Are We Happy Plastic People?

The first line of the chorus of the song "Stained Glass Masquerade" by Casting Crowns asks the question that many of us wonder about our peers. And if we are not asking that question, maybe should we?

Popular culture and entertainment is abuzz with shows, movies, and literature telling us to look into ourselves and let our true personalities show, get help with issues we are dealing with, and to look at others with the idea that don't know everything that may be going on in their lives. But, when I look around our schools and communities today, nobody seems to be taking that message to heart. Why?

At first glance, the song "Stained Glass Masquerade" seems to be a contemporary Christian song telling listeners to look down and see if they are hiding themselves from God and other Christians who can help them deal with their problems. When looked at from a broader perspective, we see the song telling listeners, Christian or not, to realize that the people around us have open hearts and minds to hear our problems, and help us get through them. So that "maybe then we close the curtain, on this stained glass masquerade."

If there are so many different sources like "Stained Glass Masquerade" telling listeners they are not alone in their struggles, and encouraging them to let God and others help them through their problems, why do we still see suicides, murders, and depression resulting from unresolved issues? Why is society still filled with people who think they need to huddle under a blanket and put on the facade of happiness for the whole world to believe, or see through?

The answer to this question can be very simple, and for some, very complex. In my personal views and experiences, I know that life is easier, for me, by letting my peers and close confidants know my issues and being open to their help for me. More importantly however, for me personally, is the confidence in my faith and willingness to turn my problems over to God. For those who do not believe Christianity, to each his own. Just know that life is always easier when we share our burdens with those we trust, and take off our masks, to show the world who we truly are. And if you are still not convinced of this reader, I ask you the simple question, what do you have to loose?

"And if the invitation's open,
To every heart that has been broken,
Maybe then we close the curtain,
On this Stained Glass Masquerade."

-Casting Crowns

Shall we cover, or Correct?

Bad breath is a nightmare, a menace, a plague that frequently strikes down some of the best and brightest of all generations. This daily strip of Zits illustrates this problem that many of us come across at the most inconvenient times. "Oh no, I have bad breath... Lets get a mint... Oh no, now my bad breath is minty!" Trying to cover up issues doesn't solve any problems. The only product that results from covering up a issue is this: a covered up issue.

Looking at the strip of Zits on the surface I see an average teenager, confronted with the common problem of bad breath, and like any other human being would do, he tries to drown his bad breath with the more strong scent of mint. Sadly however, Jeremy (this "he" I have been speaking of) realizes that all swallowing a whole box of mints got him was minty smelling bad breath. The simple conclusion one can draw from this comic strip is this: Mints don't fix bad breath. Brush your teeth.

Little do readers realize, the conclusion drawn from that one situation can not only (and most definitely should be) applied to cases of bad breath, it is the extremely simple solution to some of the most major problems humans face as individuals, and a society as a whole. Compare the situation shown in this strip of Zits to life. Any problem we attempt to cover up with lies, or quick fixes, may seem "fixed," but underneath is never truly solved.

The decision is left up to the individual of course, but I know that a clean mouth is happy mouth and (all humor aside) living a clean life and showing everyone I encounter who I truly am is better and more fruitful than leading a sham of a life in a bucket of stink with a nice little bow on top. So the choice is yours: Shall we cover, or Correct?

My Photo Story

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's just a few to share my life with you. Click to learn more!

Analysis of "Of Mice and Men"

Analysis of Detail
"Runs deep and green'' represent the fact that the river has more than what is just on the surface, and is full of life, represented by the adjective green. The whole sentence, "The Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green," describes how the river, being Lennie and George's path, has depth, like George, with his deep calculating below the surface, and Lennie, full of life and simple childlike joy.

"Curve up the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains," shows how the river, which is deep and green, curves up the mountains, which are strong, and yet rocky at the same time. In other words, the mountain path taken by the river is defined, yet difficult. The juxtaposition of these terms, "curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains," shows that the path taken by George and Lennie, the river, will be definite, but also with possible struggles and trials.

"Deep and so crisp" indicates how the leaves are thick, and tangled on top of each other, not easily gone through, and crisp as in how quickly they might break and send the whole pile down. "Under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp." Lennie and George, based on this sentence, are going to be far under, "deep", in problematic situations, where one wrong move could send them over the edge.

"A path beaten hard by boys coming down...beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down" shows how the path "beaten hard" has been traveled frequently by people of many different backgrounds. The path that Lennie and George will take "to swim in the deep pool," has been taken by others, so they are not alone in their perilous situations to come.

"The limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it," shows how the limb that many men come to rest on in the end, is the same limb which has supported many men before them. Lennie and George will come to a solution to all of their problems, "the limb," could possibly mean that solution may be unorthodox, yet a solution others have tried before.


Analysis of Tone
The third-person objective point of view solidifies the solitary lives these men lead and gives readers the opportunity to see inside the minds of more than one character.

The quote, "Crooks did not see him...on raising his eyes...a scowl came on his face," taken literally, this shows readers the actions of Crooks, in response to Lennie coming into his room. Zooming out however, we are able to see clearly the emotional reaction of Crooks to this unwanted entry to his room, enforcing the fact that Crooks has lived a very solitary life. Crooks is black. Crooks is a cripple, and Crooks works with the horses. He is not used to having men from the bunkhouse enter his room in the stables, because in the day and age of this book, whites and blacks were treated equally by any means. Possibly Crooks doesn't like the intrusion by Lennie, because he is so used to being alone in his life, thus, he does not like the change of scenery.

When "Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends," we obviously see that Lennie is lonley, if we take the sentence at face value. Looking at the big picture however, we see that Lennie is reaching out to make friends, because his life has been solitary, his only friend being George. Lennie has the mental capacity of a child, thus the only person who has really taken care of him is George, for reasons not quite understood completley by readers. Lennie is drawn to the barn because he sees that Crooks is there, and having the mind of a child, Lennie doesn't judge Crooks based on his skin color or occupation, the way the other men do. Lennie sees Crooks as a human, a possible friend waiting to be made.

These two quotes also show how the author uses the third person point of view to give readers insight into the minds of multiple characters in the book.

Analysis of Tone

The tones of commitment and hope in Steinbeck's passage reflect his view of the situation that George and Lennie, showing how they are devoted to each other as friends, and that they have hope for a better tomorrow.

"I want you to stay with me, Lennie," are the words of George, who is committed to stay with Lennie until the end, not matter how much trouble he may cause for George. George's quote completely supports the tone of commitment that Steinbeck's work is eminating in this book. Once George had committed to taking care of Lennie, he was going to take care of him. No matter what.

"An we'll live off da fatta da lan," shows how George and Lennie have the constant hope that even though times are tough, and things look bleak after they are run out of Weed. This message clearly shows Steinbeck's tone to be one of hope amongst struggles, even in the hardest of times. Especially in Of Mice and Men, which takes place in the era of the great depression, where everything and everyone was overcome with hardships and strife. This book shows us that there can be hope, and even if things don't turn out the way people always want, there can always be some sliver of hope forthe American dream to survive.

Theme

The theme of Of Mice and Men is that we are all our brother's keeper.

In Steinbeck's work, George is the keeper of Lennie, he always takes care of him, like when they were run out of Weed, he stuck with Lennie. No matter what happens with Lennie and George, George is always there because that is his duty.

All readers can learn from Of Mice and Men, because this work shows us how, we are, to a point, responsible for the actions of our brothers, and also responsible to take care of them.

The tone of Steinbeck's work supports the theme of being our brother's keeper. George says, "I want you to stay with me Lennie," and this shows readers that George is committed to Lennie, and has a hope for them having a better tomorrow.

These passages all reflect the hopefulness and sense of duty shown in Of Mice and Men that all of us as humans have a responsibility to take care of our brothers. Brother's being mankind.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Dorothea Lange's series of photographs of a family during the great depression, speaks thousands of words about life and the changes people had to accept, and deal with during the depression.

The family which Dorothea photographed was living in a makeshift tent, with their few belongings that had not been sold to survive. The mother had recently sold the wheels to their car, the main means of transportation, so the family was recently restricted to travel by foot.

This mother, her face solemn and sad, had given up all she had to protect her family. She did, however, keep her wedding ring, which is seen in the pictures, prominent on her left ring finger. This mother, who was struck in one of the worst ways by the depression, lost everything. She and her children were living on the street, just barely surviving.

Dorothea Lange's photos of this family show without words, but with raw emotion and power, the poverty thrown onto the average family during this horrid time. But, they also show the willpower and perseverance to survive and persist through the troubling times our nation and many others in the world faced.

Orwell's Effective Use of Animals as Characters

Orwell used animals instead of humans in the book Animal Farm for a variety of reasons. One reason possibly could be that the use of animals would be more easily taken by the greater population of the world. If Orwell had used humans in the story, people might have taken the story as a personal insult to humanity.

Orwell effectively used animals as characters in that by the end of the book, we were all very into the story, and we viewed the animals almost as humans. The animals became characters in our minds, completely and effectively personified in situations parallel to those of the Russian Revolution.

Orwell might have also decided to use animals in his book rather than people because that would make the story more like a fairy tale, thus making the story a fable. If the story had been told with humans instead of animals. Animal Farm would have been just a story about what actually happened during the Russian revolution, thus making the book more of a historical fiction, rather than a work of fantasy. Animal Farm, being fantasy, appeals to a wider audience than a straightforward historical fiction work.

The Message of the Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry has the obvious message that, in her opinion, a Utopian socety can't exist if the population is aware of what they are missing by having total equality.

In The Giver the society is completely controlled, everyone has the same birthday, their jobs are assigned to them, and nobody sees color. There is no pain, no sorrow, in fact, no real emotions. The theme of this novel is the fact that no matter how perfect a Utopian society may appear to the world, the society can never be truly perfect in human standards.

Humans are born with the natural instinct to want to achieve, to succeed, and to dream. So, the only way the society in The Giver could work perfectly, with all the citizens having the same jobs, income, number of children, and birthday would be for the citizens to not know what they were missing. Thus, the giver was introduced. He recieved ALL of the memories that were not part of the mass that the citizens were supposed to know, good and bad. So, there was only one citizen who had to live with the horrors of hunger, thirst and disease.

The message of The Giver is obviously that although life may be hard and difficult at times, the human mind and body won't be satisfied with just the minimum, we will always strive to achieve and do better.