Final blog post for Maus

Functionalist:

The functionalists believe that everything that happens in society needs to be in a certain order for society to thrive and function properly. Thinking this way in relation to The Holocaust probably means they would lean more towards the nazi's point of view. Functionalists during this time (that were not Jewish) would believe that Jewish people were lesser and they had to be wiped out for Germany to function properly, and return to its former glory. I feel that the amount of Jewish functionalists would be quite rare considering they were the ones effected by this type of thinking. For example, a functionalist could say men should have a job, and women should cook and clean. The functionalist here would most likely be the man, since the negatively effected group would be the women. 

P.S.

Just to clear up any misconception, I am not saying all functionalists hold bigoted views on society, but, during this time period, and especially in this country, they probably would have if they weren't Jewish. 

Conflict:

Conflict theorists believe that society is constantly changing due to people's constant want to do more than the last thing. In other words, we are in eternal conflict. Similar to the functionalist's possible views during this time, conflict theorists might say that the nazi's tried to assassinate the Jewish population because they were trying to "improve" Germany. Conflict theorists who were Jewish, or Germans that were against the nazis may think in a conflict perspective and say that the holocaust happened to make Jewish people stronger as a people, and to make other Germans realize how truly horrible Hitler was, so that this may never happen again.     

Symbolic Interactionist: 

Believing that people progress through interaction with one another, symbolic interactionist may believe in something that could cross paths with the conflict theorists. When I said that some conflict theorists could argue on the side of the Jewish people and say that the holocaust may have made Jewish people stronger, I think this is what symbolic interactionists could argue as well. The interactions between the Jewish people and the nazis were less than pleasant. This being the case, a few years from then it would become a public matter. When people finally found out what was happening, society has become a bit stricter when intolerance- related problems come up.  

Postmodernist:

Postmodernism is quite difficult to actually define since it usually refers to the arts. In relation to the people of Germany, the Jewish population would probably be the overwhelming majority to agree with is perspective. Postmodernist contradict modern theories and thoughts. Postmodernist would typically be more content with the perspective Maus was written in, since it depicts the tale of a Jewish man and his fight for freedom through the holocaust. Postmodernists believe in the freedom and equality for anyone and everyone. 

Jewish stereotyping and Spiegelman's father

1. On a few occasions in the book, Spiegelman writes about his concern about representing his father as a Jewish stereotype. What characteristics does his father have that seem to match up with these stereotypes, and what events in his life might have caused him to behave in this way?

I remember there being a few examples of Jewish stereotyping in Maus. The one that comes to mind though is the stereotype of Jews being very greedy. Yet, I found that Speigelman did a good job of not applying these stereotypes to his dad or any of the other characters. If he did, I think most people would find it to be a stereotype, but, in reality, everyone, no matter what ethnicity they may be would be greedy if they had to go through something like the holocaust. When people are out to get you, and eventually, everything comes down to the situation where it is either your life, or the other persons. Most people would try to save themselves before they decide to take the bullet for another person. In the holocaust, everyone would fear death, because death wasn't a quick and painless sort of thing, it was slow and painful. They were either tortured in concentration camps, starved, or just shot for no reason. 

The challenges in drawing another person's story.

The challenges one could face while drawing out someone's story are mainly linked to the satisfaction of the person or people who are being drawn. I am an artist, and I can honestly say that there is no worse a feeling than delivering a portrait to someone that has asked for one, and they are embarrassed, disgusted, or ashamed of it. That is, after all, only an example of a portrait, not a full book/story. When you are drawing a graphic novel, you begin with the design of the characters. After the character sketches have been complete, you then need to make sure that the character is recognizable in each comic block or square. Facial expression and clothing is also crucial. If you are drawing someone you know or someone you have been in contact with, you need to express their personality through their appearance. A kind and good  person may wear white and have upward-slanted eyebrows to show their meek personality. A mean or cruel person usually is seen in black or a dark shade of any other color. If they aren't wearing elaborate black robes and capes, their eyebrows will go downward showing their anger and wickedness. In the book Maus, Art Spiegelman's drawings are not very realistic, they are more cartoonish because it is easier to visualize personification through a cartoon than any other medium. People visualize themselves as something they are not, that is why it is difficult to draw self portraits because they usually end up not looking like the artist who drew it. Because of this, I have always thought of art as a form of show business. Art is constantly critiqued and reviewed by the public. Graphic novels have become quite popular now, and if someone has their own visual of a character in a book or a real person, they would expect the images in the graphic to fully visualize that person. If they don't get the same emotion or visual while reading the graphic novel, they won't like it as much.  

Final Alchemist post- The mysteries of the "language of life" and the "language of the desert"

The "language of the desert" and "the language of life". These two topics have been constantly addresses in The Alchemist. Santiago learned about these languages through the Alchemist he met. The only people in the book that (seemingly) understood this mysterious language from the beginning aren't people at all. On page 121, Santiago mentions that his "horse knows the language of life". The boys horse and the Alchemist's hawks have been examples of "the language of the world" for the boy and the Alchemist. These animals seem to have been associated with this language, as if that is how animals are communicating with their squeaks, squawks, and growls. When the Alchemist first appeared in the book, he immediately stuck out (to me) as some sort of mystical being. Not just by his title, but by his entire image. The long white cloak, a hawk on his shoulder, and his interaction with the cobra shows the reader that he has been in close contact with animals before. Since he has spent however many years he has with these creatures, he should be well educated on their ways of life. This also raises another question/theory. Since the alchemist has spent such a long time with the animals, he could have learned something from them. Could the animals be the Alchemist's toutor on the "language of life" and the "language of the desert"?

Do I believe that "When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it."?

1. On page 24, the king of Salem tells Santiago, "When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it." Do you believe that this is true? Why or why not?

This statement is very optimistic. It shows the earth's good side and not the rest. To me, this statement translates to: when you want something, it will, most likely, come true. What I mean by this is that this statement is both true and false. First of all, when you want something, you need to work for it. Maybe, this is different in a world where magic and reality are intermingled like the one The Alchemist is set in. In the real world, this is not always the case. When you work for something, and you try your absolute hardest to achieve it, there will always be something fighting against you to prevent you from reaching that goal. It's even been taught in books and stories that are completle fantasy. All characters in magical- fiction based books have to fight some sort of opposing force to get what they have been trying to get, the entire time. It isn't always a bad thing though. By having that small delay in receiving what you desperately want, makes you want it all the more. The waiting enhances our want for that thing, it makes us stronger.  Now, sometimes, things may seem like they are simply being handed to you. This is, however, extremely rare for people who live in a non- fictional universe. If work never existed, I think miracles, and wishes always coming true with 100% costomer satisfaction would be quite common on planet earth. In the real world, you would have to have a bit of both self motivation, and help. If you had self motivation, and no help, bigger wishes like Santiago's wish to travel, would have a larger chance of failing than working out. If he hadn't come across the old man who motivated him to continue traveling, he would have given up and have been stuck tending to a flock of sheep. If you had to simply pick between self motivation and help, then, you would have a harder time achieving your goal. If things just worked out immediately, that's great, but that sort of stuff doesn't exist in the real world. The true part of The King of Salem's saying it that, yes, the universe "conspires to help you", but, nothing would be complete without the wisher doing at least half of the work it takes to achieve their wish.  

The Alchemist: What do Santiago's sheep symbolize?

On page 9, reread the passage that begins, "The only things that concerned the sheep were the food and water," and ends with, "They trust me, and they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment." Do you think that the sheep symbolize something? If so, what? 

Santiago has not spent a significant amount of time with actual people. Since this is the case, he feels like he has no real power or place with civilization. When he said " they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts..." he was saying they have been living one way for such a long time, that they have forgotten to do things for themselves. This symbolizes Santiago's want to live in a place where there are people like him, to not roam all over and not stay in one place. He has been living by that rule for so long, that his thoughts and actions follow that rule, making him incapable of doing anything he wants to do that is different from sheepherding. Also, he is feeling powerless and contemplates slaughtering the sheep at this time. This would make him feel, and know that he has some sort of control over something.  

What I hope to gain from ELA this year

I hope to improve my grammar when writing. Last year, I found that I tangled all of the things I learned about punctuation into one. This obviously resulted in a paper that took points away from me, due to the constant grammar errors that needed fixing. This year, I wish to memorize most, if not all, of the different types of punctuation that kept me from impressing not only the teacher, but myself as well.