Blog Entry 11: The Great Gatsby

I enjoyed reading the beginning of the novel because I love it when an author begins a novel with a story or an anecdote. Beginning like this captivates the reader and urges them to read on in order to see whether the main character learns from this anecdote or not and how it affects their life. I like how the author gives background information about the main character and portrays Nick Carraway as honest and from a good family. Each of the characters in this novel have some sort of conflict that controls their actions and their interactions with the characters around them. The connections between them surprised me as I read as well. Jay Gatsby is in love with a married woman, Daisy Buchanan, who is Nick Carraway's cousin. Jordan Baker, who is Daisy Buchanan's friend, becomes Nick's lover. Myrtle Wilson, who is married to George Wilson, is having an affair with Tom Buchanan, who is Daisy Buchanan's husband. The ending was wonderful because all these characters meet but unfortunate because one of them dies. Even though Gatsby and Mr. Wilson do not really interact with each other, they connect in that they love women who love Tom Buchanan. In the end, Daisy rejects Gatsby and remains with Tom because she realizes that having a relationship or love affair outside of marriage was a dumb fantasy. She realizes that she would not be happy with Gatsby and that Tom is her husband and her duty. Myrtle is an interesting character. I believe that she was with Tom just because she wanted the fantasy of falling in love. She married a dumb man, George Wilson, and was just looking for something better, someone to love her. Unfortunately, Tom obviously does not truly love her and uses her for his desires but then again this view can be argued through the way he claims to cry and mope after her death, at least that is what he tells people around him. The character that I dislike the most in this novel is Tom because he is, quite bluntly, a sexist pig. He cheats on Daisy with Myrtle, knowing that Daisy knows because Myrtle even calls him home but when he finds out about Daisy and Gatsby, he gets angry and confronts Gatsby and his wife about it. I find it sad that Daisy listens to what he says about Gatsby and does not realize the gravity of what her husband has done to her. I had no difficulties reading this novel. I really enjoyed it!

Blog Entry 10: The Roaring 20s!

I enjoyed the game a lot more than I thought I would. It was wonderfully insightful into the lives of Canadians and Americans during the 1920s. I first played as the woman and then the man. The woman obviously has less rights than the male, especially when it came to education but what I found surprising was that the women could smoke cigarettes, which currently is not seen as a polite thing for a woman to do, at least in Muslim society. However, women still enjoyed greater rights during this time especially because they received the right to vote, in America, in 1920. I noticed how important dress was during this time as well as music. Jazz was just coming along and everyone was learning new moves and becoming more modern when it came to entertainment. The classical waltz was not a favorite anymore! New trends like tanning were also gaining more importance. Before, women used to powder their faces even when it was known that that powder was full of lead and dangerous for the skin. Being as pale as possible showed the difference between royalty and peasantry. However, during the 1920's, it was the style to run to the beach and get a golden tan to show off to everyone. Shopping also changed drastically as buying on credit became the trend. "Get now, pay later" was the motto. New appliances like the electric washing machine became a must-have for every home as women could do their laundry more easily and not have to scrub each article of clothing. The 1920's was a wonderful time full of prosperity but it also caused a major issue in American history, the Stock Market Crash because of everyone buying on credit.

Blog Entry 9: Mythology Parts 5 & 6

Reading about the important families of mythology was interesting. It seems that family honor was very important to the Greeks and Romans even if it were stained by mistake. This is especially seen when the gods fall in love with mortals, married or not, and cause illegitimate children to be born. Many of the mortal girls gave up their children for fear of their fathers' and husbands' wraths. Another important aspect of family honor is seen when it comes to avenging a loved one's death, especially if it is a parent. It is interesting to see these morals, which many religions today uphold, having been upholded in the ancient world without a holy book or specific set if rules. These morals were mainly created by the philosophers, the thinkers of the time and not necessarily proclaimed by a prophet, which to me is admirable. A third aspect of family issues in the ancient world has to do with the effects of one family member's deeds, which can end up cursing the whole family for centuries. This further emphasizes the family being made up of a group of people who work together and how when one family member strays from the path, destruction ensues. The short myths introduced in part 6 were wonderful to read. I like how, as usual, the gods intervene in the mortals' lives in good and bad ways and found it interesting how if a mortal makes a god angry, there is no mercy for them and suffering is sure to follow. I really enjoyed reading these stories and cannot wait to read more about mythology during the school year.

Blog Entry 8: Mythology Parts 3 & 4

I loved reading about the ancient heroes. The only one familiar to me was Hercules. I had always loved Hercules as a child and even enjoyed playing the game on PlayStation. Some of the stories reminded me of different levels in the game. I was pretty bad at it though. My younger brother always beat me. Reading about the other three heroes (Perseus, Theseus, and Atalanta) gave me more insight into the heroic adventure stories the Greeks and Romans wrote. I really enjoyed reading the story about Perseus and how he kills Medusa without getting turned to stone. Theseus' ordeal with the Minotaur was also an interesting read. I like the mythical creatures that are introduced in this part of the book and throughout. I have heard of most of them but reading their stories has been insightful into the ideas of the ancients. Atalanta's story with the golden apples was wonderful and humorous. I also really enjoyed reading about the Trojan War. Many of the events made me remember watching the movie, Troy which focused on the events leading up to Achilles' death. Odysseus' ordeal of not reaching home after the Trojan Wars for year is unfortunate but I liked how the gods and goddesses help him get home and finally reunite with his wife and son. Magic plays a big role in these stories, it enchants and weaves interesting twists and turns between characters. The adventures of Aeneas are wonderful and I especially enjoyed the love story that develops, unfortunately ending in his lover's death. I cannot wait to read the rest of this book!

Blog Entry 7: Mythology Parts 1 & 2

I have always loved ancient Greek and Roman mythology. I love how the ancient people made their gods have human qualities. Most people today do not see God that way. God is seen as an amazing, great being that no human, no one could match. I also like how the gods constantly interact in the daily lives of the humans. Zeus keeps falling in love with mortal Greek women and having children with them. Many of these children turn out to be heroes who leave legacies in their interesting stories of great adventure and romance. I adore the love stories in this book as well. Unfortunately, most of them are sorrowful and end in death. I also like how the ancients related some of these deaths to the births of certain types of flowers or berries. In the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, the beginning says how mulberries were white as snow and how due to the two lovers' blood spilling, they turned red. This story is similar to Romeo and Juliet in that the families did not want them to get married and that Pyramus kills himself thinking that Juliet had died, which also happens with Romeo. The story of Baucis and Philemon ends with the joining of their bodies and their transformation into a tree. This shows the ancient view towards love making two bodies become one. I had some trouble reading this book at first because I was expecting just a collection of the classics, not stories made up of a mix from different authors. However, as I read more I became accustomed to the writing style.

Blong Entry 6: Personal Essay

A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

I was born and raised in New York City. I lived there for eight years until 2003 when my Moroccan parents decided it was time to go back to their home, so that my brother and I could get to know the Moroccan side of ourselves. After the 9/11 attacks, New York City became a different place, at least that was what my parents told me. A different place for Muslims was what they really meant. Thousands of people were killed in the 9/11 attacks that shook America. Things just weren't the same anymore. I remember hearing stories of friends of my mother who wore the hijab being harassed on the street. "Go home!", they would scream. What home? America is the home of people from all over the world. A melting pot. But things had changed and politicians were preparing for a war against terrorism. My parents decided it was time to pack up and leave. For two years my parents talked it over, argued about it, and finally came to a conclusion. June 2003 was the deadline. Off we go.

June 2003 was not the first time I would see Morocco. We went every summer. But this time, I had to go to a new school and live there. The idea of living in North Africa was new to me but I had no choice. My dad kept telling me about George Washington Academy. How it was an amazing school, even better than the public school I went to in New York. I was excited to start fourth grade in a new place but I was sad about leaving my old friends behind. Old friends they became. Fourth grade was an interesting year for me. I met new friends, made many enemies, and learned to adjust to something totally new. I learned to read and write Classical Arabic and French. My teachers liked me but I remember having problems with my classmates. However, growing up in GWA and getting used to my peers has changed that.  I learned to like Morocco.

Even though I had gotten used to Morocco after my first year. I began to harbor bitter feelings. I longed for home and home still was not Casablanca or Morocco at all. It was New York. I missed my friends. I missed my teachers. I missed my life back there. Realization just hit me later than it should have. I began to sink in these bitter thoughts and throughout Middle School I did not feel like myself anymore. My grades dropped my self-esteem even lower and I was falling into destruction. Ninth grade registration day came along and I was a different person. I pushed myself to motivation. I pushed myself to strive for the best. I realized that I am in high school now and slacking off was not the way to success. I pushed myself to my highest potential. That year I worked hard and got good grades, made new friends, and saw life in a different light. I thought that in four years it would be graduation time and I would be starting a totally new life with new people. And here I am as a senior, my final year of high school. The excitement is running through my blood and I cannot wait.

Through my experiences, I have learned that falling down and scraping your knees is a part of life. Things cannot always be perfect. We all make mistakes, we all fall down at some point, several points, in our lives. However, there are wrong and right ways to look at your failures. When I fell, I looked at my failures the wrong way. Instead making the best of the situation, I made the worse of it but later, I learned from my mistakes and realized the huge flaw in the way I was thinking. I was not getting anywhere by focusing on my issues and not trying to fix them. I learned that the way to fix my problems was to look at them objectively and positively while trying to find a solution. We are all diverse through our experiences but in the end we are all human and failure, as well as success, is something we all deal with and share.

Blog Entry 5: Done!

Change: The characters change continuously throughout the novel. Baba becomes more open towards Amir and seems to love him more due to the new situation he finds himself in; he loses his wealth and is reduced to an exile, fighting to provide for himself and his son after fleeing his home country. Amir matures through falling in love and reflecting on his past as well as finding the courage to go back to Afghanistan to save his nephew and manages to forgive himself towards the end when Assef beats him up. Hassan moves on from the incident that scarred him horribly by also falling in love and marrying, which brings him a great blessing that soothes his past pains, Sohrab.

Relativity: The themes are strongly universal. The main theme of family is something we deal with everyday. Each and every one of us has to face conflicts that arise between family members and the problems that have to be solved with the whole family standing up together. The novel emphasizes the importance of family and its strength in society. Blood ties dominate Afghan tradition, which is another strong theme in the novel. We all deal with the pressures of tradition in our lives. Our parents expect certain things from us like taking a certain career path or marrying a certain person. Failure and learning from one's mistakes is another universal theme in the novel because we have all faced failure and have had to learn from our mistakes, whether major or minor. Our mistakes are obstacles that we all have to face during our lives over and over again. This novel teaches how even if one makes a mistake, there is always a way to repair the mistake and the most important step is forgiving oneself, then learning from it.

Experience: Reading this novel has been a great journey through the sad and happy moments in Khaled Hosseini's unique characters' lives. I received a strong insight into the character's lives and surroundings through the author's talent with words, which has been beneficial to me because I learned more about Afghanistan and the depth of its conflicts. I am definitely planning to read A Thousand Splendid Suns!