Mary Janes

The delectable treat Morrison had so vividly described in The Bluest Eye was somewhat of a let down. It is that way often with literary pieces. Because there are words being used in written descriptions and not tangible items or audible sounds, the reader is allowed a range of interpretation. With each individual perspective this interpretation is different and as such when one is faced with the actual item previously described, it could be rather shocking. I find this also to be the case with movies.

Moving back to the original subject matter of this journal- from the moment I peeled away the little yellow wrapper I knew what was coming was not what I had expected. As the narrator described Mary Janes to be peanut buttery I was looking forward to a pleasant treat when Ms.Chiang brought them in. However, my mental assertion of what Morrison described was far from what I tasted. After unwrapping the Mary Jane I took notice of the candy's light honey nut color and taffy-like texture. When I slipped a small piece into my mouth my taste buds were a little, confused to put it lightly. The peanut butter goodness they had been expecting was quickly replaced with an actual horrific slimy oily taste. Something just was not right, I know my peanut butter and I also know this is not how it generally tastes. Maybe I have been spoiled by conscientious investigating of most food substances or maybe I am just me, or both yes I realize both is quite likely.
As I had started to say, further exploration led me assurance in my prior belief. This candy was loaded with artificial ingredients. If one is aiming for a peanut butter flavor, it seems only right that peanuts be the main ingredient. To my unfortunate surprise, corn syrup outweighed peanuts in this treat. Being an old fashion confection I expected more, or less really of the bad ingredients used in its making. Mary Janes are loaded with trans fats, for a small adorably adorned and embellished outside, these candies sure do pack an unwholesome punch as far as nutrition is concerned.

Themes in Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison portrays very powerful themes in her highly-acclaimed, Bluest Eye, some of which may be overlooked in everyday life. These include emotions and changes the main character, Claudia goes through. Ranging from inferiority, hatred, maturity, loss of innocence that accompanies, abuse, trust, and secrets.

What really stuck out to me was a combination of Claudia's low self esteem and her constant sense of inferiority. Whether it was from other neighborhood kids or the overall suppression of the 50s, where children were to be seen not heard. Consider in this same time period where racism was so openly prevalent. The big Hollywood celebrities, like Morrison's example Sherlie Temple, were for the most part the same. It takes a village to raise a child, and when that village influences the child that a certain look is prettier or that different is bad, it can certainly affect someone, not to mention a vulnerable child like Claudia. Society has a rather obvious impact, and Claudia's has given her immense resent and a deep seethed loathe for those she envies. This would provide reasoning as to why Claudia lashes out to little white girls because they are her size and she's overcome with jealousy.

Referring back to Claudia's low self esteem, interaction between her mother could be a possible influence. Even though her mother loves her, she acts stern so it may not always come off as love to Claudia. To quote the Beatles, "All you need is love, love, love is all you need." Being human, that's all Claudia wanted. In children it's an even more urgent desire, attention and a feeling of being special is all Claudia ever really wanted.

Drama- Liking the Same Person
The following is obviously written from a female perspective but I assume the same would apply for men.

At some point or another it seems inevitable that two or more friends will have an infatuation with the same person. So what is to be done about the shared crush? When a situation like this occurs it is best to let it play out naturally. It is not really fair to either person to call a guy "off limits" because no one ends up happy. The most important guideline in a situation like this is to not let the guy come between the friendship. Blood is thicker than water, and in this circumstance your friend is your blood, they have been there for you and will continue to be there for you where as guys may be a bit more mercurial.

In addition, it is impossible to fool one's heart. Regardless of how hard one might try to, the heart will always reign supreme, so by calling a guy who you still have feelings for, "off limits" the problem is anything but fixed. A shared crush really should have little bearing on a friendship, unless it was not very strong to begin with. Times like these are great for examining the true depth of one's friendship.

If your friend gets asked out by the guy you both like is it really fair to be angry? If it were you in their position would you not be overcome with joy? To want to ruin that feeling for a friend is anything but a display of true friendship. The best advice I can offer is to play it by air but always remember your friends have been and will be there for you and to not to throw a good friendship down the drain just for a silly guy.

Shakespeare Unit

The last unit we completed was on Shakespeare.
The following activities were done in correspondence with the unit:

Shakespeare Article :this was a good introduction to Shakespeare and the Globe and it helped paint a picture of the time period and a little bit of Shakespeare's writing style. Specifically when they "decoded" one of the verses, that was very helpful.

Class Discussion on Globe/Shakespeare: this was interactive and also gave more background on the subject and the time period. Thumbs up

Writing how much we knew about Shakespeare/Globe Theater: The day you asked us to write about what we knew about Shakespeare and The Globe Theater, I thought I would not be able to elaborate in great detail but it turned out I knew much more than I imagined. I liked doing this because it not only gave me a good idea of just how much I did know but it was an easier alternative to a pre-quiz in which you could see the class' general level of knowledge.

Assigned readings: These were good and bad, I liked the fact that I got to read them for myself instead of listening to people in class/reading it out loud because then I tend to lose focus; however, it was very irritating when I did not understand what was going on and I would be lost until we went over it the following day. The reading sometimes gave me a headache as well because once I was confused about a rather important aspect of the play nothing really made sense and so it went downhill from there

Follow-Up Quizzes: I tended to loathe these quizzes because, as I said earlier, when I did not understand something I would be lost until we went over it and if we did not go over it until after the quiz I did badly. I also have a poor memory especially with detail so that did not help;however, I do like your note suggestion and in the future I hope I remember to use it.

Class Discussions: These were extremely helpful in understanding the play.

Putting into Layman's terms: This was not only a fun exercise becuase we go to do it in our groups, but extremely beneficial. When everything was in everyday language the play suddenly became a whole lot more interesting.

Ms. Chiang's Interruptions: Despite how much Ms. Chiang may not like her voice I loved it when we were reading out loud because it meant the scene that had been going on was finally about to make sense to me. I am like Lindsay, when I say that I mean, I get really impatient with the people reading and it is not their fault because I would read at the same speed and stumble over the same words, it is just I would rather the artistic quality of the play not be sacrificed.I realize this is practically impossible to ask since terminology is so old. This also goes towards the fact that I get bored when others read because I do not process the information at all. It goes in one ear and out the other, sometimes it does not even make it's way in. Back to Ms. Chiang's interruptions, I really did not mind them. Like Will was saying, "Sometimes there'd be something funny and you would have to tell us that it was funny and we would sorta laugh." Even though I did not get the benefit of comprehending the jokes and puns the first time around I really did appreciate you breaking it down for us.

Movie: When reading things I naturally imagine the characters a certain way in my mind, when watching the movies I was a little let down with some of the characters as I commonly am. Overall I enjoyed watching the movie, because seeing as Romeo and Juliet is a play it only makes sense to watch it. A lot more emotion was recieved after watching the movie since the actors used proper inflection when saying their lines. It was also a lot easier to follow.

CD: Listening to the CD was a step up from reading aloud but it was still missing the visual aspect. It was slightly easier to follow but over all I enjoyed the movie the most.

Summarizing in Journals: I also liked our periodical summaries because if I ever got lost I could easily flip to those.

Essay: This will be our first essay type writing assignment for the semester, if I am not mistaken. The short time limit is a challenge for me but overall its a good assignment. For me there is just enough freedom as far as the subject goes since we get to choose whatever aspect about Romeo and Juliet that we wish.

Haiku

The following are slightly edited haiku (written by me, but the whole syllable thing was not very helpful):

My friends are charming
And always brighten my day
In my heart they stay

Here there everywhere
Lies envy love and despair
Emotions that make souls

Worries troubles fears
Emotions mixed to make tears
Dont hide, express it

Summer fun surf and sun
The days that have come and gone
Now in chill, we live

Shoot it, shoot the gun
When you think your race is won
Your life will be gone

Sex drugs, rock & roll
The seventies were a blast
But now we're old
(for this to be appropriate imagine i am middle-aged)

Our love has grown cold
For once I'm not without
You're no more my mouth