Carpe Diem

Today in class, we discussed the poem "To His Coy Mistress" and its relation to the phrase "carpe diem" which is Latin for seize the day.  I looked this phrase up on the internet, just to see if I could find anything interesting on it for a blog post. And what do you know? I found over 100 quotes that relate to carpe diem. I thought they were interesting because we've heard many of these quotes used (some of them overused) but we probably never would've made the direct connection to the phrase carpe diem.  Another interesting point is that I always thought of carpe diem as a phrase that isn't referenced very much anymore, but these quotes have proved me wrong. Here are some examples:

"Forever is composed of nows." - Emily Dickinson (Monty may not like me for that one)
        Originally, I thought that this quote was referring to the fact that what our future holds for us depends on what we do now.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." - Mother Teresa
        This is one of those quotes that we've all heard before, and I never really thought of it in the "carpe diem" aspect. When I think about it, this makes sense now.

"We are the change we are waiting for." - President Obama
        Throughout both of his campaigns, President Obama's recurring theme was change. He wanted to change the public policy and the way America was run. Therefore, I think I had good reason to believe that this quote referenced. However, this quote could also imply that because "we are the change we are waiting for," we should "seize the day" and take action to make that change actually happen.

"If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul." - Drew Barrymore
        This is a relatively recent example, judging by the person who quoted it. This quote is not heard of as much, but I think we've all heard of the belief that you have to take risks to be somewhat successful. This shows that the concept of carpe diem is still popular.

"Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick of your shoes, and dance." - Oprah Winfrey
        At first glance, this quote seems to me to talk about relaxing and enjoying life. It seems to be the complete opposite of seizing the day, which means to take every opportunity to be productive, right? After looking closely, Winfrey could be talking about seizing the opportunity to enjoy once in a while instead of being so serious all the time.  This quote shows that seizing the day could be construed in two different ways.

I thought it was interesting to look at carpe diem quotes that are either by people we know, or quotes that we usually associate with something other than that phrase. If you want to see more quotes, these are only a few examples at this website: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/carpe-diem. 

Maybe you all can find different interpretations on your own! :)

The Stories That Don't Bind Us

The article that Mr. Mullins posted on his blog, called "The Stories That Bind Us," was very interesting. I would've never thought that regularly talking about positive and negative events that contribute to one's identity would have such a profound effect in reinforcing a child's confidence and self-esteem. Overall, the article was astounding, especially because I didn't realize that there was a whole field of research dedicated to this.

That being said, I don't really agree with some of it. I think that the evidence from the experiments conducted is valid, and I'm not questioning Dr. Duke's or Dr. Fivush's intelligence. I just think that their research only applies to families that live in America (note: this doesn't only mean Caucasian families, this could include my immediate family because I am Indian, but I still live in America). All stereotypes and generalizations aside, I do have some valid reasons for this. My family (which includes my mom, my dad, my older sister, and myself) is very open and I do know pretty much everything about my parents and grandparents. I agree that this has made me have a strong sense of identity and confidence, in terms of religion and culture. And the reason that my family has had this sense of openness is because my parents, over the course of 21 years have become accustomed to the American environment of being open with their children. 

I can tell you that in some other countries, this isn't the case. Parents aren't always open with their children. By no means does this mean that they're bad people, their culture just doesn't dictate this aspect. Families can still be close-knit in other countries, but the concept that learning about one's past can reinforce their identity may never occur to other cultures.

Another reason for my belief is that personally, communication about these sorts of things has never worked out. Sure, my immediate family is very open with me as mentioned earlier. But my grandparents, who live with us now, aren't really used to that. The only reason I know anything about them is because of what my dad told me about his childhood. Again, they're not necessarily bad people for that, but this isn't really in their habits. And my theory is that if some concept isn't already a part of one's culture, they're not about to act on that concept because they may see it as offensive.

As you can see, I'm not completely ruling out the communication aspect of the article. I didn't look into the experiment, so I'm obviously not educated about this field of study. I just think that in other cultures, and even with older generations, the facts of the article may not always be the case. 

Child Who Just Lost Balloon Begins Lifelong Battle with Depression

I was reading The Onion (which I do for fun...maybe not, whatever) when I came across an article titled "Child Who Just Lost Balloon Begins Lifelong Battle with Depression." The article is just what it sounds like: a child who just lost a balloon and is beginning a lifelong battle with depression. Click here to read the article.  And the following picture accompanied the article:



Just look at those eyes. Doesn't he look so sad? Poor little guy. (And yes, I picked the extra-large option on the picture size, because I'm just that way)

Here are some passages that made me almost laugh out loud, and explanations to follow:

"The increasingly distraught 3-year-old, who will gradually come to believe that he is a complete failure and a burden to everyone he knows, then reportedly burst into tears in what was only the very start of an inexorable, decades-long descent into severe clinical depression."  The words severe clinical depression is what got me there. Also the decades-long descent. This really made me rethink my reaction to losing my favorite teddy bear at a train station when I was little.

"Sources indicated that upon seeing the balloon disappear behind a line of trees, Tremont began to grapple for the first time with the same feelings of irreversible loss and guilt that will eventually prevent him from enjoying activities he once loved and cause him to become utterly despondent in the face of a seemingly hostile world." The fact that this statement is so long makes me laugh, especially because I know that this article is so grossly sarcastic. Using words like "grapple" and "irreversible loss" make the statement funnier.



At first glance, this is just a picture of a red balloon. However, the caption read: "The symbol of melancholy and loss that will haunt Tremont for his entire adult life." This one really just speaks for itself, no explanation necessary.

I thought this article was worthy of mention, particularly because it made me laugh. I thought maybe it would brighten your day too! :)

Toni Morrison: Challenges as a Female Writer

I think a lot of times what we neglect in our discussions about Beloved is the female aspect of it all.  Yes, Sethe is a slave just like Paul D, Halle, Sixo, and the other men at Sweet Home. But what sets her apart is that she is a woman, which calls for experiencing different types of emotions and having different reactions to certain events.  I noticed that in our Socratic Seminar, the element of gender did not come up in either circle (I can't speak for the chat while I was on the inside). Who's to say that if Sethe's character had been a man that this male character wouldn't have acted differently? Would he have still killed Beloved? Would he have been more brutal in an attempt to show his love, or would he have been detached as the stereotype goes?

The following video is one in which Toni Morrison reflects on why she chooses to write specifically about black women.

To a large degree, I think Morrison is right when she says that writing about black women offers her a broader spectrum to explore in her books.  As she implies, writing about white women or even just the African race wouldn't offer nearly as many facets as writing about black women does.  Therefore, I think that Sethe's gender plays a large role in her decision to kill Beloved. As I stated earlier, a black man, who still underwent the same horrors and tragedies as Sethe did, may have reacted differently in the situation which would limit Morrison's opportunities in writing this novel.