I Definitely Forgot All About This...

So as I was drying my hair and reading this article on cultural relativism my first thought was, of course, "Why can't people actually think like this?" In my opinion, people like to pretend that they're open-minded about things, but, in reality, they're not. We can talk all we want about how we accept other people's beliefs and how everyone is entitled to their own ideas but everyone knows that, deep down, they think their way is the only right way. I know I'm guilty of it. Some times I just feel like screaming when people don't see things my way. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand that different cultures have different customs and morals but in the back of my mind I can't help but think about how crazy those customs sound. For example, in Things Fall Apart, the idea of wives being a symbol of social standing is outrageous to me. In Okonkwo's culture though, that's just how things are. In Beowulf, physical strength was seen as the determining factor in whether or not someone was successful in life. In our culture, unfortunately, looks and appearance are used to determine someone's worth. However, according to the theory of cultural relativism, none of these beliefs are inherently wrong or right. Each belief is right in its respective culture and wrong when looked at through the eyes of someone looking in. I know that I certainly try to live this way but it is hard to look at different cultures without judging their beliefs at all. Cultural relativism is a great idea and I wish that it was more realistic. Unfortunately, however, I don't think that society will ever be able to completely follow the claims set out by cultural relativists.

November Monthly Connection

In analyzing Beowulf, one can interpret the story and its title character in different ways. One way is that "the hero is the poem," which is what Peter Clemoes interprets. Kathryn Hume's view of the poem differs, saying that we as the reader do not get to learn enough about Beowulf as a person, his "private thoughts or personal hopes or misgivings" to connect the poem to its hero. I personally agree with the latter view. While we do as readers get to hear of Beowulf's heroic actions, we don't get to hear his thoughts on what he is doing. The reader is never directly addressed by Beowulf, but rather through characters in the poem. I think that one of the most important aspects of a hero is being able to see the hero as similar to yourself. A hero that most people are able to relate to is more meaningful and effective. The fact that we never get the ability to even get the chance to relate to Beowulf makes him less of a hero to me. In the article, they address the question about whether Beowulf is like the "everyman." The thing is, we never get to figure that out. For all we know, Beowulf could be a giant ogre-like creature. That makes it a bit harder for me to see him as a hero. However, some critics, like Tolkien, don't see Beowulf's "being" as being important to the theme of the poem. For me, it's critical. I like to read about people that I can relate to. The title of "hero" is more impressive to me when the hero is someone that I see as similar to myself. When they are able to accomplish these great feats, I feel like I am able to view them as more of a hero and respect that title more.

October Monthly Connection

When we were answering the questions at the beginning of our Hero unit, I couldn't help but think about how many people we consider "heroes" today. It seems as if the word hero has lost all of its meaning. People today see celebrities like Britney Spears or Brad Pitt as their hero. While I'm definitely guilty of reading tabloids every week, I still don't understand what these people have done to be seen as heroes by so many We mentioned that in order for there to be a hero, there must also be a villain. Unless you consider the paparazzi or the tabloids to be villains, I don't think any of these people have defeated a villain in their life. My definition of a hero is someone who overcomes something that they are afraid of. Who's afraid of being rich? These celebrities aren't heroes. The real heroes in our society are people like Sulley Sullenberger, the pilot who saved an entire plane by safely landing his aircraft in the Hudson River. These are the people that we should be looking up to; not the person who is wearing the newest fashions or the person who sings the most popular song. People that risk their lives everyday on the job are heroes. We often see stories on the news of firefighters or police officers that saved someone. While at first we may glorify this person, that glory soon fades and we once again direct our attention to the celebrities. Our society doesn't recognize the fact that at the end of the day, these people that we admire and idolize aren't the people that change our lives. It is the people closest to us that do that. Those are the people that are heroes to me.

September Monthly Connection

During our Socratic Seminar for The Power of One, I was really hoping we would be able to discuss question ten about Peekay's train ride home from school, but, unfortunately, we didn't. In my opinion, this is the moment where Peekay decides to really grow up and become a man. He gets rid of Pisskop and becomes known as Peekay. To me, this is huge in Peekay's journey. Being able to shed his former image really helped him to become the successful person that he was. He didn't have to worry about anybody remembering him as Pisskop and using that against him. It was also on this train ride that Peekay met Hoppie, who was my favorite character in the book. Hoppie gave Peekay a dream, and the thirst to succeed at something. He also gave Peekay the beginning of the tools that he would need to achieve that dream. I think that everyone has a moment where they really have to let go of their childhood and "grow up." We often see in movies about a child having to grow up and stop acting like a child. In class, we saw Eveline grow up when she had to make the decision between staying with her family or running away; Stephen Dedalus had to do it when making the decision to either join the clergy or be an artist. Whether it is our own choice or it is forced upon us, we all most do it. As much as I would love to, I know that I can't stay a kid forever. Peekay realized that very early on in his life and it really helped him to reach for the stars, as cheesy as that sounds, and I think that it was this train ride that was the start of Pisskop's new life as Peekay, future welterweight champion of the world.