March Monthly Connection

Are women and men really equal in our society? Lawfully of course an individual could state that women are indeed equal to men. However no society exists in which every member feels the same way about all of the lawful standards. I don't think that women have reached equality with men. I'm not saying that I don't treat women equally or that I don't respect them as an equal to myself, I'm just stating my opinion that in this society and any other society I can think of, women are not equal. In our society, boys are brought up being told that they ought to look out for their female peers. You never hit a girl, they're too delicate. You wouldn't ever play a rough sport like football with a girl, you might hurt her. We are brought up with the idea that one of our biggest concerns should be to protect the opposite sex. Even in relationships this holds true. "Don't hurt her feelings" or "don't hurt or reputation." This that and the other thing all trying to steer males towards protecting the smaller weaker and more vulnerable female. I'm not saying this is wrong. I fully agree that males, as the stronger of the two sexes, should take the responsibility for the safety of the females around them. However, I don't think that this substantiates an equality between man and woman. A woman would really have to do something drastic to escape the umbrella of childish protection that man has blanketed her with. She would have to become that protective figure, become the strong individual that needs no one but herself to survive. Certain women have exemplified just this, and yet were shot down upon proclaiming their independence because the thought of a strong woman claiming equality could be a bit intimidating to men seeing as they'd have to give up their presence over women once and for all. And so society (men) shoot this woman down and the women around her pull her back down to equality with her peers. Its the psychological theory of woman's dead even power rule. So what it all boils down to is this: Men and women alike are the reason why women as a whole have not gained equality with the likes of us men.

February Monthly Connection

Question ten of "The Awakening" socratic seminar states, "Diiscuss this quote, 'I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children: but I wouldn't give myself." This seems to be the most controversial statement associated with this whole novel. So many discussions were generated as to what the role of the mother should be and what her debt to her children should be. Really I think the debt lies with the children. They were birthed by the mother and primarily cared for by her. In the novel there definately is no question as to whether Edna would give her life for her children but it is also evident that she won't give herself. This is probably due to the fact that she doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know what she wants and she doesn't know where she wants her life to take her. Her indecisiveness is really what made her such a weak character in the first place.

I don't see Edna's treatment of her children as anything altogether outrageous here. Its necessary to take into account the society that Edna existed in and in this society it wasn't unusual for the nanny or nurse to become the primary caretaker. I don't know if the mothers always spent every waking moment with some other man than the children's father but it is what it is. The thing about this quote and its application to Edna is this: She's only willing to give the unessential. So to me it seems like she's ready and willing to give up the things she values the least for her children. Would she give up her relationship with Robert for her children? Not in a million years. The only reason she wouldn't give up herself for her children is that there is no "self" to give. She is so utterly weak its unbelievable. If she tried to give herself up for her children they'd probably laugh and throw it back in her face. She simply doesn't have anything to give them. If she did have a strong character to pass on to her children then it may be a different story, the only thing is, she hardly spends time with her children. But lets say perhaps she did have a strong character to offer. In that case I wouldn't like her for being willing to give herself and I'd agree with her aversion to giving up herself for her children. Its important that the children develop characters of their own and if Edna gave up her entire existence for them they would be smothered by her indecisiveness and just weak attributes. She was only willing to give up the unessential and I think that solidifies her as a selfish (overly selfish, Paul, I know everyone is selfish) person and just an inadequate parental unit.

To all you haters: Fitzgerald is a beast

Fitzgerald kicks people out of his way and outruns entire defenses (sorta like the steelers the other day...) He may not have been on the winning team but this photo sums up Fitzgerald's character as a wideout- He's a Monster out there

January Monthly Connection

Hope is the one feature in an individual's life in which he can relate to any human being on the face of the planet. Hope can take so many different forms that it is present in anyone throughout the ages. The hope of time , of a new job, of freedom, or of victory. Dreams and aspirations are the fruit of hope. In Waiting for Godot, Estragon and Vladimir are hoping that one day they will see Godot. They never leave their one spot because in their hearts they know that Godot is coming. Hope has the ability to direct people's actions in such a way that these actions may not even make sense to an audience. That is how I felt about the play. I wondered where their common sense was. Instead of wating all their lives for Godot, why not simply follow the boy back to Godot and save save themselves some time? There are things in my life that I hope to achieve. Such as a great career as a doctor and a loving family. The thing I have realized about hope along with this is that hope is pointless without initiative. Without action, nothing that you hope for can ever be achieved so it is necessary to take initiative in order to see one's dreams come true.