Author: SarahZ

Uncle Willy is an old man with an eagerness for fun. Though he is already sixty years old, Uncle Willy is still very much a child. A drug addict, he escapes the closed-minded society of his small town by getting high. Even in his death, he keeps his childlike innocence, maintaining his joy and simplicity.

Uncle Willy is still like a young child. He hides himself in his store, refusing any customers except for country people and African Americans. His friends and companions are the little boys who crowd in his store after baseball games. Instead of the men’s Bible class, Uncle Willy opts to attend Sunday school with his friends. In fact, when Rev. Schultz takes Uncle Willy to the adult Bible class, the narrator (one of the boys) notes that he seems to be asking for help and seems “littler than ever.” The boys identify with him, as they can feel something in him similar to them. Uncle Willy treats the adult world like an enemy, ready to choke him with their rules and warnings. Rather, he would like to remain free; he takes drugs, he tells the boys, because he “likes it.”

The crusaders who try to “save” Uncle Willy never succeed in crushing his spirit. After his first rehab, he seems dead, but on closer notice, his eyes are “anything in the world except dead.” Like a child clutching their favorite toy, Uncle Willy clenches on to his freedom. He gleefully defies Mrs. Merridew’s Christianity, tricking his sister into buying him a car to visit brothels on weekends. He returns each Monday “insensible on the back seat.” Rather than accepting Mrs. Merridew’s world where he is reborn into society, Uncle Willy promptly adopts a new sin, alcoholism.

Of course, the opposition only gets stronger. But Uncle Willy still does not cooperate, buying himself a plane to escape. Instead of dying in the asylum, he will exit the stage his own way. The narrator knows that it will be “Uncle Willy’s last go-round” and that he’s “against all the old terrified and timid clinging to dull and rule-ridden breathing.” Uncle Willie wishes to fly to California, where he can escape the confines of adult society and life freely. Even in his death, he has an adventurous and free spirit.

To the narrator, and all the other children, Uncle Willie is the “finest man…because he had had fun all his life in spite of what (the adults) had tried to do to him or with him.” Uncle Willy’s story is the story of every child: the battle between childish innocence and the adult world. Somehow, Uncle Willy died a child, escaping the confines of the rules and traditions that smother his spirit and destroy his innocence.

Teachers are important figures in society, molding their pupils’ lives for the better or the worse. Teachers like Miss Wilson, though allowing them to have fun, nudge their students down the path of ignorance and delinquency. On the other hand, stricter teachers like Miss Awful often have their students’ best interests in mind and truly wish the best for their pupils. It can seem like going through hell and back to study under a strict teacher, but they should still be respected.

Miss Wilson has the love of her entire class, but she’d be better off as a babysitter than a teacher. Under her tutelage, her students have learned to fool around all day, neglecting all their work from spelling to chores. Despite already being in third grade, Roger still spells “floor” as “f-l-o-r” and “castle” as “k-a-z-l.” He “wishes to remain a child at play.” As Elizabeth says, school isn’t supposed to be a “fun fest,” but it is a place to learn.

Under Miss Orville, termed by her students as Miss Awful, the previously rowdy group form perfectly straight lines, marching with “military precision.” But, the third grade class doesn’t appreciate her at all. They aren’t at all used to their substitute teacher’s strict teaching, and they curse at the loathsome figure behind her back. As a goodbye gift, the students even rip off all the “dopey leaves” of the “dopey old plant” Miss Orville dotes on.

No matter how much her students detest her, Miss Orville still works hard to improve them, in her own way. Perhaps she doesn’t know any other way to keep charge of such a boisterous class. But she wants her students to be civilized, and only “to be educated is to be civilized.” Miss Orville truly wants her pupils to mature, and hopes that she helps at least one of them to grow even just a “fraction of an inch.” In fact, under Miss Orville’s tutelage, Roger has grown more than a fraction of an inch. Rather than watching television or playing with toys, he’d rather hole himself in his room to do over his homework “for the ninety-eighth time.” But more than merely improving on spelling, Roger has learned how to be more compassionate. He objects to hurting Miss Orville when the rest of his class were racking their brains to think of ways to “get even” with her. And he’s the only one who stays behind after the school bell rings, hoping to show Miss Orville that she had helped him and made a difference.

All teachers teach in different ways. Miss Wilson isn’t a terrible teacher, perhaps some might learn better under her than Miss Orville. Nevertheless, no matter how much a teacher is abhorred, they should still be held in esteem, as it is hard work to educate others. Unlike the students who “ran out” at the close of class, Roger shows Miss Orville he cares by staying behind.

In the kingdom of the semi-barbaric king, justice is served with the unlocking of a door. In a public arena, the guilty is forced to choose between two doors, behind one a tiger, behind the other, a lady. Based solely upon luck, a man is deemed guilty and devoured by a tiger, or free to go, married to a beautiful lady. More than just revealing innocence, or lack thereof, however, this “arena of the king” brings up questions if impartial and fair consequences even exists.

In the king’s arena, justice is impartial; it is regulated by “the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance.” After all, luck isn’t something that can be bribed. Nevertheless, this form of justice isn’t just at all. A criminal worthy of death could easily choose the door to the lady, and a blameless person could just as easily swing open the door barring a hungry tiger from its meal. Despite being unbiased, the consequences in the king’s arena are not justly imparted.

Unlike luck, humans are very vulnerable to bias. In this story, the princess is to pass judgement on her lover. She, being the princess, knows what lies behind the two doors. But there is no way she can be impartial, as she loves the guilty man in question. The princess is in a tight bind, losing if she gestures towards the door containing the tiger, still losing if she points towards the lady. On one hand, she loathes the thought of her lover dying a gruesome death, but on the other, she is filled with jealousy when thinking of him marrying another, hating “the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.” Clearly, the princess also unfit for passing justice, for she has too many emotions and memories tying her to the guilty man.

The king’s arena chooses impartiality over fairness, while the princess is unable to stay unbiased. Both complete disinterest and amorous love jeopardize true justice, leading back to the question if justice can exist. Ultimately, even the author doesn’t pass judgement, instead choosing to leave it in hazy ambiguities.

Walter Mitty, while chauffeuring his wife to her weekly hair appointments, falls into a number of fantasies, always playing the masculine and heroic main character. In these dreams, Walter is a leader, and is admired by others. However, in real life, Walter feels ridiculed by passersby and is governed by his dominating wife. Walter’s fantasies are a sort of paradise he escapes to after experiencing frustrations, and they are largely a result of not being in control of his own life.

Walter’s wife’s continuous nagging and henpecking leads Walter to retreat into his own imagination, where he can play the hero, protecting damsels-in-distress. In fact, Walter imagines himself defending a “lovely, dark haired girl” while a criminal on trial. While Walter’s wife is labelled as unfeminine and a little insensitive, the women who appear in Walter’s fantasies are lovely. They serve as props, allowing Walter to demonstrate his heroics, which he is incapable of in real life.

Walter fantasizes himself to be brave and totally in control. He doesn’t have to listen to his wife, forced to wear his gloves and overshoes. One of his alter egos, Captain Mitty, is shown to be able hold his liquor, being in total control of himself even when drinking. In the courtroom, Walter forges his own path, refusing to hide behind his sling, even if it can save him from a sentence. He is in total control of himself, choosing to disclose the truth.

Walter is very conscious of how others view him. He believes the grin of garagemen is mocking him, and plans to “wear (his) right arm in a sling” to avoid the ‘judgement’ of the garagemen. In real life, most passersby only interact with him to criticize him or deride him, such as the woman who laughed at him for saying “puppy biscuit.” In contrast, Walter often imagines onlookers to marvel at his skills and courage. For example, while he is the commander of a hydroplane, his crew trusts that “The Old Man’ll get (them) through.” This aspect of Walter’s fantasies shows that Walter yearns to be someone who does not fear judgement from others.

Walter’s real life and his dream life aren’t exactly two separate realities, but his imaginings are actually a part of his real life. It is what gives him the willpower and strength to continue, and the heroic figures he imagines himself to be are the heroes he hopes to become. His fantasies are the small part of his life he can control, where he can mold himself into the man he hopes to be. In his imagination, Walter can be a Prince Charming to helpless ladies, where he is the one in control and fearless to any criticism.

Tradition and heritage play a large part in “Everyday Use,” though the characters have vastly different takes on what “tradition” and “heritage really mean. Dee constructs a new heritage for herself, failing to see her new “heritage” is merely an empty shell, holding no real meaning.

Dee shows up, boasting a new, more African name, saying she “couldn’t bear” being named after the people who “oppressed” her. Dee doesn’t realize that there is significance to her name, which was passed down from generation to generation. Meanwhile, her new name is devoid of meaning, much like her “African” dress and jewelry. Dee doesn’t understand her real heritage, so the “heritage” she has built around herself is only a house of cards, not a stable structure filled with bright splashes of tradition.

Dee and her mother have contradictory views on what heritage actually is. Maggie and the mother uses all the items Dee views as objects of “heritage.” Each of the items she takes show signs of wear, such as where “thumbs and fingers had sunk into the wood” in the churn dasher. However, Dee takes these everyday items to be mere decoration, similar to museum exhibits. Just like how exhibits are often trapped under glass cases, these objects are, in a way, detached from Dee. She doesn’t know the history behind them, viewing them as a dead fossil instead of something very much alive.

When Dee leaves her mother and sister, she tells them that they don’t “understand” their heritage. But it is Dee, in her faux African dress, who doesn’t understand the meaning in her culture. Items of family heritage were made to be used, not stared at while on display.

Having grown up using technology on the daily, Gen Z-ers are significantly different from previous generations. Many spend hours on social media apps like TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram. This affinity with technology and social media is a double edged sword. There is a lot of potential to do good, but social media can also be harmful.

Technology enables people to reach out to others. Those who need help only need to post a GoFundMe or a petition, and overnight, it can reach hundreds of thousands of shares and likes. This was especially noticeable during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. Social media users posted hundreds of petitions that could be signed or introduced donation pages for families that were in need of money.

People are nearly always ready to be of assistance, but sometimes, their enthusiastic “help” does more harm than good. Struggling with depression, one social media user posted a call for help. Their post was flooded with replies, some from licensed therapists. However, most were from people with no practical knowledge of treating it. Thankfully, the original poster ended up alright, but who knows what could have happened if they followed the bogus “advice” of a social media user guised as a doctor!

Social media can also shed light on events, for example, mistreatment of people. This is seen especially clearly on Kpop Twitter. In Kpop, companies are extremely strict, and there are occasions where members in a single group are subject to bullying, either by another member or by higher-ups. Recently, this is what happened to Kpop group AOA. Former member Mina came out on her Instagram about another member bullying her and pushing her to the brink of suicide. Fans of the group quickly deciphered the bully to be the leader of the group, Jimin. Justice was eventually served, with Jimin leaving the group, and fans flooding Mina’s instagram with nice comments and DMs.

Social media users are especially prone to having “herd mindset,” where they follow the group mindlessly. This has resulted in the “cancellation” of many, oftentimes justified, but sometimes, the same herd goes back and has to apologize for their mistaken actions. Hand in hand with cancelling people is doxxing people. Famous for doxxing, which means to expose private information, is Gen Z celebrity Shai Jackson. Their actions certainly are not condoned, but in sounding the alarm bell on these people, who are primarily minors, Jackson leads a frenzy of people to cancel others. If the wrong person has been accused, even the most drastic measures won’t be able to wipe off the blot on their records.

Gen Z-ers have to be able to utilize the good of social media, whilst minimizing the downsides. Social media can allow people to reach out to a wider audience, shedding light on important matters. However, social media can also do more harm than good, whether it is by users offering false advice, or encouraging herd mindset. However, those in this generation are already starting large movements with social media, causing waves in national, even international politics.

Mike is eager to grow up. In fact, although he is only seventeen, he grows a mustache, though his mother tells him he has “no business wearing” it. The mustache makes Mike seem older, which may be why he wants to keep it. Despite his desire to seem more like an adult, however, Mike still displays several signs of childishness. But ultimately, he learns that he shouldn’t be so anxious to become an adult.

Mike, yearning to be seen as a grown up, likes his older sister’s boyfriend because he “doesn’t treat (Mike) as Annie’s kid brother.” However, Mike, at first, is immature even though he tries to maintain a grown up appearance. He procrastinates, “build(ing) a life on postponement.” Also, he agrees to see his grandmother as a sort of duty call, but also just to drive his father’s car over the speed limit, having “an ambition to see the speedometer hit seventy-five,” though he had previously promised to drive carefully.

During his visit with his grandmother, Mike realizes that he isn’t prepared to be an adult yet. When she mistakes his identity, Mike doesn’t know if he should play along or tell his grandmother that he isn’t her husband, but her grandson. Mike becomes overwhelmed, and he wants “to get of there.”

Nevertheless, the visit allows Mike to mature and shed his shell of childishness. He realizes that the people he know are real people, they are “somebody.” They “exist outside of their relationship,” and have other sides that may not have been shown. Though this revelation scares Mike at first, it also allows him to really grow up. While realizing that it’s okay to stay a child for longer, Mike also becomes more aware and matures in his understanding of himself and others.

In a fateful trip to the prehistoric era, Eckel learns — a little too late — that even the tiniest alteration to history has drastic effects, changing the course of history. Small actions, such as stepping on and killing a delicate butterfly, can have disastrous, perhaps even deadly, repercussions. These extreme effects show that an action can never be separated from its respective consequence.

Ray Bradbury blurs the line between past, present, and future with the use of a time machine. Of course, according to quantum theory, time, as we know it, does not exist. What is currently regarded as an important rubric determining train times and class schedules is just a “social construct,” according to several scientists. Time actually is just a progression towards chaos, which correlates strongly with the butterfly effect. As Travis tells Eckel, “A little error here would multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion.” A simple action done in the past, such as crushing a butterfly underfoot, gets amplified as “time” moves towards chaos.

More than just the butterfly effect, however, Bradbury is ultimately warning his readers that every event will have a consequence, no matter how mundane. Time Safari Inc. clearly didn’t truly understand this principle. Though the time traveling company painstakingly set up all sorts of technologies to minimize any trace of their presence in the past, and they warned all potential clients of the danger, they still overestimated their ability to control all events. In reality, humans can’t possibly govern the flow of time and their effects on reality. Travis admits that “Maybe Time can’t be changed by us,” further proving how little humans know about time traveling. This uncertainty shows that the time travelers are foolhardy and thoughtless, dabbling in something they don’t understand. This entire scenario is a paradox: Time Safari Inc., while warning about the dangers of time traveling and changing the past, are overconfident of their ability to protect the past from any alterations.

When Eckel tramps off the path, Travis is too preoccupied with the t. rex to care. By the time the that they realize what has happened, it is already too late. Nothing can bring back the dead butterfly; Deutscher is the president now, not Keith. Using technology without fully understanding it has disastrous results, serving only to inflate human arrogance. Eckel, on realizing the disastrous effects of his mistake, asks, “Can’t we start over?” showing he still doesn’t grasp that his actions will have consequences. The damage has already been done, and there’s no way to go back.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific composer and pianist in the classical era. Although he died at the relatively young age of thirty-five, he composed an immense amount of musical works — more than six hundred. To this day, both fledging musicians and professionals spend hours practicing and performing his compositions.

Mozart was extremely famous from a very young age, unlike other composers such as Bach and Schubert who only achieved fame after their deaths. It is well known that Mozart was buried in commoner’s grave, and few people attended his funeral, but this isn’t an accurate representation of his fame. Then, only the nobility had the luxury of being buried in marked graves. Even at his death, Mozart was regarded as one of the best composers of the time. In fact, his memorial services and concerts were packed.

Mozart, a musical prodigy, churned out beautiful compositions. His melodies are sublime, towering over those of his contemporaries, perhaps because he was constantly experimenting with new forms and sounds. Mozart’s works seem so effortless and are quite seamless, yet they are able to contain many different emotions. His concertos, considered some of his best work, are especially imaginative and original. Many people say listening to his compositions often is an “otherworldly experience.”

But Mozart’s legacy can not only be measured with his compositions. He was also of great influence to later generations. Many famous composers, most notably, Beethoven, were affected by his works, similar to how Mozart himself was influenced by Bach. Often breaking new ground, Mozart’s unique sound greatly influenced the development of the genres he composed in.

At a first glance, the townspeople in A Rose for Emily do not seem to have any capacity for compassion. When Emily buys arsenic, they say ” ‘She will kill herself,’ ” remarking that it “would be (for) the best.” The townspeople also often gossip about her. Many attend her funeral out of “curiosity to see the inside of house,” though they hide it under a guise of respect.

When it becomes clear that Emily is insane, it is easier to pity her. In fact, she is exempted from taxes through a neatly packaged lie in a move of generosity by Colonel Sartoris, the mayor at that time. Nevertheless, pity isn’t always the same as compassion, especially in this case. If Emily had been allowed outside her house to work, she may not have gone batty, instead becoming a normal member of society. Though Colonel Sartoris certainly meant well, his action, in effect, was keeping Emily down instead of helping her.

One of the few times the townspeople truly felt compassion for Emily was after her father’s death. The narrator writes, “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.” However, other than empathizing with Emily, they did nothing. That’s not to say that people should immediately act whenever they feel compassion for somebody, but if Emily had been exposed to the townspeople’s feelings of genuine sympathy, she might have started living a drastically different life.

Faulkner isn’t dismissing or condemning Emily’s morbid actions in any way. However, he is calling for understanding of Emily — every part of her, including the murderous lunatic and the isolated captive. True compassion is forgiveness of even the worst crimes, and allowing room for growth. It is in this way that the town failed Emily. Instead of forcing the ideals of Antebellum South on her and watching her from “behind jalousies,” they should have stood behind her in facing her demons and untangling her life.