"But first let me take a selfie"

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil paints a beautiful picture of Dorian in his youth. Dorian "sells his soul" to stay young forever while the portrait ages. Some readers see the miraculatiy of the painting as a figment of Dorian's imagination and others take it literally. Dorian stares at his painting and as time goes on the man in the picture ages and looks unhappy and mean. In our society, people obsess over selfies. Whether it's #SelfieSunday or just any other random day that they feel like taking or posting a picture of themselves, people take multiple pictures then chose the one they like the most to post. After they take the picture and people start liking it, they begin to pick out their flaws. "My smile is awkward," "My eyes aren't the same size," etc. The flaws that people find in their selfies are physical. They try to hide them with different types of editing software. The flaws in Dorian's "selfie" were more related to his personality and his mistakes. All of his experience, wisdom, and bad choices were appearing in his painting for the preservation of his youthfulness. He hid the painting like people attempt to hide their imperfections. It's not going to work. No one is perfect. Beauty is subjective. I wouldn't sell my soul to stay young and beautiful. Paging is a part of life and we all make mistakes and can learn from them. Obsessing over beauty isn't going to make life easier for you. People don't want to hang out with them and be their friend just because they're pretty. Personality matters. The people who only care about appearances are the ones who will end up alone or hated in the end. 

Male vs. Female

Males and females, though they are considered equal in today's society, still have different views on certain subjects and are held to different standards depending on the situation. For example, men are still expected to pay for a woman on a date. They hold the door open for her which is supposed to be a nice gesture but some woman today feel it is unnecessary and suggests that they can't open a door for themselves. Mothers are often viewed as more important in the lives of their children than a father. At be because he should be the one making the money while the mother cares for the children. I was watching a television show called Parenthood a few weeks ago and the show contains a family with a single mother in which the son is struggling because he doesn't have a dad to help him with sports or girls. It also a family in which the mother is a lawyer and is at work all the time while the father is a stay at home dad who is very involved in his daughter's school and runs a play group for the children in her class. The father is in fact just as important as the mother. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna becomes sick of staying at home with her children all day and entertaining guests in the house while her husband works. She leaves to live her a house by herself and be free to do whatever she wants. The first Socratic Seminar for this book says to "discuss the influence of one's gender upon reading this novel." If a man reads this, he will most likely think that Edna was ungrateful for all of the things he had done for her. She doesn't have to work because her husband makes enough money to support the family. They may also think that she has it easier than the man does because the children even have a nanny. It would seem rude and selfish of her to leave her children and a "life of leisure" behind because she wasn't as happy as she used to be. For a woman, Edna's actions seem triumphant and inspiring. She took a stand to break the mold of society to make herself happy and accomplish what she wishes for herself. One's gender may have an impact on how they feel about the action of this novel. 

Cultural Relativism

I agree with most of the statements made in this article. Without any analysis, Cultural Relativism does seem like a good thing. It promotes open mindedness and the acceptance of differences. However, when looked at more closely, it is revealed to be an idea hindering progress and necessary change. In order to fully understand the world we live in, we must be able to recognize and accept the differences of the various cultures existing around us. In Things Fall Apart, white missionaries bring Christianity to the Igbo people and attempt to get them to convert. This causes a lot of problems within their society because the Igbo people and their religion disagree with everything the missionaries are telling them. The people that initially convert to Christianity are the ones who are already outcasts in the Igbo society and as more join they are pushed even farther away from their families that remain loyal to the Igbo faith.  The Igbo people even consider waging war on the missionaries. All of this tension is due to a lack of understanding amongst the two groups. The missionaries attempted to force their beliefs on the Igbo people and that was not effective because they had their own idea of right and wrong and what was the truth about the gods. They would have been able to live harmoniously if they accepted the fact that they had differing views and may have been able to help each society prosper. This exemplifies the idea in Cultural Relativism that every culture has their own set of morals. This is true to some extent but overall, people have the same sense of right and wrong. In any culture, you can’t go around killing whoever you want. Every culture also has a sense of responsibility and nurture for the youth because they are the ones who will be continuing the legacy of society. This is the main reason Cultural Relativism is rejected. The consequences it would lead to just make it implausible to be successful in today’s world. One of the big things Cultural Relativism can be applied to today is homosexuality. The debate on whether it is right and should be legalized has been going on for as long as I can remember. Certain religions believe that it is wrong and will continue to fight against it thus hindering the change necessary for society at this time. If people are able to come to accept the fact that there are different views on love than the ones they have personally, it could be legalized. Just because it’s legal that doesn’t mean you have to agree with it. You are still able to have your own opinion when allowing people to love who they want.

Is Revenge Worth it in the End?

            In Wuthering Heights, everything Heathcliff does is driven by revenge. He was so upset and angered by the fact that Edgar got Catherine and he did not that he let it control the rest of his life. Question number four of the Socratic Seminar questions for this novel asks “Is Heathcliff’s revenge monstrous? Or justified because of his childhood experiences at Wuthering Heights?” Revenge is always monstrous. In Heathcliff’s case, he dies alone. He was so wrapped up in getting back at Edgar at the expense of the relationships he had with everyone around him. It destroyed the things he did have by pushing him to become obsessive over what he did not have. Revenge always has a distinct motive, but I don’t think that makes it justified. Heathcliff had a rough childhood. He was brought to Wuthering Heights by Hareton but when he died HIndley was left in charge and was an abusive alcoholic who lived to make Heathcliff’s life difficult. When Catherine decides to marry Edgar, Heathcliff runs off and returns for the sole purpose of revenge. Revenge wouldn’t exist if the person trying to find it didn’t have an act of injustice, in their opinion, committed against them. Motive doesn’t make seeking revenge justifiable. Yes Heathcliff’s difficult childhood resulted in pent up anger that came out during his search for revenge when he couldn’t have Catherine. Not being able to be with the girl you love is not a good reason to get revenge on someone. If you truly love someone, you have to let them go. Yes, that is a cliché. However, it is true. You need to be able to be happy for other people to be happy in your own life. I don’t think revenge is every truly justifiable. The only thing it does is make you look like a bad person. In my own life, I try my best to rise above any wrong done to me. I don’t think revenge is worth it. Why spend your life focused on something that has already happened and you can’t change? There’s no point; move on. I feel like revenge is the reason for a lot of battles in history as well. Why must everything result to violence? If the situation is something that can be talked out, then use your words. I just feel like violence and revenge are very immature ways to handle situations. I’m not saying I’m perfect either. I don’t handle getting angry or upset at what someone else has done to me very well. I usually just let it go. In some cases, that can be good because I can get mad at silly things if I am in a bad mood. However, it is not good to never talk something out because all of those little things build up and can explode at any time. I feel like in Heathcliff’s situation, he had to be strong enough to remove himself from the situation. There was no other solution for him because Catherine married Edgar and then she died. She was not going to come back and him trying to make Edgar’s life difficult was not going to change anything. Heathcliff’s life can serve as an example of how revenge can destroy your life. It takes over your mentally and emotionally leading to an obsession over something that is most likely not going to change. If it can be changed, work it out. If not, forgive and forget. Don’t waste your life being mad about one thing. Life is too short to not be enjoyed.

Can you escape your fate?

            In Oedipus the King, Oedipus was informed that it was predicted he would kill his father and marry his mother. He was appalled by his fate and wanted to escape. He left his home not knowing that he wasn’t living with his real parents. Oedipus’s real parents thought Oedipus was dead. They got rid of him when they heard of his prophecy. Oedipus ended up killing his father and marrying his mother without realizing who they were until after the deed was done. Oedipus and his parents both tried to avoid his fate and outsmart the gods but were unable to do it. Question 2 for the Socratic Seminar is “Both Oedipus and Jocasta claim to have outwitted a specific oracle. What are the ironic implications?” Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta, both thought they were escaping Oedipus’s fate as told by the oracle when in reality Jocasta failed when Oedipus was a child and Oedipus ran himself right back into it. He was blinded by his lack of knowledge and truth and put himself into the position he was trying to take himself out of. This story makes fate seem set in stone and unable to be avoided. This is not how I view fate however. I do believe that there is a reason we are all on this earth and that there is something we are meant to do. I do not think that there is only one way our lives will turn out. Whenever something goes wrong people say “It just wasn’t meant to be”, “If it’s supposed to happen, things will work out”, or “Now just wasn’t the right time”, fate is used as a sort of comfort as to why things aren’t going the way we planned them. I do that in my own life as well, especially with relationships. I always think that if I’m meant to be with that person, then things will work out right in the end. I do still believe that I have control as to where my life goes. I had to work hard to be successful. Nothing was just handed to me. In that sense, I do believe fate can be escaped. We have the choice whether we work hard to accomplish what we want for ourselves or to just leave it up to fate to decide where we go. I don’t give fate credit for my grades or getting into the college that I wanted to get into. I did that for myself.

Could you get through life alone?

Everyone likes to think they are independent. We all think we have full control over our lives. We are the ones who ultimately make the decisions in our lives and can do what we wish. We can be successful on our own. However, I do not believe people are fully independent. The Power of One expresses the idea that humans need other people to help them grow and develop into the person they are supposed to become. The book goes through the life of Peekay from his childhood to early adulthood. Children learn from everything around them, especially the people closest to them. Peekay acquired a trait from each person he encountered in his life. These traits built him into the young man we met at the end of the novel. Question 36 for the Socratic Seminar asked if the negative influences (his mother, Mevrou, the Judge, and Sergeant Borman) or positive influences (Nanny, Inkosi Inkosikazi, Hoppie, Doc, and Geel Piet) had a larger impact on Peekay. I believe that both are equally important. The lessons you learn from the people in your life who treat you poorly or are difficult to deal with leave have as much of an impact on your life as those who you enjoy interacting with. The Judge made Peekay strong emotionally, mentally, and physically. The Judge pushed Peekay to his limits. Through this, Peekay learned he could do things he never thought possible. Doc helped Peekay develop more courage and acted as a supporter for Peekay. Without Doc, Peekay wouldn't have left his comfort zone to conduct the concert. In my own life, I need that supporter. I would never break out of my comfort zone if it weren't for the support of my friends and family. I always doubt them but they usually end up being right. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have auditioned for choral ensemble or ran for student council president. I am thankful for these influences in my life. All of the influences I have discussed so far have had positive effects. This will not always be the case. The Judge, even though he made Peekay strong, really crushed Peekay's self-esteem. Friends can push you to do things you don't want to do and may end up regretting. I believe that we all need a support group in our lives. We need a group of people that we can rely on to always be there for us. However, we just need to watch how much control we give them. You ultimately control your own life and do deserve credit for your accomplishments. Just don't forget the people that helped you along the way. Without these people, you wouldn't be the same.