rewrite policy or work as a political figure. The real reason I wanted to write this blog entry is because I want to emphasize the importance of a college education to everyone reading this. I do not think this is a big problem with our AP English class but you never know, James turned down admission to Brown because he wanted to try to focus his efforts on pressing world issues. Although he never said it this weekend, I think he deeply regrets his decision.

Kal Penn? Maybe Not So Bad After All

Like most of you, when I first saw Kal Penn as Gogol in the movie, I started cracking up because I kept waiting for him to go to White Castle. It is absolutely hilarious to see a twenty-nine year old guy with long hair play the role of a high school student. I really question the director and producer of The Namesake who chose Kal Penn to play the role of a very serious character. Some of Penn’s previous movies include Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, Epic Movie, and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. I think the choice to have Kal Penn act as Gogol really affects the movie as a whole. It is very difficult to keep a straight face and focus on some of the more saddening or intense moments from the film when one looks at Gogol’s face and can only think of the actor’s absurd and ridiculous roles in other movies. However, while finding some information for my blog post I realized that maybe Kal Penn actually was not such a bad choice. First of all, he truly is an Indian American; he recalls stories from his grandparents about marching with Mahatma Ghandi and trying to earn independence for India. At birth his parents gave him the name, Kalpen Modi. Also, although his acting roles give him the perception of being unintelligent and oblivious, in reality he is a well-educated and informed citizen. As a college student, he graduated from the University of California Los Angeles where he majored in both film and sociology. In 2008, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Asian American Studies department. Even more impressive is that he is currently working on a graduate certificate in international security at Stanford University. The most surprising thing about Kal Penn is that President Obama appointed him to a public office. Soon after Barack Obama’s innaguration in 2009, the president gave Kal Penn the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Despite my previous misconceptions, Kal Penn actually seems like the best actor for Gogol. Like Gogol he is Indian American, he is very intelligent and motivated to work hard, and he changed his name from his given name. This new information about Kal Penn will allow me to concentrate more on the rest of the movie, but still they could have at least cut his hair.   

Nonfiction versus Fiction

As I did some research on Jhumpa Lahiri for my datasheet, I was struck by the similarities between her life and the lives of the characters she creates in The Namesake, especially Gogol. First of all, since Lahiri was born in 1967 and Gogol was born very close to this year, the two experience similar cultures and eras growing up in America. Lahiri, from the age of three grew up in America with two Bengali American parents and just like Gogol, Lahiri considers herself to be an American. Lahiri recalls that as a child her mother diligently tried to expose her to their Bengali heritage and likewise, her family frequently took trips back to Calcutta to visit relatives. This experience growing up as a Bengali American perfectly parallels Gogol’s childhood in the novel. Similar to Gogol’s conversation with Candace Lapidus, when Lahiri started kindergarten, her teacher decided to call her by her pet name because her good name was too difficult to pronounce. Lahiri once stated, “I always felt so embarrassed by my name…You feel like you’re causing someone pain by just being who you are.” Lahiri mirrors her own feelings towards her name with Gogol’s thoughts regarding his own name. As I researched, I was so happy to see that Lahiri’s own life tied into the experiences and events of the book. In my opinion, a book that is based off a true story or a real life occurrence is much more impactful for a reader. A fiction book seems inspirational and moving while I read it but it does not have the same lasting effect of a nonfiction novel. Nonfiction novels have a longer lasting impression because the story is true and there is actually a person who faced the great tragedy in the book or who overcame the adversity. For example, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Angela’s Ashes, and Three Cups of Tea all stick with me for a long time because it is very motivational that the author depicts a person’s own life. On the other hand, in novels like The Namesake, Lahiri can create any situation she wants in order to engineer the perfect story for readers: Lahiri can cause Moushumi to admit she cheated on Gogol as the two travel to spend a weekend together, she can create the train accident that Ashoke lived through, and she can manufacture all the details associated with the Ganguli’s acclimation to America. Nonfiction novels impact me as I read them and I am definitely influenced by the message that the author wants to convey, but I feel that these messages are more ephemeral than those from a nonfiction novel. Therefore, I was pleased to see the similarities that exist between Lahiri and Gogol because now The Namesake will impact me more as I realize that the basis of the story comes from a real person—Jhumpa Lahiri. 

Symbolism for Past Present and Future

        As I looked back over chapter ten, I was struck by the significance of the final paragraph. Lahiri fills the paragraph with symbolism for Moushuni’s current and future relationship with Gogol. While Moushumi waits for Dimitri in his apartment, she closes her eyes, and then “When she opens them a moment later the sun has slipped away, a lone sliver of it now diminishing into the floorboards” (267). Moushumi closing her eyes represents her time with Dimitri because Lahiri makes it seem like Moushumi closes her eyes on Gogol and instead focuses on this new man. Then, the sun slipping “away” serves as a symbol for the upcoming divorce with Gogol. As Moushumi spends more time with Dimitri, her relationship with Gogol slowly “diminishes into the floorboards.” Since the narrator’s tone here is factual and dry, I easily insert my own feelings about the situation. Like most readers, I feel disappointed with Moushumi because she fails to ever communicate her true feelings with Gogol and she never even gives him a chance or tries to talk about her how she feels with Gogol. While Moushumi sits in the chair in Dimitri’s apartment he comes back and puts his key in the lock, “slicing sharply into the apartment” (267). The key “slicing sharply” into the lock serves as a symbol for Dimitri coming into Moushumi’s life and quickly and aggressively slicing Gogol away from Moushumi. The use of the forceful diction like “slicing sharply” creates an assertive tone and it leads me to despise Dimitri and everything he stands for. Additionally, the dishonesty from Moushumi forces me to pity Gogol even more than I already do. The paragraph concludes with Moushumi trying to replace the book on the shelf and “searching for the gap in which it stood” (267). Lahiri uses the book to represent Gogol, and because Moushumi cannot seem to find the book’s space, Lahiri symbolizes Moushumi no longer having a special place for Gogol in her heart. This symbolism really makes me feel sympathy for Gogol. It seems like he has dealt with so many unfortunate occurrences in his life and now there is just one more waiting for him—divorce. The symbolism at the end of chapter ten solidifies the fact that Moushumi no longer loves Gogol and as a reader I wonder why Lahiri chooses to have Gogol’s wife cheat on him? I am intrigued to finish the book so I can learn what message Lahiri ultimately wishes to convey to her readers.

I Love America

For some reason or another, the recent midterm elections in the United States stirred up a patriotic fervor with me. The workings of democracy and the ability of all people over the age of eighteen to vote make me proud to call myself a United States citizen. Three specific lines of Rita Dove’s  “Lady Freedom Among Us” help to explain my patriotism: “don’t even think you can ever forget her/ don’t even try/ she’s not going to budge” (26-28). The repetition of the powerful diction like “don’t even” along with the firm diction such as “ever” allow Dove to create an assertive tone. Dove’s assertive tone reminds readers of the assertiveness American’s displayed in order to earn freedom from Britain. Dove’s juxtaposition of “she,” a synecdoche for freedom, with the forceful tone aids her in commending America for its aggressive actions to earn freedom. Dove wants readers to remember the great sacrifices early colonists made in order to separate from Britain and furthermore, Dove wants current United States citizens to never take their freedom for granted. Dove also juxtaposes “she,” a synecdoche for freedom, with the persistent diction like “budge” in order to create a prideful tone. Dove elicits feelings of pride from Americans because of the country’s success with preserving freedom for over 240 years. Dove wants Americans to never forget to remain thankful to the country for protecting the freedom of each and every citizen. Lady Freedom represents the uniqueness of America because as she sits atop the dome, she overlooks the inauguration of every new president of the United States outside of the Capitol Building. Lady Freedom overlooks the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next. This handing over of power makes America the best country on earth. Too often in the modern world we read about coups or the military stepping in to prevent one party from taking the dictatorship from the current party. Luckily, as a United States citizen, freedom and an effective democratic system shield the country from these unfortunate occurrences.