Is There Life on Mars?

My friend and I were talking today during our block 1 open, and we both came to a disagreement on Mark Twain. She did put me down at first, telling me that I was making a generalization on American literature, which I guess was true (after all, I do enjoy Thoreau and Hawthorne.) Unfortunately, our arguement didn’t get intellectual or anything, since two of our friends sat at the table with us, telling us about their craving for bagels. Luckily, we did compare British romantic literature (i.e. Oscar Wilde) and “true” American literature (i.e. Mark Twain). Inevitably, I argued for Oscar Wilde, claiming that his work is so witty and brilliant, in addition to being beautiful. Wilde, is a man who was capable of almost anything literary. He had wonderful dramatic work such as “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” and the light-hearted and intelligent “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Personally, I believe that “The Importance of Being Earnest” is the epitome of a witty play, and the satire on British aristocracy is sheer brilliance. After getting this far into my arguement, I noticed that she just didn’t care anymore, and she had no desire to snap back with some “witty” (if you can even call it that) reference in Huck Finn. That to me, made me believe that if she had no passion in her to defend Mark Twain, then what type of author is he? Whenever I enjoy an author, especially one from the British romantic period, I feel compelled and almost obligated to defend them. That is what a truly good author is supposed to be, that is how much of a good book it should be. If Huck Finn is such an amazing American Literature novel, why is it that whenever I criticize it, no one ever comes to its defense? This leads me to another point, does anyone ever truly enjoy this book? Maybe the true and core reason why students enjoy this book, is because it’s almost programmed in their head to like Mark Twain. My friend was the perfect example, she liked Huck Finn, but didn’t explain why she liked him, the only thing she did say was “he’s awesome.” Well, I don’t think that one word comments will get very far without a solid explaination or argument. I wanted to inquire, ask more, I really wanted her to convince to like this book, but she was no help.

To be absolutely honest, when I began reading Huck Finn, I forced myself to like it, I made myself smile, I made myself giggle. I wanted to like it, I really did. But as I read on, I realized that this book was just not for me, it wasn’t anything that I enjoyed, and it certainly isn’t anything I find witty.

I must admit something, and Mr. Wasserman I know you might despise me for this, but I honestly think that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn’t that great of a novel, and it is borderline annoying. Perhaps this novel will get better since I’m done with the play and all, but I still have my doubts. Anyways, I’m having a little trouble finding these satires funny, or even finding them at all. Personally, the only one I found slightly humourous was when Pap was telling Huck that he should quit school, but only because Huck was slowly becoming more educated than him. This eventually led to Huck wanting to go to school, but not because he wanted to learn, but this wanting was out of spite for Pap. That, plus Pap voting are the only satires I sort of smiled at, but other than that, there really aren’t many satires that I find to be “the classic examples of satire.” For example, I actually liked Jonathan Swift’s proposal;after all, it did make me laugh, because it made me incredibly uncomfortable. Isn’t that what a satire supposed to be? Something that makes you incredibly uncomfortable, yet it’s so true that it’s hilarious? I have hopes that Huck Finn will get better, and that these satires will jump out at me more.

I really enjoyed reading Baker’s recommendations for Iraq. I thought it was interesting that Baker recommended getting other nations involved, such as Syria and Iran, which would eventually lead the U.S. troops to “gracefully” keave the Iraq situation. Though I see how this plan could work, I don’t think that it would be incredibly safe for the U.S. to leave Iraq, especially now, since it techincally is in turmoil. The troops are somewhat of a backbone to Iraq, is we leave now, Iraq may collapse. It is an incredibly sad situation, but it is inevitable for something disappointing and sad to result from this. Also, Iraq may become incredibly vulnerable if we leave, the nations surrounding it may come in and take advantage. Overall, I do think that Baker’s recommendations may work for Iraq, and though it is hard to say, it one point, it will be neccessary to leave Iraq, and to finally leave Iraq to become a strong and independetn nation on its own.

I have never really been around anyone who had considered themselves racist, yet I know that it is still present in today’s society. However, since slavery has been abolished, and Jim Crow laws no longer exist, people neglect to actually recognize that racism is still very much present in the world today.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/racism.poll/

In this poll taken by the Opinion Research Corp. for CNN, many african americans, but only a few white people claim that racism is a very serious problem. Why is that? Has jokes concerning certain races become so normal, that it is no longer seen as immoral?

“Contemporary racism is not conscious, and it is not accompanied by dislike, so it gets expressed in indirect, subtle ways,” said Jack Dovidio, a professor at UCONN. I think this idea greatly ties in with Huck Finn. Throughout Huck Finn, the n word is used in abundance, yet no one in the book seems to really care. Obviously, it is an awful and incredibly racist word, yet even though most refined say it without any worries, like Miss Watson. Huck says that Miss Watson is a refined and educated lady, who also owned a slave. In my opinion, it is quite a contradiction to say that one is educated yet would own a slave. But then again, this book is like one big satire, and it was quite common for people to own slaves in the south, during the 19th century.

Racism, though not as obvious, still plays a huge part in our society. It can be a factor in getting a job, and sometimes, people may stay away from a predominatly black neighborhood. yes, it is not as bad as the 19th or even the 20th century, but racism is certainly not quite dead yet.

p.s. I turned on the tv, and Ego Trip’s Race-O-Rama is on VH1, check it out, it’s kind of cool.

I envy those who are really good at Satires. Personally, I long to be that witty, but no, unfortuantely, I’m not. What I enjoy so much about satires is the fact that they are funny, yet intelligent. They poke fun at issues such as political ones, and the mediocrities in society. I love satires, I find them humorous, and though I don’t laugh out loud, I do smirk or slightly smile.

Some satires I really enjoy are those that are in the New York Time magazines, and I really loved the Jonathan Swift satire. The best part about it is how you’re sometimes not sure if the satirist is being serious, or if they are just joking. Also, they can make people feel uncomfortable by being almost too politically incorrect. For example, Borat is such crude humor, but it’s intelligent at the same time. It’s trying to make people see how ridiculous others can act. That is what truly makes it a satire.