Shade, Hue, and Tone

What remains of the 1920s can be observed today through the black-and-white cinematography of that era. It seems ironic that many of the records of lifestyle in the 1920s are monochrome, when color is such an important motif in The Great Gatsby. 

The same color of the dollar bills that many residents' of the 1920s lives revolved around so much, Gatsby is basked in a "green light" which serve to enhance his mysterious yet prolific aura.However, green is also a symbol of nature. It represents the rebirth and growth that plants go through every year, just like how Gatsby's new wealth allows him to develop as a person.  On the other hand, there is the color that represents the old wealth. The gold that has been a symbol of opulence and richness since the ancient times. Daisy, being of old wealth, is described as a "golden girl". This is contrasted with the yellow that also appears in The Great Gatsby. Although it appears as bright as gold, the dull sheen serves only as an imitation of the extravagance that comes with gold. Just like the yellow car of Gatsby that struck Myrtle and "ripped her open," the yellow- the faux luxury of the new wealthy, is tearing Tom's life apart, as Gatsby's new found riches are what allowed him to reacquaint himself with Daisy.  Fitzgerald uses the motif of color to develop his characters more thoroughly, and it's amazing how simple shades allow for so much perception of depth.

I embody every characteristic of the egotistic

Humans are a self-centered and selfish species. David Foster Wallace is absolutely correct when he says "there is no experience you have had that you are not the absolute center of." In the "day-to-day trenches" of everyday life, it is only ourselves who we pay attention to. It frustrates us to have to get up early everyday, sit in school for 7 hours, and go home to do another couple hours of homework.  However we pay no mind to the 2000 other students that share our same routine, or even the teachers who must wake up earlier, stay after school later, and go home to grade homework even longer.

This idea is even more prevalent in literature. Even though a book might be about fictional characters entirely different from ourselves, we are still the centers of attention. We react, then assign motives and emotions to characters based on our own personal experiences and opinions.

In The Bluest Eye it takes an entire chapter of narrative in Cholly's perspective to understand his backstory, and how all the experiences he had leading up to the rape of his daughter caused him to do it out of love and tenderness, instead of lust and rage. It then takes the reader to sympathize with him, or choose to antagonize him even further.

In The Great Gatsby it seems like Gatsby buys a huge home, and throws extravagant party just because he can- to show off his wealth. In reality, he moves to East Egg so that "Daisy would just be across the bay." Actions and feelings can only be truly be comprehended by the doer, or one with the exact same perspective as the doer. In Gatsby's case, his spending was all done because he was lovesick, and it still takes the reader to interpret whether his actions are romantic and noble, or if it is scandalous for him to pursue a married mother. The beautiful thing however, is that both views are entirely correct at the exact same time.

Sophisticated ignorance

There is an idea that punctuation reflects upon the quality of society and this is entirely true but many people believe a change in the rules of punctuation to reflect a "social decline" (Hitchings) because they believe that Earth will become a "dystopia" (Lee) where uneducated and illiterate individuals reign supreme however this is entirely untrue

What the change in punctuation and a possible further change in punctuation in the future reflects is the dynamic nature of society as technology has evolved and communication has evolved alongside with it since "Language evolves in conjunction with culture" (Lee) if punctuation were to remain stagnant then our society would become stale with it because the only thing that changes in punctuation would actually show is the evolution of mankind as a complex species looking to refresh himself from the outdated and mundane

Throughout history one thing that has remained constant is the need for mankind to express himself and since it is not enough for him to tell others his opinions he must share his emotions and feelings with the world by opening the windows to his soul in "A house fairer than prose" (Dickinson) being poetry with Dickinson showing how expressive one can be with words without the chains of punctuation and Elizabeth Austen displaying how much more creative and flowing writing can be without the constricts of punctuation with a "trail of possibilities" for each word that she may chose to place as without punctuation "tightening the leash" (Austen) on the creativity of mankind we can finally move forward as individuals and as a species

I hope you were able to understand my blog without the aid the following: commas, periods, semi-colons, apostrophes, dashes, exclamation points, question marks, and periods.

Fortissimo

The way Morrison constructs The Bluest Eye is reminiscent of an architect. Each expression has a special meaning. Like every single brick in the foundation for a skyscraper, every word has been placed purposefully, which is to do its job and achieve its goal.

"His hatred of her slimed in his stomach in his stomach and threatened to become vomit...his genitals, giving it length, and softening the lips of his anus," (Morrison 162). The way Morrison uses vowels and constants to create such a breathtaking degree of verisimilitude is astounding. Morrison describes the Breedlove's household so well that one can't help from feeling the hopelessness and despair created by their living conditions. Morrison gives the reader chills when describing the icy home, and is able to make her readers' breath stale when imagining the "flecks of black" that the Breedloves had for dinner.

Cholly's thoughts and feelings seem so realistic that it's not like the readers are there with Cholly, but rather are Cholly. The reader feels and despises the "lust" of a powerless, abusive alcoholic; while feeling the "tenderness" of a powerless, abusive alcoholic trying to make up for his actions to his family.

Morrison explains Pecola's entire complex with a simple movement. The simple yet "quiet and pitiful" gesture of Pecola scratching her leg show that she is a lost child. Unable to do even the simplest of motions with confidence, Pecola's constant shifting of her weight show that she is  unhappy with her current conditions, but she continues to wash the dishes like an obedient child would, because she is hopeful that her life will change for the better. It's awe-inspiring how much one can learn about another, in so few words.

And perhaps the most beautiful, admirable and disgusting display of Morrison's power as a writer is her development of Cholly, which is so excellent, it has the reader sympathize with Cholly for what he did to his daughter.

You got the power to let power go

One does not get much more powerless than being a poor, black, female child from a broken home.

One could say Pecola is the most powerless character in the novel. She is powerless in her inability to stop a group of schoolboys who "gaily harassed" (Morrison 65) her. She is powerless against her very appearance being met with looks of "disgust, even anger" (Morrison 49) simply for being a black female. She is powerless against the shame and jealousy that comes from receiving pity ice-cream from richer classmates. She is powerless against her father raping her.


One could also say that Pecola is an extremely powerful entity. Just like Brent Staples, Pecola alters the public space around her simply by being there. Her impression of vulnerability tells the other characters that she is fragile, so she is an object to be taken care of- like by buying her ice cream. It also tells the other characters that her weakness is something to be taken advantage of- like the power that comes with raping her.


Pecola is powerless to Maureen in a way that is similar to the way Maureen is powerless to white beauty ideals. Morrison shows use that everybody is truly powerless. Those that have no "power" are powerless to higher authority. Those that have "power" are powerless to the objects and ideas that grant them power.