Blog Day 5- 3 Parts & Responses

1. Yolanda is a very interesting character so far in this novel. From her history, I have learned a lot about how she has become the challenged woman she is today. Unlike many other characters in many other novels, Yolanda has not used her past experiences and memories to progress and learn, but has instead  on these instances and regressed to a mentally unstable state. Yolanda has had a terrible past with men that has been touched on in the recent chapters. She has been used for pure physical satisfaction and also has left her long time boyfriend. She still deals with the stress, memories and emotional damage. All of this combined has led her to be deemed "crazy" and sent to live in a mental hospital, as advised by her mother, to try and find a way to coupe with life and its trials and tribulations. Overall, readers can clearly see that the strife in Yolanda's life has led her to the state of insanity that she is currently in.
2. One of the most basic, but often looked over, positive stories in this novel so far is the Garcia's move to America. While some may look at this move as a bit of a culture shock and somewhat of a difficult adjustment, I would view this as a positive experience in this book. The Garcias moved the America to escape the unjust ruling of the dictator of the Dominican Republic that Carlos Garcia had worked for years to overthrow. They were relatively well-off, due to their high status in the Dominican Republic. In addition, Carlos and Mami's relationship stayed relatively the same and the family was kept intact, in the end, despite minor hiccups that all families with teenagers face. While some people can tell horror stories of their immigration to another country, this one is relatively positive given the context. I would consider this positive motion both person to person (within the Garcia family itself) and also person to society (with the interactions between the Garcias and the new American society).
3. I found this article very interesting. I am not very up to date about Jeremy Lin and the identity crisis thereafter, but I thought that this article connected very well to the story of the Garcia girls. Both are a nationality that has often struggled to find where exactly they fit in society. Often, many immigrants find that they must choose between being "white" and being "black", and when they fail to fit into the stereotypical mold that society has cast for these colors, they do not know how to perceive themselves or others. Regardless of what Jeremy Lin's screen name was when he was fifteen, I think, personally, that he must have struggled with a personal identity crisis himself, whether it be big or small. However, this in no way, I feel, should effect the way people perceive his athletic success now. Just because Jeremy Lin is an Asian American, playing basketball, a sport dominated by the African American community, does not mean that he is trying to be anything that he is not, he is just following his passions.

Current Event Articles

1. "This Valentine's Day, Occupy the Romantic-Industrial Complex". I chose this article primarily because Valentine's Day was yesterday and there is always people who love this holiday and people who hate it. Being indifferent to the holiday, I chose to see what this article about the "Romantic-Industrial Complex" had to say. This article focused mainly on why society "buys-in" to getting heart shaped presents, chocolates and flowers as a way to profess love for another person. This article mentions that companies that market Valentine's Day presents net billions in dollars every year. In addition, this article mentions that the wedding experience costs Americans 70-80 billion dollars every year. I found it very intriguing that this article mentioned that marrying for money is not a new concept, but marrying for love is. Overall, I don't necessarily agree with the author's point that people should not celebrate this "Halmark" holiday. I think that regardless of whether or not people feel they need material gifts and a special day to feel loved, it is truly a harmless day that can make people happy, which is all that matters.
2. "US, Europe Eye Risky, Unprecedented Penalty for Iran Over Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons".  I chose this article because nuclear weapons always have been, and will always continue to be, a very important issue in the face of global governments. This article talks about how Iran is suspected to be harboring nuclear weapons that could be potentially used against any nation that they feel is unwilling to cooperate with them and/or stresses different moral or ethical values than Iran. Therefore, President Barack Obama wants to evict Iran from SWIFT, a company that deals with overseas oil. Thus, if Iran is evicted, overseas oil will take a skyrocketing price increase over the next couple of years. For many countries currently in a great economic depression, spending more on oil is simply not an option. If I were in this position, I would find this decision very difficult. On one hand you have a dangerous, unreliable nation with such great and destructive weapons that leaves every nation, especially the USA, in fear of attack. However, on the other hand, Iran supplies many nations including the USA with oil, without which many nations would be oil deficient and facing even greater economic despair. Whichever the decision may be, I feel that this is a sticky, loose-loose conflict for everyone except Iran.
3. "Monica Yant Kinney: Pa. Bill Preventing Local Gun Crackdowns Would be Travesty." I chose this article primarily because I knew that guns are such a large moral conflict in this nation during this time period. A lot of people struggle with the moral issue of wether or not people should be able to own guns for their own personal uses, one of which includes protection. To be honest, I found this article somewhat confusing. From what I could understand, this article talked about how Pennsylvania legislatures are enacting bills to make sure that if household guns are lost or stolen, this must be reported. Legislators are also pushing for a bill that sues any township that pass local gun laws. Personally, I am not really sure about how I feel about guns. Guns can be imperative to one's own protection when living in certain areas or working at certain jobs. However, guns can also lead to increased violence and often accidental death. However, overall, I feel that any person should be allowed to own a gun with a proper license and extreme care and caution. Refusing to sell to criminals would surely end the violence and extreme caution would surely reduce accidental death due to guns.

Men vs. Women and Character Analysis

 Part One: Questions about Men vs. Women

1. What is expected of men and women in America in 2012 that’s specific to gender? In America, even in the present day 2012, gender roles are still very evident in society. Men are still expected to pursue careers in the hands-on field, rather than jobs like interior design. In addition, men are still expected to ask women out on a date first or ask the woman to marry them. On the other hand, women are expected to raise a family. While many more women are becoming professional business people, many traditional families still look at women as homemakers and caretakers.
2. How are men and women perceived in America in 2012 by the opposite sex? Often, I find that men are perceived as lazy, careless, and for a lack of a better word, stupid, by women. Women often underestimate what men can truly do without constant badgering from their wives/girlfriends/mothers. On the other hand, I feel that men often perceive women as their personal possessions, subject to whatever they want, whenever they want it. If women are strong and independent and successful, men often perceive them as bossy and intimidating and therefore less attractive.
3. What are the difficulties/advantages of being a man or a woman in 2012? There are many difficulties and advantages to being a woman in 2012. Some of the difficulties of being a woman in this era is that you are always surrounded by women in the media that are picture-perfect. They are the right size and weight and very beautiful and it is often a very hard struggle to fit the mold of this type of woman. In addition, women are often still frowned upon in the professional world. Some men look down upon women who look to pursue careers in engineering, computer sciences, or criminal justice. However, there are also some advantages to being a woman. As a woman, teachers and elders treat me a lot better than they treat my male classmates. This is because boys and men are often told to never hit a woman and to respect a woman no matter what.
4. What are some stereotypes associated with being a man or a woman in 2012? Some stereotypes of men in this era is that they are all players who take advantage of women and disrespect them. In addition, another stereotype of men is that they are all rough-and-tumble guys who feel no pain. Some stereotypes of women is that they are caddy and gossipers. Another is that they are always very girly and frilly. 

Part Two: Character Analysis

• Based on what I know about Yolanda so far, she is a very love-struck, hurt, and grieving woman. She has left the love of her life, John, and had a very tough relationship with him because she was so timid, slow to love, and often had moments of insanity. She has also struggled with previous relationship in college with men who have treated her poorly. I feel that Yolanda would say that men take advantage of women, in accordance with her relationship with Rudy Elmenhurst. Rudy was only interested in Yolanda for a physical relationship, and was not interested in getting to know her for her personality. For this reason, I could see Yolanda saying that men are self-absorbed, cheaters, liars, and only out to please their physical needs.

"23 Questions" Answers

1. ( Q. 1)Personally, I feel that this magician would be less impressive than Albert Einstein. While the five tricks he can perform by ACTUAL magic is very impressive, I feel that based on society's outlook of success, his works would not be as significant or impressive as Albert Einstein's immense contributions to the science community. This is true purely because theories about quantized energy are more relevant and make larger contributions to the community than magic tricks.
2. (Q.5) I would definitely swallow the pill. While this pill would cause all music to sound the same, thus limiting my amount of creativity and self-expression through music, there are many other ways to express yourself in life that do not have to do with music. In addition, it would be saving my soulmate from immense pain. Taking away music would be infinitely better than extreme pain for some one you love.
3. (Q. 7) If I was the front page editor of the New York Times, I would have a very difficult time deciding which story to post on the front page. My gut reaction is to say that I would publish the story about the President's biopsy. I say this because as the President of the United States, he holds arguably the most important position in this nation, and, therefore, is very important news.
4. (Q. 12) I would give the wizard only one dollar. Personally, I feel that beauty shines from the inside out, and that beauty should be based on the love and kindness you have in your heart. I would not go out of my way to pay this wizard to make me a million times more beautiful because I feel that everything happens for a reason and you are the way you are for a reason. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, despite the opinions of others.
5. (Q. 16) I would have to say that I would not watch the Canadian football game. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that destiny and fate should be left on their own, unaltered by human actions. Therefore, even though the future says that one day I will become obsessed with CFL, I feel that I should let fate run its course and let that time come when it comes. There is no need to rush the inevitable.
6. (Q. 19) The excuse that I would you to explain this seemingly inexplicable action is that there was a a bug under this friend's sleeping bag. The kicking would, therefore, become acceptable because bugs are disgusting, useless organisms that most girls despise. So, kicking the bug to kill it, and accidentally missing and kicking my friend would not be so bad since I was looking to kill this bothersome pest.
7. (Q. 20) I would be far more interested in seeing the movie that is an actual documentary of my life. I work hard to live a kind, fair life and treat others the way I want to be treated. I would like to see how my peers and friends and loved ones feel about the life that I have lives. I would be interested to see if I have truly accomplished the goals that I set out to through out my life time. An embellished, over dramatized story of my life would not give me the satisfaction that a real documentary would.