The Pearl by John Steinbeck

"On page 129 of the notes, the editor writes that "the artist probes the central mystery of life as he sees it, the paradox of how evil comes out of good, the tear at the heart of laughter, the dream doomed to disappointment in the moment of dreaming, the despair conjoined with hope, with which humanity, if it is wise, must learn to live."

In a well-developed blog post, discuss how Kino and Juana suffer through the paradox outlined above.  Based on a rereading of pages 120 - 122, what can the reader infer from the description of the couple upon their return:  have they learned to live with the paradox, and what have they learned.

Finally, discuss the connection between The Pearl and the novel study topic:  When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself"


Kino and Juana suffer thorough the paradox that evil comes out of good through the story. When Kino finds the pearl, him and Juana think that it is the solution to all their problems. They can now afford treatment for Coyotito after he was stung, and they can get wed in a church. 

Anthem by Ayn Rand

"Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own  happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."


First of all, how is this ideal realized in the story of Equality 7-2521?  Secondly, according to Rand's philosophy, humans should act selfishly in their own self-interest first and foremost.  Therefore, how does our understanding of virtue change if we alter the question as follows:  When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?  Does this question even make sense now?  Discuss the possible conundrum with reference to the novel."


      I think that this ideal is very prominently realized in the story of Equality 7-2521 in Rand's book. Anthem is based in a society that revolves around collectivism, leaving ones happiness very predetermined. Because Equality 7-2521 was not happy with the life that had been chosen for him, he resorted to acting selfishly for his own happiness and self-interest. Equality 7-2521 was much more happy when he was working on the glass box for himself. The same was obvious in regards to Liberty 5-3000. Although their relationship would have gone against the basis of collectivism, it would have brought happiness to Equality 7-2521's own life. Though he was not sacrificing his well being for the greater good of society, as was expected, Equality 7-2521 acted selfishly for himself, and himself alone. His story is a wonderful example of the idea that every man must exist for his own sake. 

    In regards to the next question, I think that true virtue does exhibit itself when a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order, to some extent. If one is doing morally good things, simply because it is the dominant social order, are they still good? Equality 7-2521 was conforming to social order and was technically virtuous, but because he was forced into his actions, I don't believe that they are true virtues. When characters act selfishly against these prevailing vices, even though the virtues may be fewer and further between, I believe that they are more true than ones done to follow social order. 

     

Blogpost #8

     The book I am reading is The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani. In this book, the main character Chamdi describes his ordinary world a lot. His ordinary world is in the orphanage in Bombay. There with the Bougainvillea flowers, Jyoti, Pushpa and Mrs.Sadiq. The daily routine that he has there adds to the comfort of his ordinary world.

"He puts one foot on the parapet of the well. Bougainvilleas surround him. They are his favourite flower. So pink and red, full of love, he thinks. If these flowers were human they would be the most beautiful people on earth." (Irani 5)

"Twenty metal beds occupy this room. The beds are places opposite each other, in rows of ten each. They have thin mattresses covered with white sheets but no pillow.Since Jyoti is mopping the floor, the children are on their beds. Most of them are still on a bed near a window and are playing a game of antakshari." (Irani 7)

     The quotes I picked show Chamdi's physical ordinary world, and his mental ordinary world. Both these places are very different, but they are where he feels like he belongs.

Marc, Ren. Bougainvillea Flower. 2010. Photograph. Italy. 123rf. Web. 



     I choose this photo to show Chamdi's ordinary world because the flowers outside his home connect him to his parents, even though he doesn't remember them. Being "with" his parents is a comfort to him and add to his ordinary world.

#7 Free choice; My favorite book

     I have been asked before what my favourite book is. Teachers, surveys, friends, questionnaire's; I have never had a straight answer for them. I think subconsciously I have never wanted to pick a favourite, because the "holy grail" of my book list is out there, one I will probably never even hear about, let alone read.

     On the other side of this topic, Kira Kira is a book I have read over and over and still absolutely love. I first read it when I was 9, and over the next five years, have read again 9 and a half times.I'm not sure what about this book that sets it apart from others I have read. Oddly, its not the author. I have read some of her other books, and didn't like them. It's not like the story has a story line apart from any others. It is set in the 50's and a little girl named Katie lives with her mom, dad, sister Lynn and brother Sam. The family moves for the dad to find work and it fallows Katie's life as she grows up.

     It sounds silly, but I'm not sure that I can say that Kira Kira is my favourite book. I don't think I can ever say I have a favourite book. Its like...picking your favourite friend or family member, when they each have something amazing about them. But I can say it is a book that I love. I can say its the only book I asked for at Christmas ever. I can say that its the only book the I was banned from taking out of the library any more. And I defiantly can say that you should read it.

Blog post #6

     I am currently reading "Grist" by Heather Waldorf. This book is about a 16 year old girl, named Charlie. For the summer she goes to a remote lake, where her Gram lives. Through reading this book, I have found many qualities of an archetypal mentor in Grams.

    "Grams clapped her hands at Gerta, who disappeared back out the hole in the screen, chattering with disapointment. Grams pulled closed the glass pane over the broken screen and locked it. 'I'l take out a stale muffin after lunch and leave it up in the tree. I don't want Gerta getting the idea she can claw her way in here anytime. My poor heart can't take you screeching like that first thing every morning.'"  ( Heather Waldorf, 46)

    I think that this quote shows many Mentor qualites that she has. The first is the point that the mentor aids the hero. In this book, Grams starts to play the role of a mother figure to Charlie. She provides for her, mentally and physicaly, by teaching, cooking, helping, and supporting Charlie. The second is the physical aspects of Gram. The essance of the mentor is a wise old man or women. Grams is litterly a wise old women, proving that charachteristic of a mentor. The third I have found is the point that the mentors role may be to teach the hero. Through her trip, Grams has taught Charlie many things about the lake, fishing, cooking, and many life lessons.
   I think Grams was a perfect example of a mentor, and helped Charlie emensly on her journey.

Dempsey, Stephanie. "Astrology Lends a Helping Hand." Daily Horoscope. Daily Horoscope. Web. 23 Nov. 2011

I think the picture captures the mentor essance of Grams. Even though she may no be physicaly helping and mentoring Charlie, she is mentally and spiritually mentoring her.

Blog post #5

"We were supposed to write about patriarchy and Beowulf. I had no idea we even read Beowulf, but I'm resigned to the fact I can't bullshit my way through this essay as effortlessly as Becky probably has, and since I'm pretty confident she can do it as effortlessly again, I rip it from her binder. Its my essay now." ( Courtney Summers, 6)

     A am over halfway through "Cracked up to be" by Courtney Summers. The main character is Parker Fadley. She used to be the perfect, popular girl at her school until she started drinking at school, failing classes and getting suspended. Parker doesn't seem like the hero we normally read about, but she does have some characteristics of one. 

     The first heroic quality I saw was the loner quality. Parker says in the book that the reason she began acting the way she is, is because she dose no like people. She has said that she wants to be left alone, and to be ignored.

     The second one I have found is sacrifices they make to achieve their goal. Parkers goal is not typically seen as one, but hers was at be left alone. She used to be the captain of the cheer leading team, dating the most popular guy and a future valedictorian, but she sacrificed all that to be alone.

    The last heroic quality I found in Parker was that they must change and grow. I think it is obvious that Parker has changed a lot from her former "perfect" self, but near the end of the book she starts to change again. Parker is realizing that if she wants to get out of school, she has to work hard and graduate. In addition to that she meets Jake, who starts to bring out the better qualities in her. I think that her changing and growing is that more obvious and important heroic quality that Parker has showed.

Blog post #4

"People called them broken homes, didn't they? But there was nothing broken about his home, except that his dad just happened to be in jail for a bit. Broken homes happened to other people. In broken homes parents fought about visiting rights and money.  Kids from broken homes had two frantic Christmases spent elbowing for space and attention with half brothers and step-sisters. Some people called them single families as if they were special, but Danny knew he had two parents and he wanted them both. Together. At the same time. When Dad got out everything would be okay again." (Rosemarie Boll,11)

I think that this quote shows how clueless Danny in the book "The Second Trial" is. Even though everyone is basically spelling out what is happening to his family, he still isn't believing it. I think that a big part of this is that he doesn’t want to believe it to be true. By Danny not accepting this fact, I think he is thinking that he won't have to face the fact.

I think that later in the book when Danny finally does come to realize what is happening, he is going to be in a state of shock and panic and possibly do something that threatens his family.

The video I related Danny to was the song "Roll away your stone" by Mumford and Sons. I think this relates well to this because of the sentence from the song "Don’t leave me alone at this time, for I am afraid of what I will discover inside." I think that this sums up what Danny is feeling well because he isn't accepting the fact of his parents divorce because he doesn’t want it to happen.