smART The Return of the Native

Home on the Heath

Thomas Hardy wrote the novel The Return of the Native that not only characterizes the people in the story, but also the Heath in which the story takes place. Throughout the novel, the rough stretch of land plays a crucial role in defining the attitudes of the characters as well as the culture and assisting critical events within the plot. The characters may think of themselves and the heath in a civilized manner, but the heath and characters each portray a wild side -connecting the two ideas. 

Damon Wildeve and Eustacia Vye are drowned during a storm that took place in the heath, and Mrs. Yeobright died of exposure due to the condition of the heath. 

Along with the literal effects of the heath, it is understated that the characters are each somewhat defined by their homeland because of the decisions that are concluded because of their attatchment to Egdon Heath. 

Clym Yeobright was attatched to the heath and wanted to pursue his dreams by building a school and helping others in Egdon Heath because it was his home. Eustacia on the other hand despised the heath and wanted nothing more than to become successful elsewhere because she felt it was holding her back. 

I really suggest reading The Return of the Native because of the critical thinking it inspires, and the topics I have discussed are few of multiple thinking points. 

smART India needs to take care of their problems

Enough is Enough

The Asian Centre for Human Rights reported that child rape cases increased from 2,113 cases in 2001 to 7,112 in 2011 in India. Not only has the rate gone up, but police officers have been known to bribe the victims to keep their assault a secret. Since December they have attempted to strengthen the laws against this rape, but why has it taken so long? An article on CNN portrayed that, "On a given week, sexual violence appears daily in the national newspapers:

a 16-year-old allegedly raped by her father, 

a landlord convicted of raping a tenant, 

a rickshaw-puller caught raping his 10-year-old daughter, 

a 19-year-old boy raping a 12-year-old mentally disabled girl, 

a 25-year-old raping his cousin, 

and a man throwing acid on his wife's private parts."

If the crime in this area has been skyrocketing -and bribed to remain hidden by enforcement- since 2001 they should have been taking care of this problem a lot sooner than in December. 

Their attempts to decrease the rape issue were introduced by the president and include the death penalty for repeat offenders, along with imprisonment for acid attacks, human trafficking and stalking. The "stricter law" also punishes public servants, such as a police officer, who "knowingly disobeys" the laws required for an investigation. Along with these apparently stern laws, an agreement has been made to expand the amount of women working for the police department. 

I personally don't think that these laws are strict enough to protect what has been happening to the victims in India. Obviously there is a deeper problem within the public that needs to be solved so that the citizens in India are acquired with morals that keep them from taking part in such tragic experiences. After all, enough is enough. 

smART Margaret Thatcher

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become the Prime Minister for Britain and recently died at the age of 87 because of a stroke. For some people her death was a loss while others participated in a celebration of her death -dedicating the song from the Wizard of Oz to her passing.  

A vast majority of the citizens in Britain thought that Margaret Thatcher created policies leading toward inequality  and  blamed her for polarizing the country. Because of this hatred they wanted nothing more than to publicize the song Ding Dong the Witch is Dead over the radio. 

Nigel Farage, the head of the right-wing libertarian party, UK Independence argues, "Much as I hate it, I think that if you ban a record, you make a huge, huge mistake. If you suppress things, then you make them popular. So play the bloody thing. If you ban it, it will be number one for weeks."

Subsiding the fact that Thatchers family is still in a great deal of mourning, if the BBC radio decides to ban the song it will be a longer mourning period for them to deal with because of the outburst it will cause. Thatchers supporter Toby young stated, "Make no mistake, if the BBC does ban  Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, those of us who believe in the principles Margaret Thatcher stood for will be the losers in the long run."

smART Notre Dame de Paris

Hunchback's All Around

Victor Hugo wrote about several characters that portray the idea of entrapment and otherness throughout the novel, Notre Dame de Paris. Quasimodo exemplified entrapment when Frollo and him attacked La Esmeralda. Frollo ran off leaving Quasimodo confused and set up for consequences and humiliation. Since he was deaf and ugly -otherness that caused people to hate him for no reason- he was trapped and forced to do what Frollo ordered because Quasimodo was oblivious to any information Frollo (his master) didn't teach him.

In a sense, Frollo dealt with entrapment because of the beauty of La Esmeralda and wouldn't have committed such crimes and black magic if he weren't so struck in awe by her appearance.

Quasimodo also depicted entrapment when he killed and harmed the vagabonds at the time La Esmeralda was in sanctuary. He committed these particular crimes only to protect the woman he loved, and dealt with emotional and physical entrapment.

Another situation displaying otherness and entrapment took place between La Esmeralda and the character, Gringoire. He was an unsuccessful philosopher and play-writer who was nearly sentenced to death, but was saved by La Esmeralda after she agreed to marry him for 4 years. Ironically, later on in the novel Pierre Gringoire joined the vagabonds and Frollo against La Esmeralda.

The character of Sister Gudule also displays a sense of otherness with the situation between her and La Esmeralda. Gudule despised gypsy's for the longest time because she was under the impression that her daughter was stolen and eaten by gypsy's. At the end of the novel when La Esmeralda was left with Gudule because Frollo thought nobody could hate La Esmeralda as much as her, the girls discovered that they were mother and daughter -creating a perfect twist to the novel.

smART An Ideal Husband

Old Script, New Favorite Movie

An Ideal Husband begins by introducing a well respected Victorian couple, Sir Robert and Lady Gertrude Chiltern. Even though the couple portrays success and happiness and is known for the highest principles, conflict is introduced by a character with the name of Mrs. Cheveley.

Sir Robert has been hiding a secret from not only the socialites, but his wife too. Mrs Cheveley -knowing his secret- decides to blackmail Sir Robert and demands an investment from him to keep her from telling others about how he became rich by selling state secrets as a young man. It is undetermined whether Mrs. Cheveley is blackmailing him because of the desire for money, or the fact that her and Lady Gertrude have always despised one another -and destroying Sir Robert will destroy Lady Gertrude in Mrs. Cheveley's favor.

Sir Robert is stuck between protecting his reputation and protecting his relationship. If he doesn't pay Mrs. Cheveley his secret will be revealed, but if he pays her Lady Gertrude will no longer continue their lives as a couple.

Lord Goring -a friend of the Chilterns- attempts to help the situation only to discover that he is now accused by Sir Robert for being a part of the blackmail with Mrs. Cheveley. In the midst of trying to manipulate Mrs. Cheveley, Lord Goring forgets about an event he had planned with Sir Roberts sister, Mabel, turning each character against him even though he was acting out of a selfless mannerism.

Sir Robert gave a speech to his fellow politicians without knowing that the evidence leading to his blackmail has been destroyed (thanks to Lord Goring). The speech was successful to his favor and he was offered a promotion by Lord Goring's father. Sir Robert denied the opportunity in order to maintain the relationship he has with Lady Gertrude and she decided to allow him to make the choices in which he is happy because she knows how much he loves her.

After Sir Robert and Lady Gertrude have reconciled, Sir Robert finally gives permission for Lord Goring to marry his sister Mabel. Once the truth was revealed -about the assistance Lord Goring contributed to the success of the Chilterns- it was only appropriate that Sir Robert gave his permission for the two to be wed.

Oscar Wilde created a scandalous plot that reveals an inspiring story taking place in London during the Victorian age. The actors in the film fulfilled a fantastic performance that keeps the audience entertained even though the script was written over a hundred years ago.

smART 17 Girls

Their Own Rebellion

Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin wrote and directed a foreign film titled 17 Girls which depicted a sensation of teenage rebellion, and is based off of true life events that happened in Gloucester, England. A town that shared strong catholic beliefs and for the teenagers that meant no birth control. The movie started by introducing the character of a beautiful young lady, Camille, who accidentally got pregnant and somehow rallied a group of 16 other girls in her high school to do the same. All of these model-like teenagers were not contemplating the consequences of their decision, but instead taking control of their own bodies -creating something they can call their own.

After Camille got pregnant, her group of girl friends got together and thought, hey! We should all get pregnant so we can move out of our parents house and be free of rules! We could all live together! So the group of girls went out, got drunk, had sex, and all managed to get pregnant at the same time. Soon, girls outside of Camille's friends began to follow the trend which led to 17 high school girls getting knocked up. The rebellion went beyond pregnancy -the girls continued to party, get plastered, and smoked what seemed to be more than just cigarettes. They were taking control of their bodies by doing everything their parents didn't want them to be doing.

Although most of the parents were unaware of the drinking and smoking -they still had a meeting about the outburst of pregnancy within the high school. At the meeting there were three different options brought to the table: expel Camille, suspend the pregnant teenagers, or add condom dispensers to the bathrooms. In my opinion the results of this meeting meant that the girls have won their battle -the parents and faculty truly had no answer to their mischief.

At the end of the film Camille was drinking and driving and unfortunately got into a car accident. The leader of the pack lost what they had all fought for and had a miscarriage. Shortly after the accident Camille and her mother fled the town and never came back. I found this twist at the end ironic for three reasons: Camille was the initial reason for the group of girls rebelling. She lost the one thing she could call her own. The other 16 girls were left behind raising their rebellion.

smART Tao Te Ching

The Way Has No Way

The Tao Te Ching is a series of poems referring to The Way of Taoism. By analyzing the poetry readers can learn the ideology of Taoism while exercising ones critical thinking skills. I personally enjoy this process of dissecting the meanings behind the Tao Te Ching because it gave me an insight into their ideology. There are a total of 81–each acquiring various characteristics of The Way. I will demonstrate how to go about the analytical process with the chapters Accept and Knowing.

Accept

Harmony is only in following the way.

The way is without form or quality,

But expresses all forms and qualities;

The Way is hidden and implicate,

But expresses all of nature;

The Way is unchanging,

But expresses all motion.

Beneath sensation and memory

The Way is the source of all the world.

How can I understand the source of the world?

By accepting.

This particular chapter begins by implying that an individual may only find their inner peace –harmony –by following The Way and uses one extreme to get to the other which is a common idea in Taoism. “The way is without form or quality, But expresses all forms and qualities,” referring to the idea that it is impossible to know the way because it is impossible to describe the way; therefore, the way cannot be taught.  “The way is unchanging, but expresses all motion,” once again uses one extreme to reach the other emphasizing the importance of balance in Taoism and connects with the way of the river. There is no telling where the water will go, all that we know for sure is that it is part of a cycle. Finally, the poem is concluded with the line, “How can I understand the source of the world? By accepting.” This is the Taoists belief of going with the flow of life, and accepting ones’ own way because each individual has their own path in life, and the only way to conquer that way is by accepting.

Knowing

Without taking a step outdoors

You know the whole world;

Without taking a peep out the window

You know the color of the sky.

The more you experience,

The less you know.

The sage wanders without knowing,

Sees without looking,

Accomplishes without acting.

This chapter also uses one extreme to get to the other throughout the entire poem and proves how balance is prominent in Taoism. The title Knowing is also an extreme contradiction not only to the poem, but Taoism in general because the idea that it is impossible to know the way is an important part of the Taoists belief system. The line “Without taking a peep out the window you know the color of the sky,” refers to nature as predictable which is once again contradictory and using one extreme to reach the other because nature is by no means consistently predictable. “The sage wanders without knowing,” meaning he lives by the way but cannot describe or teach the way to others because they must find their own way. “The more you experience, the less you know,” gave me the idea that the way of Taoism is limitless and the wisdom/knowledge is limitless as well; therefore, if one continues to increase their education and think they are highly educated they could be wrong by ignoring the important intelligence –being the way. The way cannot be taught through study, one must find their own way.