Baleful Barbie

"She'll be in magazines, With all her fancy things"
      -Mayday Parade, "You're Dead Wrong"

When I was younger, I absolutely loved Barbie dolls. Her dollhouse, the countless outfit combinations, her fancy limousine, and all her fancy things were so desirable. To little girls, Barbie's luxurious life was so idealistic and envied. But as life goes on and trends come and go, the trend of Barbie DOLLS has faded away, and the toy is not as popular. Rather, the trend is revealing its popularity in a different form.

Many girls believe that they must resemble the ideal "Barbie" look (to some degree) in order to fit in. To achieve this look, one must have a perfect figure, which consists of a small waist, a big chest, and wide hips. Prager assures this statement in "Our Barbies, Ourselves" by stating, "There are millions of women who are subliminally sure that a thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three-inch waist are the epitome of lovability" (para 3). How do women obtain this unrealistic perception of beauty?

From a very young age, Barbie was always there to play dress-up. To paint her nails with a felt-tip marker. To buy her more friends and a perfect boyfriend. According to www.hubpages.com, children's "early experiences have a significant, lasting impact on their cognitive and social development." Basically, a child's environment influences them significantly because their brains are rapidly maturing and they are induced with the aspects of their environment. This could be a reason explaining why people are immensely obsessed with beauty. If a child is given a Barbie doll to play with, and he or she covets her dream lifestyle, then they are more likely to desire this lifestyle at an older age because they have been influenced directly. 

Although Barbie dolls brought me a lot of joy when I was younger, they are harmful if they create an unrealistic idea of beauty in someone's mind. Barbie dolls are meant to be played with. Hopefully young girls today can solely interpret this one aspect of the toy.

Feigned Festivities

"Wanted to believe in all the words that I was speaking" - Death Cab For Cutie, "Tiny Vessels"

As I finished reading "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" by Fredrick Douglass, I understood that Douglass, as well as other negroes, view independence day in contrary ways. Although holiday festivities attempt to express a purpose for celebration, I ponder if they fully show this purpose to individuals.

Holidays can be interpreted in several different ways. If a holiday has a specific meaning to a person, then they are more likely to be affected by their own understanding of the ceremony. But other citizens celebrate solely with vague and restrictive emotions, never fully understanding. For Douglass, independence day "only reveals the immeasurable distance between us [African Americans and society]" (Para 4). He interprets the holiday as a brutal affirmation of African American's place in society and their unkind treatment. This concludes that Douglass's understanding of the holiday is different from many others.

In today's society, many people forget the true significance of holidays. If you asked a fifth grader "What is the Fourth of July?", he or she would probably respond saying, "A day with fireworks, family and parades!" This, however, is not the case. America is focused more on the festivities rather than the reasons. And this poses my question- Are holiday festivities truly effective in portraying the purposes of celebrating? According to Laura Schlereth from www.atyourlibrary.org, you should "show your patriotism by celebrating and watching fireworks!" This is her way of interpreting the holiday. To me, patriotism is shown when fighting for your country, not from mediocre festivities. Schlereth does not fully understand, similarly to other Americans, and associates independence day with these festivities rather than its actual meaning. Since she does not have a direct relationship with Independence day, it's purpose is not shown through activities and she falls into a trap of hypocrisy.

Optimistically, America will soon escape from this trap and discover the real meaning of all celebrated holidays.

Sentimental Sympathy

"I sing myself a quiet lullaby, Let you go and let the lonely in, to take my heart again"
           - Chrisina Perri, "The Lonely"

We all understand that Hester committed adultery, and is shamed by the Puritan society for doing so. Although her punishment is accurate during the time period in The Scarlet Letter, Hester deserves some sympathy regarding her ignominy.

First of all, she is completely alienated and shunned by the community. This can be especially harsh in Puritan era; people were strict and rigid on their religious ideals and morals. According to Hawthorne, Hester grew "sensitive with daily torture" as she strolled through the town (83). People gave her the wrong kind of attention, which burdened her with a dreadful feeling of loneliness. Personally, I can't imagine living through daily life being incapable of interacting with others. This is one of the few ways humans can receive happiness and joy. Poor Hester was neglected of these feelings.

Hester is also separated from her true passion to Dimmesdale. Carelessly, she grew very fond of him, leading them to commit their sin. After her punishment, she ultimately cannot visit Dimmesdale because it would easily reveal him to be the second culprit. She cannot have any relations with him for seven years! If today's teenagers believe that a three-month relationship is significant, what does that prove of seven years? How would YOU feel if you were forbidden to be with the "love of your life"? Hester must have been drowning in sadness.

According to Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” In order to truly understand Hester's distant character, one must discover her heartache and feel it for themselves. Hester deserves pity for her anguish.

Illusive Identity

"I'll pack my bags and brush it off"
     -Mayday Parade, "Call Me Hopeless, Not Romantic"

How do we claim our identity? With our close friends, we express ourselves through our personality and behavioral reactions. But from a bystander's point of view, we are labeled by our physical appearance.

Judgments based on outward appearance are inevitable in human nature. Even when reading a passage describing a character or person, it is difficult to not base the character's identity on their looks. In the passage read this week in class, Tannen describes the appearances of three women in a business meeting. She plainly depicts each woman nonjudgmentally, deceiving readers into judging each one. "The third wore a sexy jumpsuit; tight sleeveless jersey and tight yellow slacks; a dress with gaping armholes and an indulged tendency to fall off one shoulder" (Tannen 6). Readers can infer that this woman is promiscuous and daring, just by the way she dresses. This conveys how physical image affects a person's identity. We concluded the woman's personality unfairly based on her looks, never allowing her a chance to express her traits.

Louis Vuitton Bag

Outward appearances are categorized by the typical personalities of the wearers. For example, if a woman owns many designer brand handbags, such as Louis Vuitton, Coach, or Michael Kors, she is labeled by society as "luxurious" and "wealthy". If a man has his ears pierced, sags his trousers, and wears clunky boots, he is a "bad boy" or a "gangster". Since it is assumed that most "gangsters" or "lavish" women dress in these ways, anyone who dresses in a similar way to them is associated with their characteristics. This instigates societal judgments of appearance, because everyone dresses in a certain way and ultimately is classified. Although we can hypothesize someone's identity based on their physical aspects, true identity is only shown through someone's actions and personality.

Dreadful Destiny

"Lying there, With a halo in her hair she cried"
      -Panic! At The Disco, "From a Mountain In the Middle Of Cabins"

Sometimes, children are cruelly born into inferior situations. The number of babies being born addicted to drugs is rapidly increasing. This year at The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, they admitted "about 75-80 addicted babies, five to seven times the normal amount" (Today). Usually, the mother becomes addicted to drugs (commonly prescription drugs) before pregnancy, and once they become pregnant, they are reluctant to obliterate the use of drugs because they are hooked. Then, the toxic chemicals infused in these drugs transfer to the innocent child and affect their growth development.

These children are born with birth defects, and encounter medical issues such as tremors, digestive problems, and unstoppable crying. They are experiencing the horrible side effects of drug withdrawal. Frankly, a newborn child does not have a choice in their fate. They never were given the ability to alter their awful situation.

Pearl, born to Hester Prynne, relates similarly to this situation in The Scarlet Letter. Her mother committed adultery, and she was born out of her indecency. To society, she is seen as a "freakish, elfish" child because Hester's sin ultimately created Pearl, and Hester's immorality is rooted deeply inside Pearl (Hawthorne 93). Society shames and humiliates Pearl for being this way. Pearl does not have the choice of being born into sin, similarly to a newborn child forced to be addicted to drugs. Both of these detriments create consequences for its culprits and harm a child's well-being. It is ultimately unfair for predestinates to determine a child's fate internally or publically.

Visit this link to watch a short report on the baby addiction epidemic: http://www.today.com/video/today/48078597#48078597

Standard Stereotypes

"I've spent so long living with these heavy clouds following me" -Tom Odell, "Storms"

   If there is one thing I have learned from being a woman, it's stereotypes. Whether it's at a small get-together with friends, or at an important school event, a woman always has to fit into the ideal characteristics of a modern woman.

   Women who are curvy are fat. Women who are thin are anorexic. Women who enjoy sports are tomboys. Women who like shopping and makeup are prissy. Women who are quiet are self-conscious. Women who speak up are overconfident. Women who like the color pink are girly. Women who like the color black are dull. Women who are feminists are "man-haters".

   Stereotyping is thoroughly discussed in Brent Staples piece Black Men and Public Space. He explains how African American men can "alter public space in ugly ways"(Staples para 2) with their external presence. In contrast, women are likely to be ignored in public spaces, unless they fit into the standards of the public's eye. Being one of the few girls in the trumpet section of the marching band, I have personally experienced this. I will walk into the storage room to return my instrument to my locker, and the guys will be crowding the entire doorway, so I will politely say "excuse me". No response. Inevitably, I feel very invisible and insignificant, because I am completely ignored.

   I have concluded that a woman is overlooked if she does not represent modern standards. We simply cannot alter the public in any way if we are not suitable. The only way we can alter public space is to model how society wants to view us. And that ability, is never worth the consequence of losing individuality.

 

 



Parallel Poverty

Some people are fortunate to be born into wealth and acquire its privileges.  Others, like Jeannette Walls and Sherman Alexie, are not. Although both authors come from different backgrounds, they both encountered traumatic poverty during their childhoods. Walls travels around the country with her family, including her drunken father and deranged mother. They manage to scrape by on the mysterious earnings her father obtains, and encounter conflicting scenarios. Alexie also lives in destitution on an Indian reservation, where education and moral values are inconspicuous. Like Walls, he faces problems at school and with hunger. He even says, "And it is this: the sons in this book really love and hate their fathers"(Alexie xxii), which completely relates to Jeannette's feelings for her father as the creator of her family's poverty. Both authors want to escape the drudgery of poverty and create a better life for themselves. So, Walls moves to New York City as a writer and eventually works for NBC. Alexie also finds opportunity in New York and becomes very successful as a poet. They remove themselves from their past environments in order to release any negativity associated with their previous poverty. The upheaval these authors pursue portray the motivation poverty can instigate. They depict how the drive, independent of the situation of destitution, can initiate a want for success, and a want to possess what they've been rejected of.