Alice, the Blue-Eyed Beauty

In this post I attempt to move away from first-person. Enjoy!
     Toni Morrison has seen the damage societal norms can do; At an early age she encountered a fellow African American girl who wanted more than anything to have blue eyes. Eventually this desire to conform and look "beautiful" overtook the girl, who serves as inspiration for the main character of The Bluest Eye, Pecola. In the novel, Morrison examines the events that lead to Pecola's demise.
     The foreword takes on a memoir-like quality in which Morrison explains how she came about writing the novel. Her goal in profiling her young friend and using her story is to achieve verisimilitude and to truly "move" people, rather than just to "touch" them (xii).
     While others might say that each person has the power to change our views about ourselves, the novel shows just how much influence society can have on the manifestation of "racial self-loathing" (xi). But really, who can blame the young girl for her self-hatred? She was raised in the 1960's, when life was a casino; You never knew exactly what would occur, good or bad, and you were forced to gamble against the odds of being discriminated. At the same time, the malicious fire between races was raging and the most representation colored people got in television was as the incompetent sidekick of the valiant white Lone Ranger. This racial intolerance and hatred is what Pecola deals with in The Bluest Eye.

The valiant white guy with his dumb sidekick

The Melting (Tea)pot

     America is famous for being the "great melting pot", a place where people from all over the world come together and unite as Americans regardless of differences. But that's a far too idealistic picture of this nation. In reality, race creates a massive schism in the US. Ultimately, race relations come down to nature versus nurture.

     Genetically speaking, human beings of all races are nearly identical. Sure, there are a few genes that express our phenotypic differences, such as the color of our skin, but at our core we are all the same species: Homo sapiens. In fact, over 99% of human DNA is the same as chimps'. If this is true, how different can races really be genetically? It's difficult not to lose sight of the fact that we are not so different after all.

A Chinese Market

     What really shapes our racial identities is the "nurture" aspect, meaning our environment. This includes our culture - foods eaten, languages spoken - as well as our own individual values. As a Chinese American, I can attest to the impact of cultural differences on my life. Since I was born here, I've acclimated to American life, where our main method of transportation is driving and our main diet seems to consist of hamburgers and French fries. Whenever I visit relatives in China, however, I'm immediately struck by the cultural differences there; People walk everywhere, speaking rapid-fire Chinese, while purchasing fresh ingredients from small stands on the streets. The two nations are starkly contrasted in terms of culture, which makes the racial barrier that much larger.
      In the end, it is humans' hubris and obstinacy that creates divides between races. It's so much easier to put on blinders and go about our daily lives than it is to take the time to try to understand others' perspectives. As David Foster Wallace said, "getting free of [our] natural, hard-wired default-setting" to be selfish is the largest battle. If we all stretched our minds to be more empathetic, the world might just be less hateful and racist.
     I'm often asked by relatives in China which nation I like better: China or America. I always smile and answer honestly - I love them both. -MC 

Où est Ma Chatte?

     The phrase "Où est ma chatte" is French for "where is my cat?" In Alice in Wonderland, Alice offends the small mouse she is talking to when she asks him that question. In a sense, the quote ties into the allegorical graphic novel Maus. In the two volumes, Art Spiegelman anthropomorphizes mice as the Jews and cats as the Germans. Just as in real life, the German cats terrorize the Jewish mice, effectively making their lives a living hell.
     Maus follows the story of Art Spiegelman and how he learns about his father Vladek's horrific but amazing survival as a Jew during World War II. It is a story within a story, a piece of meta-nonfiction. As readers, we immediately sympathize for Vladek and his bitter story of survival. However, after the war, it is evident how hypocritical Vladek truly is.
     As a victim of the cruelties of the Holocaust, he knows firsthand how destructive racism can be. Even so, when he, Art, and Françoise encounter a homeless colored man, Vladek protests his son and daughter-in-law's kindness to the man. He even goes so far as to say that Jews are far more superior to blacks.

 

     In an essence, Vladek's time as a victim of the war turns him into a Nazi of some sort. He believes his own race is better than others. It is darkly ironic, considering that this was the Nazi mentality that caused so much death to the Jews in the first place.

     So, as much as the war may have made Vladek stronger, it also shaped him into a more hateful, racist person. 

     You may think that I've put too much thought into analyzing one page of some random graphic novel. But, if there's one thing I've learned in my life it is that graphic novels can carry so much more weight than picture-less novels. Maus, in conjunction with Alison Bechdel's memoir Fun Home, are the two graphic novels that have changed my opinion on books with pictures forever. -MC

Alice, Housework is Degrading

     Last night, as I stood amid the eardrum-bursting, claustrophobia-inducing gym of Troy High's homecoming dance, I couldn't help but think about the copious amounts of homework waiting for me at home. I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone, so I began to contemplate the meaning of feminism. This was all while carefully maneuvering myself around the sweaty bodies of my classmates. Let me tell you, it's not easy.
     Anyhow, the first thing I considered was the various issues at the core of feminism. The ones that automatically came into my mind were the wage gap and the high cost of child care. These things are always plastered throughout headlines and TV shows, a call to action for the supposedly wronged women of America. Don't get me wrong - of course I believe that these issues are important. But, like many other political and social movements, feminism has lost its way in the journey to universal recognition.

     Feminism has gradually evolved into a somewhat passive aggressive movement where if you don't agree, you can be considered a misogynist. Personally, I am a believer of gender equality. Notice how I say "equality" rather than "femininity". Too often in the fight for women's rights, the perspectives of men are forgotten. This results in a misunderstanding that causes people to unnecessarily take sides - the feminists versus the misogynists.

 

     So, take a moment to consider the other side's perspective the next time you want to voice your opinion about the feminist movement. After all, perspective has had the greatest impact on society's view of women. If girls grow up thinking that the tasks they do in life are "demeaning and degrading," as bell hooks said, they will forever resent their designated role in society. In reality, women who are able to do housework while maintaining jobs and taking care of children are the ones who are kicking ass and taking names. That difficult balance is what makes women so phenomenal. -MC

The Sunrise of Wonderland

     In English class on Friday, we were asked to bring in a quote that represents our life: a mantra, so to speak. The one that immediately came to mind was "It's always darkest before the dawn", a line of the Florence + the Machine song "Shake it Out". I first heard this song when I was about 12, during my tumultuous middle school years and I've since outgrown the Indie rock genre of music. However, the quote has always stayed in my mind.
     Believe it or not, those words are what motivate me through the seemingly never-ending nightmare of difficult classes combined with hours upon hours of sports and homework as the school year slowly drags on. I don't consider myself to be an optimist (more of a pragmatist), but the quote reminds me that no matter how hellish my life may seem, it will certainly get better. And it will get better far more quickly if I give whatever I'm doing at the moment my best effort. The sun will rise eventually.

It's always darkest before the dawn

     I was once again reminded of my mantra as I was reading an excerpt from David Foster Wallace's This is Water earlier today. In the piece, he discusses the importance of changing our own perspectives in life and how we as human beings have a penchant for falling into our default setting of selfishness. He goes on to say how enduring everyday nuisances are where "the work of choosing comes in" (Foster Wallace). This ties in to my own perspective on life; Life is what you make it, and you have the power to push through to the dawn. - MC