Benign Beauty

"That's the beauty behind the rose"
         --Tom Odell, "Behind The Rose"

Many aspects of the world seem insignificant to the normal eye, but are truly beautiful once admired at a deeper level. Virginia Woolf admires the magnificence of "moths that fly by day" and opens the world of unrecognizable beauty to her audience (Woolf 695). I usually dislike all types of bugs, especially ones that look nasty and big (similarly to the moth written about in her piece). I probably would've had a meager amount of sympathy for the death of that moth if she didn't elaborate on it's sad and simplistic life. She states that the moth is "neither gay like butterflies nor somber like [it's] own species", implying that the day moth is isolated by its differences to other flying insects (Woolf 695). Yet the moth continues to be happy with an "enormous energy" for its simple life (Woolf 696). It's as if the moth tries to be positive even when it is ignored by the rest of the world. This conveys the moth's strength; he "resumes his dancing" even when he is losing hope for ever "zigzagging" through the "pane" to reach a life without neglect (Woolf 696). But shortly after, his strength fades and "helplessness" "roused" his body into a slow death (Woolf 697). He dies because he is unable to conquer his pain from being ignored by many forms of life. I, too, would have ignored the moth's beauty, but Woolf's admiration for the trivial moth portrays that the "best kind of beauty is the kind that is mostly ignored"(Poindexter).

Careless Contradictions

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing there's just too little of"
             -- Jackie Deshannon, "What the world needs now is love"

War and peace. The amusing words jump from the mouths of hippies like crickets jumping to different patches of grass, unsure of where they belong. Sherman Alexie's father supported the peace movement, and like the crickets, was isolated from the rest of American society. He "goes to war for peace" but fails to realize that peace isn't attainable (Alexie 25). Any synergy between war and peace is not present, creating a paradoxical relationship between the two. For instance, Sherman Alexie's father abandons his family to hopefully eradicate the "war" occurring in the household. The father is looking for peace, and isolates himself further from those that are closest to him. Even though one war is over, an emotional war, created by his father's absence, arises for Alexie. He lays "in bed and cried" and feels emotional distress, portraying that peace is not created when war is finished (Alexie 35). Although his parents fought with a "graceful anger that only love can create", they fight for peace and are unaware that peace cannot arise from the absence of war. This not only points out the dysfunction of the family, but the dysfunctional perception of the hippie movement. The paradox between war and peace brings to light the contradictions and craziness of the 1960's hippie perception that peace is attainable after suffering from war. Even Alexie's hippie father painted "red peace symbols" on his face, yet held "a rifle above his head", conveying this contradiction (Alexie 25). Alexie's father isolated himself by trying to find peace through war, as if he were drowning in the sea between two very different islands.

Momentary Merriment

"Lonely, Lonely, Tin can at my feet, I think I'll kick it down the street, That's the way to treat a friend"
     --Tom Odell, "I Think It's Going To Rain Today"

This week in class we discussed "Disability" by Nancy Mairs, an informative essay that describes the trials and tribulations the disabled encounter daily. She discusses that although the disabled are "just like every other" person, society still "looms" on the "embodiment" of their disease (Mairs para 4). With a disability, she enjoys food, "drives a car" and tries to maintain beauty with "lotions", similarly to most women in America. Yet the media (movie productions and advertisements) portrays disability as the "major premise" of a woman's life and excludes the character's personality and individuality (Mairs para 3). With the idea that disability ruins one's jovial life, society is manipulated to view those with a disability as helpless and hopeless, feelings that a person would rather do without.  Society will then look down upon them and ignore their presence because they do not want to "conform" to someone less fortunate than themselves (Mairs para 6). Ultimately, the disabled become outcasts and don't fit in with others because they are different and unable to conform with the rest of society. Sadly, people forget that the disabled live their lives comparably and our own happiness could mitigate in a moment. After all, we are just "Temporarily Abled Persons", drunk on the idea that our euphoria is infinite (Mairs para 7).

Rejoicing Ruth

"I can hardly wait to leave this place; this is not a home, I think I'm better off alone"

             --Three Days Grace, "Home"

By golly! Lena just bought us a nice looking house down in Clybourne Park! It's about time we get outta this "misery". All them "cracking walls and marching roaches" can drive me to drink! I been working hard all my life, in them kitchens and at the home, trying to survive, and now we gots a new home. I couldn't be happier. Except that Walter's upset about it. He's been working like a madman his whole life too yet he's down because we spent a lotta money that could've been his? It don't make sense. It's Lena's money anyway, and we will live in the remembrance of her husband. I sure wish he was happy. It's the first nice thing we ever got. Yet he's selfish and jealous of something that ain't his! Sure, we gotta live next to some "crackers", but fo' once we are getting what we worked day in and day out fo'. We deserve to live in that house, and we can't let some rich white people get in our way of doing so. I sure am excited! I want to get them packing crates and move on out right now- "it's my time" to be happy.

Destructive Diamond

"The sunset still looks fake to me, the hero looks like he can't breathe, the damsel just left everything"

               --Mayday Parade, "Black Cat"

Once upon a time there was a family that lived on a colossal diamond. The Washington's owned generational wealth; the status that corresponds with this manipulates the characters personalities and actions. Kismine, one of the daughters, is an extravagant and beautiful girl of sixteen. She is described to have "physical perfection", and acts flirtatious and fake around John Unger, their summer house guest. Kismine is like the Kim Kardashian of today. But hidden under this mask of elegance, corruption lies in the soul of Kismine, and everyone in her family. They "sacrifice some of their best friends" because the family is afraid of a guest disclosing the following: wealth, location, and the giant diamond, in order to hoard their grand prosperity. Kismine reveals this to John, speaking with nervous and stressful rhetoric. "Yes-th-that's the-the whole t-trouble. I grew up qu-quite attached to some of them. So did Jasmine, but she kept inv-inviting them anyway". This conveys the intensity of corruption that lies beneath the surface of the Washington family. Because Kismine speaks with such tension, it is implied (and ironic) that there is mental pressure to keep the secret in order to maintain a status that doesn't portray corruption. Like pink elephants, Kismine may look charming and pretty on the outside, yet is fake and has a fraudulent mentality. John Unger is ultimately her hero, like Moses in Exodus, because he removes her from her corrupt home into a world of reality.    

Manipulative Money

"Money money money, always sunny, in a rich man's world"
        -"Money", Abba

Relationships with other members of society heavily rely on one's social class, especially in The Great Gatsby. Daisy, a young, "excitingly desirable" (pg 148) girl is influenced by the standards of her "rich, full life" (pg 149). In her early adulthood, she falls in love with Gatsby, who was considered to be middle-class at the time. Although their relationship is strong, Daisy cannot commit to it because Gatsby lacks a status of old wealth. She is "flattered" when Tom Buchanan appears in her "artificial world"(pg 150), because he is contained within the wealthy class, exactly what she desires. It is the burden of a pompous social class that persuades her to marry into money. She initially rejects Gatsby when he lacks wealth, but she appeals him once he feigns righteousness. Her implanted prejudice ultimately affects her relationship with Gatsby because social status determines her appearance in society. She is unwilling to release herself from her colossal fortune, and this affects her relationship with Gatsby because he would downgrade her status. Gatsby states, "Her voice is full of money" (pg 120), which immediately implies that money is what she truly cares about, and her wealthy status is too important to give up for a man. Because Daisy's social class is a dominating feature in her life, its wealthy ideals are prominent in her relationships with others.

Cranial Conditioning

"I was thinking, over thinking, cause there's just too many scenarios to analyze"
          --Relient K, "Over Thinking"

A few weeks ago, I listened to a speech given by Earl Nightingale. It was titled "The Strangest Secret", and discussed the power we have to control our minds positively to improve our outlook on life. The secret, strange because it is misunderstood by humans yet life-altering, suggests "We become what we think about".

In "This is Water" by Wallace, Nightingale's bold statement is portrayed as effective for finding meaning to life. He discusses how daily duties of adulthood, such as waiting in a checkout line after a long day at work, can be examined in a broader and positive manner. A human can "look at how repulsive most of them [people] are, and how stupid and cow-like and dead-eyed and nonhuman they seem ... how annoying and rude it is" (para 16). As well as this, he uses the woman in the checkout line "who just screamed at her kid" to convey the "annoying and miserable" conditions of life. She may be a"low-wage clerk" who has to support her "husband dying of bone cancer", yet mankind judges her without empathy.

"Thinking this way tends to be so easy and automatic that it doesn't have to be a choice"(Wallace para 19). Also, thinking this way "will get negative results" (Nightingale). Life will not have meaning and humans will achieve absolutely nothing with a pessimistic perception. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor, said: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” You have the power to choose your perception. Discover who you want to become and set your mind on a specific goal. Eventually, you will achieve.

Wallace states that "it will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred"(para 23). He explains this to college students because he understands that having a positive outlook is vital for a positive and successful life, and they are just beginning their journey.

So, be the "lord of [your] tiny skull-sized kingdom", and direct your mind to become who you want to be.

Earl Nightingale