Gratification

Wright felt gratified when the woman heard his story because he could finally communicate. I now concede my earlier point; Wright really is trying to equate hunger with the desire to communicate, to understand. In essence, his hunger is a hunger to belong in this world which hates him so thoroughly. White people hate him because he is black, blacks distrust him because he is educated, or because he unwittingly sells KKK newspapers. Even his family hates him, seeing him as a lost soul and someone who refuses to repent and be welcomed into the arms of Christ. Everything he says or does is pounced upon by someone else and he is made to pay for it, either with a beating from his family, a beating from schoolmates, or humiliation in some form or another. Because the world hates him so Wright is hungry- starving, in fact- for acceptance and belonging. Which brings me back to the point of this blog. Wright finally finds a way of belonging, or if not belonging, of at least forcing the world around him to accept him for who he is. He has changed the world by writing his story and he finally has a way to make the world understand him as well as a way to understand the world.

Paralytic Reaction

Wright reacts too his mother's paralysis by paralyzing himself: closing himself off from the rest of the world with a wall of pain and cynicism. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When he first sees his mother is paralyzed he is afraid, both for his mother's life and his own, as the two are inextricably linked. He then sends for his grandmother, a show of dependency, but refuses or accepts very little of the food offered to him by his neighbors; a clear sign of independence. Wright is retreating from others and instead is focusing more on the support of his family to carry him through his now greatly-altered life. As his mother gets the immediate attention she needs and Wright realizes she will not die, but simply be a burden on his family for years to come, his reaction changes. He connects all the suffering and poverty he has gone through with his mother's illness and her pain, and this symbol causes him to build the aforementioned wall. He no longer meets people afresh, but meets them colored by a melancholy cynicism shaped by his mother's suffering. He can no longer accept joy for what it is, but must remain skeptical of true happiness. His mother's illness prevents him from experiencing life for what it is because he is behind his wall, paralyzed and alone.

Cultural Heritage

Where to begin? This is a perfect example of the socialization process in action, and the socialization process is responsible for the dark world Richard Wright is forced to inhabit. Because the parents of these children permit or even actively encourage anti-semitism in young children, it becomes instilled in them as they see their peers and leaders disparage another group in order to displace anger. Because of their hatred and fear of the white oppressors, blacks must find an attackable target to unleash their pain upon, and this becomes the jews. But Wright sees these same reactions when young white boys disparage him and his friends. Because the white parents do the same for blacks as the blacks do for jews, white children are taught to believe that blacks are inferior and racism is not only acceptable but encouraged. If Wright had then been conscious of what he was doing I would call him a great hypocrite: he is doing to others exactly what has been done to him time and time again. And yet, he was but a child and so, to some degree, blameless. The fact that he overcame his racism as an adult (I assume) shows the man he really is.

Hunger

I don't believe that Wright is really hungry for anything except food. He is poor, black, fatherless, and stuck in an orphanage. As a result, he does not have enough food and is hungry. Amazing concept, I know. The only possible symbolism that one could take from the chapter is one paragraph where he mentions how hungry he is waiting in the kitchen for his mother to finish work and realizes he has to wait for the rich white people to finish eating before he can even get scraps. Here one could draw out racial inequality and the fact that the racial minority is starving waiting for our leftovers. However, as aforementioned, this was one paragraph. The real reason he is "hungry" is because he has a terrible situation (which I assume he overcomes eventually). I understand that the boy loves to learn, and there are multiple examples of how much Wright seeks out and retains information that much of us would be unable too comprehend nearly as quickly. What stunned me was the ability of Wright to learn to count to 100 in one afternoon (also that the coal man was honest...). However, hunger and his love of learning don't really come together without a massive stretch of the imagination that I don't believe Wright intended the reader to make.

No need for school

Well, this essay was epic. It is definitely mind-blowing to think that our school system is designed to suppress rather than free us. However, to some extent I can agree with this argument. Our education systems are falling further and further behind other countries' based on achievement when we claim to be one of the best in the world. And also, the American populace is a perfect indicator that Gatto is correct. We can see the results of his supposed "factories" around us today, with individuals caught up in conformity and consumerism rather than individuality and independence. People are too dependent on quick entertainment like television and other easy means of staying away from boredom. Gatto's idea (really his grandfather's, I suppose), that boredom is only your own fault, is also revelatory. I love the concept and agree that schools everywhere are full of bored students who should be finding ways of making their own entertainment. However, despite all the evidence for Gatto's theory, smoke does not always mean fire. I still have trouble believing that our leaders are deliberately using our "education" to suppress us, although I could see this result being an accident that our leaders are unwilling to break free from. I agree with much of what Gatto says but find such a conspiracy hard to fully accept, although maybe that is because I myself spent time in public schools...

Non-Academic Education

To be honest, University High School is the first place where I feel I received any non-academic education at all. Everywhere else I went I focused only on academic matters and UHS is the first place which I deemed important enough to pay attention to subtler things that aren't just about math or english. The mentoring system is where some people would jump to concerning non-academic education, but I don't personally find mentoring all that important to my development. Instead, the simpler relationships I have with other teachers who are not in fact my mentor have been more important by far. I value my mentor but easy, natural conversations I have in passing with other teachers are much more influential in my life. Also, specific group that I attended and do attend at different times are also important. I have recently begun attending GSA, which has broadened my horizons and I find definitely worthwhile. Other activities like games club have let me see the lighter side of adults around me and let me connect with teachers in ways not normally possible. J-terms and out-of-school trips to caves and the smoky mountains have also helped develop a love of nature and physical activity, another important area mentioned by Mann. 

Rhetoric on the town

The presentations today were definitely an experience. First of all, the concepts that I myself had in mind for my project were also thought of by many other students: Daniel Hellman, Marta Hamilton, and others all used the concept of Carmel trying to be classy and upscale, trying to look quaint when much of it is new. Steve talked specifically about neighborhoods in Carmel making specific rules that limit personal choices among its residents in order to provide a unified and "beautiful" neighborhood. However, what I truly found amazing is the diversity of places people found rhetoric. From Matt Faller's One Shot button to Elise Lockwood's picture of Tina Taliercio, there  was rhetoric everywhere one looked. I understand that everything is rhetoric, but it seems to me like the obvious ones that people normally look for are more blatant and more easily seen than the ones found by my classmates. I have different ideas about why this phenomenon occurred. The first is noble: that my classmates simply have different perceptions of the world than I do and think of different kinds of rhetoric that they experience in their lives. The other reason, less noble, is that many of my classmates were rushed and careless and made longer stretches than they should have in finding their rhetoric.

Kendall

Kendall is correct in asserting that the media shapes our society. As previous articles have suggested, our media is becoming increasingly important in our lives as the world becomes flatter and people rely more and more on the opinions of "experts" to define the world rather than to define it on their own. When we allow the media to tell us what our world looks like, we allow them to shape the world because our perception of the world around us defines what the world really is. The media is also definitely able to alter the way we see social inequality. The way the media portrays the lower class and the homeless is often unfavorable, showing them as crazy and responsible for the levels of crime and disaster that ravage large cities. Shows that portray all of the wonderful things rich people have and tell viewers to aspire to those goals also force individuals to hate the way they are and strive beyond their means. The combination of hatred towards lower classes and aspiration towards riches leaves people angry at themselves and poorer classes and reaching for things they cannot afford, leading them to debt when they buy houses and cars beyond their means.

Rhetoric Pics

I went to two places in order to gather pictures. Initially I had intended to go down to the 71st street exit to photograph the intech sculpture which tries to represent the sophistication of the entire corporate structure in a single piece of art. However, time did not allow this and I ended up only going to two different sites. However, each was rich in rhetoric, and I took around 30 pictures total. The first place I visited was Clay Terrace, a place infamous for its over-the-top fake sophistication. I found many different examples of this rhetoric, with "classy" wooden fences enclosing the entire area and old-timey lampposts which just screamed sophistication. Overall, it was perfect for my purposes and I found many perfect examples. I next went to the Carmel Arts District, another place destined to be filled with rhetoric because the entire area was forced to be artsy, designated by the city to be the arts district. It did not become the arts district after it was deemed an artful place in town, but was rather forced to become carmel's epitome of art. This being so, it would have some rather obvious, forced attempts at art. I photographed the sculptures paid for by the city and the arches created solely for the purpose of designating when someone enters the arts district.

Americanization

Gitlin is essentially stating that rhetoric is pouring out of America because the attitude of that rhetoric is one conducive to being spread, as well as the fact that the rhetoric is the spawn of ideas taken from all of the countries it is being spread to. Because American rhetoric is all in the idea of "fun," because it pursues elements that cross cultures because it gives everyone the sense that they have a right to be entertained, it can easily jump national boundaries. It allows everyone to be a part of a global identity without any effort except to buy a product or listen to a set of music. It gives belonging without sacrifice. It is also the spawn of African, Jamaican, European and other ideas because America is the bastard child of the rest of the world. We take ideas from our "parents," change them to make them accessible to everyone due to the already diverse culture of America, and spit them back out in a form everyone can relate to. I agree with many of Gitlin's points, and agree that the departure from old cultural standards occur as people give in to selfish tendencies of quick and easy pleasure, although I disagree that our "diverse" culture leads to acceptable material for everyone. Hollywood makes its money perpetuating stereotypes and we have already disproved the myth of the melting pot, so I cannot see how the two can both hold true simultaneously.

Objectify

It is dangerous to depict men and women as sex objects because it allows the opposite sex to take advantage of them, treating them as objects instead of the people they actually are. In the case of women, this allows men to objectify them, leading to more sexualization and even violence, in the form of rape and battery which can in some cases become life threatening. In general it is harmful to everyone because it forces women into a role of submission where they accept their place as sex objects, and men into a role of abusiveness where they are told it is okay or even "manly" to objectify and sexualize women. This forces the genders into unnatural, abusive, damaging roles that they should not ever have to endure, causing instability and the violence we now view as commonplace. The objectification of women is more troubling because they are already in a state of fear, constantly living in fear because of the role of domination men have over them. In a world where women are forced to be afraid of men because of their vulnerability, there is less literal danger in objectifying men, because they are traditionally in the more powerful role. Women, however, are already vulnerable and their objectification only makes this problem worse.

Commericals

I was not surprised by much during the super bowl commercials. Most were well-written, clever commercials, and many had the themes I was expecting: sexy women, humor, and relationship themes. One taco bell commercial shows a man meeting a woman at a party and then progresses through the relationship "at the speed of taco bell." Another clever commercial shows a roboticized scarecrow singing "If I only had a brain," telling a musical tale of how GE is going to make their electricity more intelligent. A few commercials surprised me, though. One showed ads in 3d over normal television, something I had never seen before. The others were less pleasant surprises. An ad for a flower company showed a girl receiving boxed competitor's flowers that said extremely offensive things, like "no one wants to see you naked." The punch line is this; you never know what your boxed flowers will say. I was honestly offended by the harshness of the insults and was shocked more than amused. Another ad that would have seemed harmless last year showed a nagging potato head female doll lose her mouth when Bridgestone tires braked rapidly. It seemed funny at first glance, but definitely had misogynistic undertones that disturbed me when I pondered it further.