Bonds

Arguably, one of the most important bonds between human beings is the parent to child bond. This crucial relationship shapes the child into what he becomes in the future. In biology, there is something called nature vs. nurture. Nature is the genes which play a role in determining your genotype and phenotype. Nurture is the environmental factors that also contribute to this. For example, height is determined both by one's genes and the environment. If one were to sleep 5 hours a day rather than 8 hours a day, he would be shorter than his potential peak height. Similarly, the relationship between child and parent provides an important environmental factor in determining the child's personality.

I have heard of many cases in which children are misguided by their parents and eventually these children end up in the news for a crime. Thankfully in my family, my parents have raised me to be an angelic, compassionate, hard-working child who never disobeys a command. Sike. Anyone who knows me well should have immediately been mind-blown and removed my ethos as a writer. Well, it's not like I had any to begin with. Although I am not the idealistic child a parent could wish for, I turned out alright in the end. If it wasn't for my parents' care, love, and devotion towards raising me I probably would have been a very different person now. 

In "Shooting Dad" and "Arm Wrestling with My Father," both writers explore their loving relationship with their father. Each essay describes how important he means to them. Surely this relationship is their most memorable, as they wouldn't have written about it otherwise. 

The parent and child bond should be unbreakable--tougher than James Bond, more exciting than a government bond, and stronger than a polar-covalent bond.

The Walk

It's evening. The sun slowly fades as the artificial street lights take over. The aroma of the after storm, wormy and thick, fills the air. The birds are whistling and the frogs are crouching in the shroud of nature. The ground is wet. The trees, the sky, the light, all displayed in the mirror of the street.

It's fall. Weeks before, the trees were dressed in beautiful green ornaments of leaves. Now, autumn has taken over. Slowly, one by one, the leaves' pigmentation transforms into shades of red and brown. In the lamp light, it makes the forest glow like the sun, ready to captivate the eyes of the strollers.

It's honeymoon time. A man and woman are newly wed, taking their last walk through the park before sunset. Recently, it rained. The dark brown umbrella appears golden from reflection refracting from the droplets of water on its surface.

The man wears a traditional dark suit while the woman wears a t-shirt and a short skirt. Both are deeply in love, as the woman's left arm gently grasps the man's right arm. The pathway they walk on represents their life together. As every second passes, the man and woman slowly reach the end of their path. This path's end, however, is a blur. They cannot see the end; they cannot see their fate.

Background Info

Recently we've been discussing about marginalization and assimilation of different cultures and races. Sherman Alexi and Native Americans were forced onto reservations, away from normal American society. They could only keep their culture by staying at these reservations, or they could leave and assimilate with the rest of America. Similarly, Amy Tan wanted to assimilate into society because of a certain white boy. In order to please him, she felt like she had to become a "banana," yellow on this outside but white on the inside. In the end, however, she learned that she should be proud of who she is. Her mother says, "Your only shame is to have shame"(8). This anaphora truly speaks to the pride of one's background and that identity shouldn't be affected by perception.

Although I call myself Chinese because of Chinese ancestry, many people don't know that I am also technically a Filipino. Both of my parents were born in the Philippines and our family has been living there ever since World War I. I'm even a dual citizen of both the United States and Philippines. Normally, I don't mention the Filipino side of my background because most of my friends are all either Chinese or Korean. I guess it's the small fear of being classified as Filipino instead of Chinese and therefore being isolated which makes me withhold this information. This fear, however, is not important. I now realize that Amy Tan's mother is right. My only shame is merely to have shame (8).

Represent

Many famous people represent different groups of people. For instance, Barack Obama represents the United States of America, Kim Jong Un represents North Korea, etc. In "Champion of the World" by Maya Angelou, Joe Louis represents the African American race.

As a whole, most groups of people take pride in their representatives. For African Americans in the 1930's, however, they not only took pride in Joe, but they relied on him. If he failed, it meant their people would fall, another would be lynched, another would be raped, and another would be whipped and maimed (Angelou 2). On the other hand if he succeeded, they would drink "Coca-Colas like ambrosia" and eat "candy bars like Christmas" (Angelou 3). In other words, Joe Louis served as their hope and pride. His victory or defeat would affect all African Americans at the time.

Similarly today, people still take pride in their representatives; one could even call them role models. For example, many remember Jeremy Lin and how he became revered as a great NBA player. In the asian community, everyone looks up to him. Being a Harvard alumni and showing that one can integrate with society, Lin serves as a model to a substantial amount of asian families. Many asian parents say "Wao, you be like Jeremy Lin. He tall, smart, and successful" (Try to imagine this in an asian accent). His success gives asians a sense of hope; we can be tall and good at basketball too, not only African Americans.

Overall, those who serve as our representatives can also serve as our role models. Through success, we feel pride and hope to forever succeed.

A Dream Deferred or Destroyed?

Although 11 AP seems to allow us to read a variety of different pieces of literature, recently we have been focusing on stories with the central theme of an unattainable dream.

The Great Gatsby and "Winter Dreams" by Scott F. Fitzgerald both encompass this theme. Gatsby fails to have Daisy and live in the past, as hiss dream is lost when he dies in the pool. In addition, Dexter fails to have Judy's beauty. In the end, his dream is lost when Judy transforms from a beautiful woman into an ugly, beat-down wife.

In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, dreams seem to always be crushed, no matter how close the characters think they are to obtaining them. Mama's dream of owning a garden may have a chance of becoming true, but it seems as if there will be many troubles deterring her from having it. Walter's dream of owning a liquor store is the most obvious instance of "a dream deferred." This dream basically "dry[s] up" and "stink[s] like rotten meat." After Mama trusted him with the $6.5k, his selfish nature and drive to obtain his goal becomes his downfall. Not only does he lose the money, but he also makes it harder for Beneatha to become a doctor.

Apparently, dreams never seem to come true in novels, but at least there is some hope in our lives, right? Most people have "dreams" of becoming successful, rich, famous, etc. Some try to obtain these goals until their last, dying breath, while others merely regard it as a fantasy. Which person are you? That is the question.

Fitzgerald and Morality

A broad theme that lingers throughout Fitzgerald's writing is morality. To be specific, he focuses on how materialism and dreams lead to corruption and immorality as the major characters in his stories develop.

In "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," Fitz-Norman Culpepper Washington, the original discoverer of the diamond mountain, is a prime example of how materialism leads to corruption and immorality. He lies to the negros about the abolishment of slavery, he wants to kill his brother because of his drinking, and he even has to take in prisoners who don't deserve the punishment of eternal confinement. This corruption is also hereditary, similar to how wealth and personal possessions are too.

Braddock, just like his father, is immoral because of his materialistic nature. His selfishness shows through the fact that he seals up the mine to prevent anyone else from discovering the diamond, and he also blows the mountain up knowing that if he cannot live happily with his riches, then no one else can too. Additionally, it's utterly repulsive that the Washingtons invite friends over in the summer only to have them executed. Not only is it sad, but it's very immoral. Wealth can blind morality and can cause corruption.

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby, although to a lesser degree, is also immoral. His love for Daisy makes him long for wealth so he can please her. He attains this through bootlegging, which is illegal during the time period. In addition, Tom is also immoral, as he has an affair with Myrtle. Fitzgerald mainly emphasizes that the rich and materialistic characters are usually the immoral ones as well.

Today, humans still fall under the category of immoral, as North Korea still threatens to bomb the US and many more examples. Overall, there is still good and bad everywhere, whether it be in a small degree or a large degree. No one is perfect. All we can do is try our best to be the best we can be.

America's Thanksgiving

What makes Thanksgiving so special?

Day by day, we all take many things for granted. The fact that we have so many useless possessions and that we can afford to be so wasteful proves our materialistic mindset. If we have been given these things from birth, why give thanks only on one day? Shouldn't everyday be Thanksgiving too?

Not everyone can have food on their plates everyday. Moreover, not everyone can even have the plates to put food on. Not everyone can have such great medical care as we do. Not everyone even thinks about giving thanks for merely surviving. The less we have, the more we can truly give thanks. It's not about how much we have but rather how we appreciate it.

I find it quite ironic how Thanksgiving is immediately followed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. After we have given thanks for what we own, we then go out and buy a plethora of on sale items. One day we are so grateful and the next we become spendthrifts. Oh the irony of the American society.

Other than the traditional turkey dinner, Thanksgiving isn't really all too special of a day. We should be thankful for what we have all the time. Whether you're thankful for your phone, money, or family, always try to keep in mind that there are those in the world that are less fortunate. I believe that the notion of Thanksgiving should be celebrated everyday.