Not Quite

Ayn Rand holds are very strong opinion about the source of our hopes, dreams and desires. She believes that our personal goals in life are not so personal after all. She claims that society has beaten us over the head with these goals until we came under the illusion that they were our own. But they are not our own. Every single dream, ambition, goal, and desire you have are not your own but the product of years of that ideal being shoved down your throat, forcing you to believe that it is what you truly want. Ayn Rand's opinions do have foundation in reality, but they are not totally accurate. The world is not black and white anymore. Personal desires are not entirely our own but they are not entirely based on what society dictates. Individuality still exists. Not every person is an animal in the herd, blindly walking to their slaughter without ever pausing to question why, as Rand suggest. There are many that fall between these two extremes. Society does dictate so many aspects of our lives, but it can never completely kill the individual spirit. Truly personal goals do exist a midst Rand's image of chaos and dystopia.

the past

In literature the past constantly affects the present and future. There are countless examples of characters that are either haunted or helped by their past. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is both positively and negatively influenced by his past. He told many stories of his past to Desdemona and that is what caused her to fall in love with him. There would be no plot at all without that key event. Even after Othello is taken over by jealousy, the other characters still give him the benefit of the doubt because in the past he was always a good man. Othello's past is also his curse. He led a very unusual life before Desdemona, a very military life. He did not have many interactions with women let alone relationships with them and this affected his relationship with Desdemona. He was inexperienced in love and the slightest implication of her indiscretion prompted him to respond by killing her. This very violent reaction is consistent with his military past, noble as it was.

Catch-2

By its very nature Catch-22 is an utterly confusing novel. Joseph Heller goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure that his reader is always in a state of confusion. One of the main ways he achieves this is through plot structure. The book is broken up into chapters and for the first half of the book each chapter is a different character. Heller relates many different events from the perspective of the different characters, sometimes the same event through different characters eyes. The element of confusion comes in with the order these stories are presented in. For example, Heller will show both Yossarian and Dunbar's point of view on events in the war but more than ten chapters apart. This makes it difficult to decipher the text many times and adds to the uncertainty that one always feels when reading Catch-22.The meat of the stories in themselves also add to the confusion and all of the elements added together create a story that one simply cannot get through without accepting the fact that it is impossible to follow every detail and one must accept confusion and double-thinks in order to press on with the plot. Heller uses confusion to force the reader to realize all of the confusion and ___ that goes along with war. Yossarian's character is revealed in bits and peaces throughout the book. In the beginning he seems crazy but once Heller divulges more information, though never in the order that these events occurred, the saner Yossarian becomes. Quotes like "He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive again." become perfectly sane representations of a man fighting for survival not a crazy man fighting the conventions of the army. (Heller, 38)  One of the themes of the book is the confusion of war and the assumptions that are generally assumed and that encompass two completely contradictory beliefs. This theme of confusion carries over into every element of the story and the plot structure is one of the more prominent ones.

The Love of Power

Jimi Hendrix said, "When the Power of Love Overcomes the Love of Power the World Will Know Peace."



This quotation can be applied to countless works of literature, films, and, unfortunately, real life. It is no secret that the United States government is in a perpetual state of disarray. And I think that this insight from Hendrix truly sums up why. Politicians are worried about saving their own necks and keeping the office but not working to protect the rights and interests of those that elected them to those offices in the first place. Once they get a taste of power, they become addicted and all the naive idealism and drive to make the world a better place drains right out of them. All of the political scientists in the world can make different cases that the most recent government shutdown had complex reasons behind it and can't be explained simply but it won't convince me. The government shutdown did not benefit an United States citizens and in fact it hurt thousands. Those responsible for the shutdown never lost pay and really did not feel its sting, but the innocent workers at lower levels were out of work and without pay for the duration of this Congressional temper tantrum. Politicians on both ends of the spectrum are guilty of loving power and ignoring the needs of other to ensure their own happiness and well being. The United States is in turmoil no matter how you dress it up, and the love of power is at the root of the problem.

My Last First Quarter

Senior year is no joke. There is no "senioritis." My classes are not fluff classes and it is not easier than junior year. I have heard all these myths since day 1 of freshman year. On the surface I wanted to believe them, but deep down I always knew the truth. My classes are some of the hardest I have ever taken. I am managing to keep my grades where they should be but it requires a lot more effort now than it always has in the past. Applying to colleges is a full-time job. The essays I have to write alone are more than I have to write in an entire year in some of my regular classes. Up to this point I have been able to feed my procrastinating habit with little to know repercussions, but this can continue no longer. From here my classes are not going to get any easier, the application deadlines are not going to get farther away, and these essays are not going to write themselves. Through the first quarter I have been able to coast through without too much effort, but from here on out and for the rest of my life I know that it will not cut it. I need to step up my game and concentration in order to get into the schools I want to, the schools I know I am capable of if I put in the necessary effort. There has been no time for a social life this quarter and that is not going to change any time soon. In senior year, the work gets harder and the stakes get higher because the price for slacking off is your entire future. This is my last first quarter of high school, but I am not nostalgic, I am glad to see it go.

Society

Catch-22

In Catch-22, Yossarian exists in a military society. The American military operates in a very strict, regimented way. It tries to fit all soldiers into the same round hole, but Yossarian is a square peg. He does not fit his society's expectations or standards. His rantings border on the traitorous, yet he comes across as the most sane character in the book. A key aspect to any military operation running smoothly is the assumption that the participants are actively willing to follow their orders for the good of their country. Yossarian does not fit this standard. He points out many double-thinks,  perfectly accepting two contrary beliefs at the same time, that actually exist in the military world. Yossarian does not want to die for his country, not because he is unpatriotic but because he simply does not want to die. He makes the point, "It doesn't make a dammed bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." (Heller 134) This is completely true but gets him a label as "crazy" or "insane". He does not what to be a part of the military system. His will to survive is instinct and natural among the military minds in his society he is crazy, creating yet another paradox, a catch-22.

Inanimate Objects

The importance of inanimate objects in literature cannot be overstated. They often evolve to become a key feature of the plot. In Othello, by William Shakespeare, the handkerchief is just such a symbol. In the beginning of Desdemona and Othello's relationship it represented their love. It was the first gift he had ever given to her and she always kept it with her. This changes when she drops the handkerchief on the ground. Iago's poison had already began to affect their relationship and Desdemona losing the key symbol of their love reflects that. Its symbolic meaning changes when Iago uses the handkerchief as "proof" that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. To Othello the handkerchief now represents his lost love for Desdemona and is concrete proof that she has cheated on him. Iago poisons their marriage and the symbolic meaning of the handkerchief taking it from a loving token of affection to a symbol of adultery and jealousy.

Lord of the Flies also has an inanimate object at the core of its plot. The conch shell is the first symbol. It is what calls together the survivors of the crash in the first place. It later becomes a symbol of power and government as the boys attempt to organize. Eventually the conch is a symbol of civilization. If the boys still respect the power of the conch, then they have not totally lost sanity, they have not totally turned savage, and they remember their upbringing maintaining a sense of dignity. Piggy's glasses also become a symbol. The conch held great power in the beginning of the novel but as the story progresses it loses power because symbols only hold power when people believe in it.