This Real Happily Ever After

In the story "This Blessed House," the readers learn of an Indian-American couple who have rushed into marriage. Sanjeev decides to marry Twinkle because of his loneliness and their common appreciation of P.G. Wodehouse. Instead of being the normal Indian housewife, Sanjeev finds that Twinkle cooks without any recipes, does not rush to move in, and leaves her undergarments on the floor. Twinkle is curious to the world that surrounds her, a curiosity that troubles grounded Sanjeev. The rift between these two opposites grows as Twinkle finds a porcelain figurine of Christ left behind by the previous owners of their house. Although they are both Hindu, Twinkle does not get rid of the figurine and begins to find more and more religious objects throughout their new home. When Twinkle tells Sanjeev she hates him as she sits in the bath tub, her face covered in a blue mask, she has become the hard figurines that she collects.  Lahiri displays through this story the struggle that occurs in marital relationships.  The struggle that these two people experience as they begin their lives together will make or break their relationship. I believe that Lahiri's purpose is to show that no matter how stable a relationship may seem, the cracks will always begin to show.  But, the journey of marriage is the discovery of the acceptance of the other individual and the realization that marriage continues after the actual wedding.  No matter the people involved, marriage is work and will always be.

Placed in Displacement

I was thinking as I tried to choose which blogs to put in my portfolio, if I covered all of my thoughts on humanistic studies. When I entered the course, I assumed we would be studying human behavior rather than emotion. I cannot express fully how pleased I was to find out that we were studying more than just behavior but feelings of belonging and place. I was most intrigued by the section about place. As I have said before, place is something I am not really familiar with. I cannot explain how different home is for an army child. A sense of belonging, to me, includes more than just a set of walls and an address. I have experienced many different types of homes-from townhouses to single-family homes. I've lived in Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, Virginia and most recently, Germany. I suppose home is a place where my family is. Along with that, I guess what I understand the most is displacement. The easiest way to put this is to state that instead of understanding place, I understand best displacement. I can honestly say I have never felt as if I really belonged anywhere. Yet, I never have felt as if I've missed out. Is the truth that we either know place or adjust to displacement? Or maybe, they're both just as important. And which is a better lifestyle?

Universal Classics

When a book is called a "classic," one assumes that it defines its time and will forever be a work of true literature. But, when I think of Shakespeare I think, truly, that all his plays are greater than classics. They override time. They exist and make sense in a world completely different then they were originally intended for.
I have shown in previous blogs my enthusiasm for Shakespeare. When Professor Ambrose asked if it was possible that the films suggest Shakespeare is universal, I agreed completely. Each play has an underlying emotion: love, jealousy, or anger, that any person can understand. Perhaps, the fact that Shakespeare still manages to touch his audiences centuries after the original compositions is what causes him to be so universal. Shakespeare's plays have endless adaptions-in books, movies and plays. We modernize Shakespeare over and over again because of his ability to relate to anyone in different aspects of life. Shakespeare's plays are read or acted repeatedly but they never fail to please their audience or to dramatize the realities everyone faces. We appreciate the exaggerated drama that we know we will never fail to understand because all of the emotions expressed are human through and through.

Emotion Can Cause Quite a Commotion!

The purpose of this blog is to share with you how I feel about Shakespeare's writing. He touches on every human emotion: love, jealousy, hatred, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, etc. and although he exaggerates them he really does express how easily it is to be manipulated because of emotions. We are all weak when it comes to love. We are all susceptible to betrayal. We are closely bonded through friendship. We all envious of those we believe to have better things or that are better than us. And we are loyal to the ones we love. But, I believe, we can lose ourselves in these deep emotions. Iagos are all over the place. I suppose what I am trying to say is that Shakespeare's plays should serve as a model. A model, or a lesson, that shares how beautiful these emotions can be, but also how treacherous they can become. Avoid being Iago, avoid being Othello, and hold on to your sanity, because anyone can lose it.

My favorite Shakespeare play is undoubtedly "The Taming of the Shrew." I have read the play at least twenty times! Ever since middle school, when my mother handed me "Macbeth"--I was having trouble with essay writing so my mother would assign me work (it was an awful experience, but I can never thank her enough for teaching me to write)--I have been in love with Shakespeare's play. In fact, I own every single one now, thanks to this class! And now for something not quite as heavy...a clip from 10 Things I Hate About You (modeled after "The Taming of the Shrew") which by the way does quote the original play-if you watch the whole movie and listen closely you'll hear it! In fact, Katrina is referred to as the "shrew" on numerous occasions AND the character, Cameron, who is an adaptation of Lucentio says when he sees Bianca (as Bianca from the original play) "I burn, I pine, I perish" which Lucentio says in Act 1, Scene 1!

Iago: The Puppetmaster

Iago always seems to be doing the most evil when, to the other characters, he is doing good. He sabotages Cassio, then hesitates when having to inform Othello of what happened that lead to the stabbing of Montano. He puts on the appearance of "honesty," causing the surrounding characters to believe in his goodness. Iago manipulates the very meaning of honesty throughout the entire play. He convinces each person the unfaithfulness of Desdemona, the drunkardness of Cassio, and the humbleness of himself. The unfortunate thing is: all of his honesty is just a mask for deception. It is sad that the characters trust so much in one person that only uses them for his own benefit. Iago is truly evil, through and through, because he allows emotions such as jealousy and rage overtake him. I wonder what Iago would have been like if he was born into a better home with higher class or if he had been born a Moor. Would he have been just as manipulative? And why do the other characters believe so much in him? Was he ever the honest person they all believe him to be? He must have been honest for many years before in order for everyone to be so convinced in his goodness. Iago hatches the most evil plan with success, proving that the most evil people really can win. So, what does this say about honesty? What does it say about appearances? Apparently, anyone can be fooled. I cannot help but admit that Iago is clever in his plan and although I could never like his character, I cannot deny I admire his ability to trick the characters within the play. He manipulates them so it appears that they are acting on their own free will.

Crazy Pills

I have known for awhile that I wanted to be a psychology major. I seem to be one of those people that others find easy to talk to about their problems. For me, it seems like a calling. I love being able to reach out and help a person in need.
Sitting there, watching Susanna and the other characters experiencing dark issues, each of them unsure of where to turn or how to face their fears, that calling became even more real to me. I realized that my experience giving advice to friends and strangers was no where near the type of experience needed for the characters that suffered onscreen. But, they inspired me. Each character presented an issue that made me want to jump into the screen and sit across from them in a comfortable chair.
So badly, I wanted to reassure Susanna that crazy really is sane amplified. I truly do believe that the pathological liars of the world, the obsessive compulsive people that live among us, and the sociopaths are just people struggling in the darkness of the world, so unsure of themselves that indulging in their faults, feeling that small amount of control, does not make them crazy. Lisa struggled with her identity and insecurities--instead of facing those fears she pulled out the weaknesses of others, thrusting them in their faces, just so for a period of time her issues did not seem so great or suffocating. Susanna indulged in avoidance, unwilling to face the reality that her life was changing and she had to face major decisions. Polly needed the reassurance that kindness overcame any of her physical insecurities. Georgina compensated for her shortcomings with fantastic tales, not wanting to acknowledge that the real world does not include magical shoes with perfect, happy endings. Each person struggles to overcome their faults and insecurities. When it comes to those moments, the decision to embrace and overcome such weaknesses or to indulge in the false power that lies in avoiding such faults, seems immense and too difficult to handle. So, I guess, you can either face them, or stuff the crazy pills in your pocket and trade them for a different, unhealthily quick fix.

The Pen and Paper Cure

"But I must say what I feel and think in some way--it is such a relief!"
For many people, there are outlets to relieve feelings of doubt, insecurity, and pain. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator relieves such emotions on paper. She writes what she cannot say to those that surround her because they do not trust in her words. Her husband does not believe she is mentally ill, her doctor believes she is cured, and she realizes that she is still troubled. Writing is her sanctuary; it is the one place she can go and avoid judgment. I know, for myself, writing is an escape--it is a way for me to release all my feelings where I know they can still remain hidden from the world around me, safe from judgment and condemnation. Reality is a frightening place, but a room with yellow wallpaper promises safekeeping for her troubles. She doubts her real surroundings, but she can create an imaginary, safe world within the confines of her room and fill her empty pages with the thoughts that haunt her. Although she claims the "effort" to write is great, the readers can tell that it is the one thing she has under control in her life.