So there's this test on thursday

So the ap english test is now three days away and, as this is the final blog, I thought I would dedicate this to the exam.  This exam is the culmination of all of the hard work and effort we have put into english over the years.  It is our big chance to show exactly what we know and prove that we haven't been wasting our time in class.  Similar to Peekay facing the Judge, we have studied and prepared to tackle the opponent we are now facing.  After this, we have our final thesis papers then the year is over.  Everything we have done all year has been leading up to this single three hour event.  No pressure.
But really, there isn't any pressure because I have decided to take Meursault's view on life and not let it stress me out.  Now, this probably sounds strange because my last blog was a rant against the absurd, but  now I get what Burnett was saying.  According to absurdism, I determine the value of life and its components.  Therefore, i determine what impact this test will have, whether I allow it to define me or not.  Regardless of whether I get a one or a five, I will know that I did my best so "carpe diem".  We will all do our best and whatever happens happens.

Does this have a point?

Are you going somewhere with this? That is what comes to mind whenever we read absurd literature such as The Stranger.  I find it contradictory that the point of the book is that nothing has a point.  The book just further proves that all people must define and label everything.  People are uncomfortable if an individual lives without that label.  In literature, this is seen throughout The Stranger when the court tries to define Meursault.  He is essentially condemned because he did not fit any of the molds society had created.  Therefore, he must be punished.  However, on the less extreme, in everyday life there are examples of people rejecting the lack of a label or definition.  This is especially prevalent in high school relationships.  Everyone has to know if someone is "officially" dating another person leading to the ever popular saying "its not real until it's facebook-official".  Therefore, the only reasonable aspect of absurd literature is it's name for it is indeed quite absurd.  Human nature requires definition so the absurd will never be accepted.
Also, if such literature must exist, I think it is inadvisable to have high school seniors read it for class.  Maybe younger grades that aren't as tired of high school yet.  I speak for most of the seniors when I say that we are at a point where we are so ready to leave that we should not be encouraged that there is no point in making an effort.  If I hear that effort is useless and life has no meaning any more, I might start believing it and stop trying.  After all, whats the worst that can happen if nothing actually has meaning?  Therefore, absurd literature succeeds only in living up to it's title and undermining society's values.  It can be allowed to exist but does not have literary value.

Revolution

While we were reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, political history was being made in Egypt. The people of Egypt protested and ended up successfully overthrowing the President at the time, Hosni Mubarak. Through revolution, the people forced him to step down. This reminded me of the political turmoil that took place in Afghanistan in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns.  The political system was unstable throughout the entire novel whether the Taliban or the Soviets were in power.  As much havoc as the events in Egypt were, it was really coincidental that the protests occurred while reading the novel.  There were several similarities that showed that the actions in A Thousand Splendid Suns were not isolated events.  One of the actions the government took in Egypt to prevent the protests was to cut the people off from everyone else.  They shut down cell phone and Internet connections in an effort to prevent riots.  The idea was to cut off the younger generation that was leading the protests.  This ties in with the Taliban isolating Afghanistan by removing the media (television, radio, etc.).  From our cushy seats in the safety of our farm country, such regime changes in Afghanistan, occurring before our lifetime and before our awareness of the news, seemed distant without connection to our lives because it was not something our generation had really witnessed.  However, here is an example of political instability that affects the US (oil prices increase) that we can understand and be aware of.
Also, by reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I had a better grasp of the affect these political shifts had on everyday citizens life.  Mariam, Laila, and Tariq brought new life to the victims of turmoil.  Somewhere in Egypt, a story similar to any of theirs could be playing out right now.  It reminds me that there is more to conflict than those doing the fighting.  In every battle, there are accidental casualties that did not want to be a part in the violence.

Discrimination: A Thousand Splendid Suns

So, the whole time that I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I kept thinking, "How can these people treat women this way?  Disregarding anatomy, women are the same as men.  Neither gender is more intelligent.  We are all human."  The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt women were considered property.  Human beings can not be property.  They are living things with feelings.  What kind of country treats people that way?  Then I realized that our country did, or at least it used to.  Americans had slaves who were considered pieces of property that could be traded and used as their owner pleased.  Slaves in the early 1800s were very similar to Afghan women in A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Both were discriminated against because they were different than those in power and, according to these people in power, different must mean less intelligent and untrustworthy.  The same thing happened to the native tribes in Things Fall Apart.  The English encountered people who were not the same as them so, these people must therefore be unintelligent heathens.
Seriously, when will everyone realize that if someone is different, that does not mean they are inferior.  This kind of discrimination isn't limited to countries across the world or a time over 200 years ago.  People still treat others harshly because they aren't the same, and they don't fit the perfect cookie cutter mold.  Just look at high school.  The kids that are made fun of the most are the ones who don't wear the same clothes as everyone else, don't fit into the correct pants size, choose to be interested in video games like Final Fantasy, or in some other way do not meet the standards set by the "normal" people.  The "normal" people judge these kids for not acting just like them.  Sure they might think they're not a mean person so they don't directly make fun of these people.  Instead they make remarks to their friends or just keep it to themselves and judge those people silently.  I'm sorry to go off on a rant but it is on of those things that really bothers me and A Thousand Splendid Suns brought it up. Overall, people are afraid of what is different and therefore condemn it.  So whether it is women in Afghanistan, slaves in America, natives in Africa, or the kid who likes to wear his World of Warcraft shirt to school instead of Hollister, there have always been people who discriminate agaisnt other people because they are different.