Tribute to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Please note as you read that this is intended to be entirely satirical and ironic in order to reveal the flaws of Lindner's thinking.

I do not understand. Neither can I comprehend the thoughts of these people. There is a reason they cannot come into our neighborhood. Democracy has truly failed in the allowance of color in a white neighborhood. Clybourne Park will be tarnished and our families defiled. I humble myself to enter under their roof offering them "financial gain," and they, blinded by their pride, do not see the generosity of my offer (Hansberry 118). Their appalling lack of sense is not something I can permit to be contracted by my children. "[R]ace prejudice simply doesn't enter into it" (Hansberry 118). My sole intention is to promote happiness. "[O]ur Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities," and I cannot be responsible for any unhappiness or dangers of their decision (Hansberry 118). I am not sure they comprehend the generosity of our offer and the wealth it can bring them both economically. They could escape their small ghetto to a larger and nicer house if they only had the common sense and aspirations. I was respectful and courteous in both my demeanor and offer. I simply cannot understand the shortsightedness. The repercussions of their decision cannot be linked to me in any way.

The Longest Blog

In his satirical short story, "Diamond as Big as the Ritz," Fitzgerald demonstrates how materialism corrupts through his use of rhetoric including tone, diction, and irony. Once upon a time, there was a great secluded wonderland amidst Montana's share of the Rockies where all were waited on hand and foot. If desired Braddock Washington, any of his family, or even John Unger, his guest, could summon Moses to retrieve an army of pink elephants within the hour. This is the world that Fitzgerald creates in his short story: "a sort of floating fairy-land" (Fitzgerald 82). The great fairy-land is really a satire to depict the flaws of materialism. The satirical tone that pervades the piece is perpetuated with the lavish details that Fitzgerald never ceases to divulge. For example, Fitzgerald describes "an exquisite château [rising] from the borders of the lake" (82), "a large cavity" (93) in which the Washingtons keep prisoner everyone threatening the secret existence of their estate, and an "entire force of negroes" (98). These details all defy logic and are quite frankly ridiculous. The pretentious diction adds to the satire. It is as though an egotistical billionaire is bragging to millionaires. Fitzgerald uses the word "château" instead of mansion or house; he uses the description "a wreath of mignonettes" (90) instead of a ring of flowers in order to enforce the pretentious atmosphere that the Washingtons live in and abide by. In that way, Fitzgerald shows the corruption of character through materialism. On top of that, the irony is overpowering. The ownership of slaves by someone so rich they could pay for servants without care is absurd; the diamond that the Washingtons own is so large that were they to spend it, it would be worth practically nothing compared to a small fraction of it. Also, the diamond is "wired" (111), so when the airplanes break through the defenses, the remaining Washingtons commit suicide inside of it. The materialistic corruption is exemplified through the needless frugality in keeping slaves, the illusion of a fantastic diamond despite its worthlessness, and suicide over a worthless diamond. Theses examples are of pure insanity and corruption. Fitzgerald shows that materialism corrupts yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The Void

A dream is an idea that motivates a person into action in an attempt to achieve it. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby gets wrapped up in his dream of running away with Daisy, the wife of Tom Buchanan, because she "never loved him" (Fitzgerald 139). As it is exemplified in the novel, the often unattainable visions are essential in life because they provide a motivation to live actively; however, a dream cannot be allowed to obscure reality. Gatsby exemplifies how dreams preserve active life literally when he mentions how he "tried very hard to die" during the war but seemed to have an "enchanted life" (Fitzgerald 70). Despite the fact that Gatsby wants to die in the war, he can't allow himself to because his heart and mind yearn for Daisy and the fulfillment of his vision for them as a couple. The problems arise when Gatsby does not accept anything less than his envisioned play out of events. She admits,"Even alone I can't say I never loved Tom" because it wouldn't be true (Fitzgerald 140). Because Gatsby is unable to let go of the simple desire and accept her love in the present, Daisy becomes involved in the argument with Tom, and she becomes overly stressed. The end result of her stress, though indirect, is the death of Gatsby. His dream provides an active life until he allows it to distort the truths of Daisy's life. Then, it brings death. 

Thanksgiving Versus Extravagance

The lavish feast of "buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d'œvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold" (Fitzgerald 44) for Gatsby's party scene in The Great Gatsby is incredible. Just for sake of clarity "harlequin" means in varied colors and "hors d'œvre" are appetizers meant to be eaten by hand. All of the food and drinks combined with extravagant atmosphere create an atmosphere where judgements do not matter. Jordan says the parties are "so intimate" because at "small parties there isn't any privacy" (Fitzgerald 54). The use of the word intimate is ironic because the denotation includes a private atmosphere which is created by the relative anonymity and nonjudgmental attitude encompassed by the party atmosphere. Yet, the connotation of intimate signifies a quiet and small gathering. The use of the description of the food at the beginning of the description is also ironic comparison because the turkey and ham are symbolic of Thanksgiving and Christmas, both of which are prime times for family gatherings and being together, yet the parties have a completely opposite effect creating anonymity and a privacy in being public. Gatsby wants Daisy to come to one of his parties to become close with her once again, but his attempt to find her is misguided. He cannot use a great meaningless party with only guests that alcohol has created to find the woman he has been searching for.

People and Punctuation

Although young people have been consistently neglecting to use punctuation especially when texting or online, the rules of formal punctuation must remain intact. Some believe that punctuation should be and is evolving as people and technology evolve. The rules remain the same; people have just decided not to use them. Elizabeth Austen challenges the necessity of rules for punctuation in 'On Punctuation" saying she would prefer to pick and choose which one she to adhere to: "not for me the dogma of the period" (1). Changing the rules of punctuation would result in chaos. Poetry is considered an example of how chaos is not the result of rule-free punctuation; however, poetry is often puzzling and ambiguous. Poetry is not used for all forms of writing and could never be used for every written work. Lewis Thomas, a scientist, in his commentary on punctuation, "Notes on Punctuation," writes what could be a grammar textbook demoing a punctuation mark in each paragraph. In a society in which time is increasingly valuable, people cannot waste time deciphering true meaning or dealing with a misunderstanding. Also, a misunderstanding could be dangerous or harmful like in medical and legal practice. It only takes one person that did not get the MEMO about a rule change to create a problem. Punctuation controls the flow of words like a traffic light controls cars, and if one person forgot that the green light now means stop, everyone loses. Punctuation is not evolving with our changing society, and if it ever does, numerous drawbacks will be realized.

StylisticSkillWithSpacing

Toni Morrison is an extremely stylistic writer. She uses punctuation, sentence structure, and even spacing to enhance her writing in The Bluest Eye. For example, in her introduction Morrison alludes to the children's book "Dick and Jane." She begins with the characteristic very simple sentence structure and punctuation; then, she repeats the same passage without any punctuation just spaces. Finally, she repeats the passage a third time the same as the previous one just without any spaces: "seefatherheisbigandstrongfatherwillyouplaywithjane"(Morrison). The simplicity of the content allows the structure to shine through as a pertinent aspect. With each repetition of the initial passage, the tone gets more frantic and hurried. Also, the lack of space adds a trapped feeling because there is no space. The experience of the introduction acts as a microcosm of the general chapter formats: beginning slowly then developing in intensity often to something shocking. This use of space is repeated throughout the book like when Pecola is being picked on by the boys: "Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked" (Morrison 65). The spacing around "black" brings attention to the word as one of the subjects, and the lack of space to describe Pecola's dad makes the words into a unit to be the other subject of the chant. In addition, the lack of spacing mimics the way Pecola is trapped within the circle of boys and cannot escape their words. Morrison's stylistic skill elevates her writing above judgement solely based on the plot.

Halloween and Pauline

This year I continued my tradition of carving an intricate pumpkin for Halloween. It takes a while and is usually pretty labor intensive. This year it took about two hours and I really only got to enjoy it for the 10 minutes before we took it outside. (I couldn't enjoy it outside because it was too cold.) Though the comparison is arguable, the situation is similar to that of Pauline in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. She must endure a substantial amount of adversity with few moments of satisfaction to remain with Cholly: "He sure ain't give me much of a life...Only thing I miss sometimes is that rainbow"(Morrison 129-131). Her "rainbow," as much of a sexual innuendo as it is, gives her satisfaction. To me, the look of the pumpkin and knowledge that I made it are worth the effort. To Pauline, the small satisfaction she gets and her self-declaration as a martyr convince her that the relationship she has with Cholly is worthwhile. Though it may seem unthinkable that those motives could be worth all of the fighting, poverty, and emotional pain, the use of Pauline's viewpoint reveals her reasoning. Her past of isolation and the fantasies she had as a teen make her current life with Cholly preferable to the inconsistencies of the rest of the world. Despite the taxing nature of her relationship, Pauline remains with Cholly because of her unique mindset.

No, this is not from the Internet.

Violence

Children are very impressionable. Emily Prager exaggerates saying that she never married because she couldn't find "a man who looks as good in clam diggers as Ken" (4). Though it is a hyperbole, exaggerations contain a shred of truth. Prager also suggests that the apparently harmless Barbie dolls that girls across the country play with daily could be forcing sexuality into the lives of women of all ages. That really seems to only be a problem for women; however, there may be some influences on boys that create issues as well. The primary activity for action figures is fighting. Take transformers for example. In addition to action figures, many children's cartoons are violence based like Tom and Jerry or Looney Toons. Richard E. Goranson from York University Toronto, Ontario states,"observed violence serves to facilitate the expression of aggression" (sciencedirect.com). The desensitization to violence through such common presentation of it could make it a medium for expression to release stress and anger. It is confusing to me how such complex concepts like sexuality and violence could be presented to children so consistently with such a false depiction of the consequences. The consequences may be left out for sake of censorship, but only half of each concept is represented. Without a full understanding of these concepts children are not given much of a chance to make responsible choices regarding them.

The Othering: Opressors and Opressed

The distancing of a group or individual from society by the members empowered through majority not only results in the degradation of the outcast(s) through the shunning, it also defiles the psyche those in power through their act. This remains valid so long as the distancing is complete and of relative permanence. The claim may be wordy but it is necessary to convey the entire situation. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is shunned by the Puritans through a scarlet "A" on her chest. She loses passion and her identity over seven years; however, when she meets with her love for the first time since she is shunned: "There played around her mouth and beamed out of her eyes a radiant and tender smile" (Hawthorne 199). She is rejuvenated through a gap in her rejection. The Puritans lose self-awareness of their own faults. Also, Harriet Edwards notes in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Dr. Flint lacks capability of love through the his mindset on slaves and the existence of slavery," For example, he plans on using Harriet's children to break her spirit. Instead, he has to substitute with lust for Harriet. Harriet while a slave is disheartened and must make sacrifices defying her happiness with no good reason, but when she escapes, she gains determination and perseverance. Longstanding and complete oppression is an activity with no winners.

Grammer Regression or Maybe Advancement

Grammar is not something that applies to everyday speech, yet it is essential in formal writing. In the formal setting of school, written English is taught too have a right usage and wrong usage. On the contrary, the social setting of spoken English can foster developments of varied English because of the sheer amount of people that are involved. For example, grammatically, a singular pronoun or possessive should follow the indefinite pronoun "everyone," but in speech the possessive "their" is the only way to go. This difference could be viewed as grammatical regression of society or as a potential solution to a problem. Jane Mairs, the director of English Language Learning Publishing at Merriam-Websters Incorporated, explains why the written version is different that the spoken version: "[singular pronouns and possessives] can end up sounding awkward." The use of "his" or "her" to define everyone creates a problem because everyone could include both males and females. Picking a pronoun could result in insult and the use of "his or her" is wordy and awkward. Though grammatically incorrect, "their" is gender-neutral and is a single word. To me, it would make sense to accept this change and others like it into the written language. Both versions could be considered correct and you could choose that which you preferred. It's not regression; it's a solution.
 

The Forest

In our society, camping and "the woods" have taken on contradicting meanings. Though camping is an enjoyable to experience the outdoors, it is viewed by some as a frugal vacation. Camping a vacation for the lower class, or it is the poor man's vacation. Also, the forest is a place for illicit and malicious activities in literature as well as in real life. For example, Mistress Hibbins is known to take trips into the forest and invites Hester to go with her to the "merry company in the forest" to meet "the Black Man" (Hawthorne 113). Despite these negative views, camping and the forest also have a different side. Camping can become very expensive for example when you get an RV or rent a site and consider all of the equipment necessary to execute such an excursion like a bonfire pit, a grill, cooking utensils, and a tent to name a few. Then, in addition to being the scene of illicit activity, the forest is a place of beauty. We pay taxes to protect and keep national forests like the national parks protecting the redwood forests in California. Both camping and the forest take on different meanings as the context around them requires. Camping is economical yet a hefty investment and the forest both a beautiful and ominous location.

Materialism

Some would say that the United States with its combination of productivity and wastefulness has a problem with materialism. For example, the iPhone 6 launched September 19th and people just had to have it even though their current phone was capable of all the basic operations of a phone and probably more. This can be interpreted as wastefulness and materialism-a word that has taken on a negative connotation and is used by those looking down on the common American consumer. Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines materialism as, "a way of thinking that gives too much importance to material possessions rather than to [spiritual] or [intellectual] things." In my opinion, the interpretation of the iPhone situation as materialism could not be further from the truth. Yes, a material object is being purchased with hard earned currency, BUT the person is taking joy from their possession of the object. They are improving their spiritual health with some joy in an object even if it is only temporary. When that enjoyment wears off, they will just move on to the next new and exciting item, and in our current society, there is never a shortage of new and exciting products. Also, the satisfaction of materialistic desires allows the mind to focus on other things or maybe an intellectual task. Thus, describing the situation as materialistic is paradoxical. There is a potential for ill effects from excessive materialism, but as it is now, the underlying materialism in society is in no way a problem.

African-American Arrests

"Why do all black people run fast? Because all the slow ones are in jail" (racist-jokes.info). The joke, which I have heard several times, illustrates the stereotypical racial profiling of African-Americans as criminals. Some people feel this is true because they are from an older society in which that was the common view. Others would say they do not agree with the stereotype, yet act as though they do when initial judgements are made. The FBI reported that in 2012 only 28.1% of arrests made were of African-Americans. On the other hand, whites were responsible for  69.3% of arrests. Despite the statistics, racist jokes continue to be told. The fact that these jokes are found funny may be responsible for the racial profiling when generalizations must be made. The racially insensitive humor ingrains the stereotypes into culture; culture is often drawn on when situations call for snap judgements of people. In essence the jokes are partly responsible for the racism that is discreetly around in society. Sadly, it does not stop there. There is racist material in music and television as well. It is hard to prevent these racist ideas from affecting how people profile each other at first glance. Though racism has been addressed officially, it has not been addressed to the same degree socially.

The Importance of "Good-Bye"

In other countries business is the last thing discussed. In the U.S., business is something to be gotten out of the way, and after business is finished up the meeting is over. Something as simple as saying "good-bye" is thought to be a waste of breath. In Hispanic cultures before any business can be discussed there must be some small talk and "[t]his small talk is important to building trust" (Salas). As American big business has developed, the concept of personal relations has become somewhat lacking with money being the chief concern and the rest is irrelevant until it affects the finances. There is an art to small talk in order to gain positive business relations which adds to the irony behind the financially oriented American business conversations. Take for example colleagues. They may not even have the slightest awareness of what is going on in each other's lives but would become extremely interested if one were to get a slight pay raise or some time off. Though the extra time or money could be completely justified by unique circumstances the only thing that is pertinent nowadays is the fact that one employee got it and others did not. Maybe it's time some businesses took a corporate work day and turned it into a social.

Criminal negligence: Lack of small talk