Avoiding Consequences (April Blog)

Many hypothetical questions contain the condition that there is no consequence for your actions in the given situation. This is because this condition brings out the real morals of a person out of the context of societal judgement that would lead to consequences that would outweigh any other answer to a hypothetical that is not accepted by society. Thus the simple existence of these hypothetical questions shows that many humans wish they could operate in society without the consequences of society. In Jekyll and Hyde the main character shows a desire to operate in a similar fashion due to his actions in the book. By trying to separate his being into a good and evil it shows that he still wanted to be able to participate in actions frowned upon by society and yet somehow bypass the societal consequences. So in many ways what Jekyll did was something that a lot of people want which is to able to operate outside of the pressure of consequences in some way.

In a similar fashion there are many serial killers that operated almost in the same way that Jekyll did. There are many cases of serial killer that managed to maintain a seemingly normal life while also murdering people in their free time. In a way they also switched identities at will to still protect their normal lives so they could act upon their instincts that cannot exist in a civilized society. In other words Jekyll acted upon very human impulse that many people would not pass on.

Faustian Bargain (March Blog)

Humans have been searching for knowledge since the inception of civilization. This is explained by the inherent curiosity that all humans posses. Truth and knowledge has in many ways always been associated with power. This is logical because knowledge allows us to manipulate and understand the world around us. When Dr.Faustus made his deal with the devil he was simple fulfilling a primal desire that is within all of us. One of the questions brought up during the play's discussion was if Dr. Faustus was inherently evil. Well the part of him that drove him to make that decision was his curiosity. This curiosity is inherent in all of us and is the main reason for the advancement of our civilization. So if we call Dr. Faustus evil because of  his curiosity we are placed in a tough situation since curiosity has proved itself one of our greatest assets. As the years continue it seems as if humans are getting more and more curious and ready for the newest advancements in technology. At what point will civilizations most important instrument of growth become its demise. The question I am trying to ask is when will civilization make its Faustian bargain and turn its back on everything human to gain ultimate power. In my opinion we reached a certain peak that resembled a Faustian bargain when the Cold War was at its height since at that point there was a real threat that humanity would destroy itself. There is a chance that another bargain could present itself with biological weaponry in the near future, but our recent history gives me hope that we will overcome such bumps in the road. In other words the curiosity that drove Dr. Faustus to make his bargain seems to be forever looming in our society.

Self Harm as a Form of Protest (January)

Self-harm is seen as a very taboo thing in modern day society. It is understandable why it is seen in such a bad light considering it  implications, but many works of literature use self-harm as a tool to show the importance of something. Self-harm can be used to do this because of its inherent contradiction to one of our mot primal instincts. Self-preservation. This instinct is found in pretty much every animal. As a result it represents the cowardice of our animal nature. Thus when an author implies are makes one of his/her character practice self-harm what they are actually saying is that the character is leaving their human instincts and simply living in a plane of existence were intellectual or spiritual needs outweigh the physical compulsions of the charterer.

For example, In the novel The Awakening Edna the main character of the novel makes the decision to commit suicide at the end of the novel. This action was due to her realization that she could not exist happily in the society that she lived in due to the role that the culture she lived in wanted her to play. In the context of the novel her action is not of someone who is depressed and mentally ill but instead of a person that has reached a higher level of understanding of her surroundings. As a result the author is stating that she s willing to turn from her primal instincts and make the statement that her intellectual pride is worth more to her than her primal urge for survival.

History of Afghanistan and its Effect on its Culture (February)

In 1,000 Splendid Suns we see a very complicated culture that surrounds the main characters of the novel. The unique culture of Afghanistan  is the byproduct of hundreds of years of invasions by other nations. These waves of invasions produced a resilient population that had the ability to adapt to the situation. Afghanistan's history can be seen in the novel through the budist statues in the mountains and by the western culture inside the cities. It shows how the people of the country are able to adapt. Another example can be seen in the novel when the Soviets invade since there are people that see good in the Soviets and are somewhat willing to accept them. Then when the Taliban take over many of the people of the country are also willing to accept the extreme interpretations of Islam.

This kind of adaptive nature of the afghan culture is both a blessing and a curse. For example after the end of World War 1 the Afghanistan allowed women the right to vote because of the influence that the British had over their country. Since Britain had so much power over them they learned to adopt many parts of western culture. The same thing occurred when Al-Qaeda left Iraq and entered Afghanistan after the Iraq war. The afgahn culture adapted to many of the terror groups beliefs and thus put the country in the lime light of the war on terror. Since the war on terror is still an active conflict the country is split into two because the West and the Islamic extremist are tugging on the population.

The point I am trying to make is that the adaptive culture found in the novel can be seen in present day Afghanistan as we see the county sway from one ideology to another as the times change. Sadly the country is in crippling turmoil right now due to the governments war against the Taliban that has left thousands dead.