Crystalline Crackers

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

For some reason, only one word stood out to me when I read this title. Why do I feel hungry all of a sudden?

If you're craving something that lacks any meaningful nutrition, a Ritz Cracker is a great snack. I, personally, love the flavor because of the salt that comes with each cracker. That being said, the word "Ritz" stood out to me only when I read the title for a second time because the salt on a Ritz cracker relates directly, if not perfectly, to a large theme in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz: Perfection.

First of all, salt has a crystalline structure due to the ionic bonding of sodium and chloride ions. Similarly, diamond also has a crystalline structure, which, by the way, is the closest nature gets to making a perfect substance. Now, Fitzgerald obviously did not have Ritz crackers in mind when he wrote The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, but the coincidence applies perfectly to the theme of perfection. For example, John only wants a girl who is "the incarnation of physical perfection".

John, however, is not the character who seeks perfection the most. This characteristic goes to Braddock Washington and his want for perfect security. The value of Washington's diamond mountain has caused him to become extremely paranoid, leading him to protect the mountain and its value in the most perfect way possible. This, inevitably, leads to the death or imprisonment of the visitors of the mountain. At the end of the story, however, we see that Washington was not able to reach perfection, as his mountain exploded and took his wealth and his life with it. 

What do you think of perfection?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Yellow Car!

"Yellow Car!"

*punch*

"OW"

"HEhe"

"Where? I don't see it"

"Look left, it's actually a really nice yellow car"

"Oh wow that's a yellow Rolls-Royce Phantom"

"Yeah, must be someone really rich"

The first thing that comes to mind when I see a flashy, expensive car is "the owner must be so rich". Obviously, only an affluent person has the resources to purchase a mighty Rolls-Royce, but why choose such a pretentious color? Bright, shiny, in-your-face yellow; Maybe it matches the design of the car well. Maybe the owner wants to prove that he owns the roads by showing off to the world that he has something that 95% of the world cannot afford. Maybe, however, the owner is the Great Gatsby and he is, instead of amusing himself, trying to reach an old friend to bridge his gap of loneliness.

Just like his massive house and excessive parties, Gatsby's car is a symbol that represents him perfectly: a rich but honest man with a simple goal of winning Daisy. His bright yellow Rolls-Royce is just another tool that he uses to find Daisy. As the story progresses, the reader realizes that although Gatsby has many unnecessary items, he is actually a morally just person unlike Daisy and Tom. Daisy, for example, takes Gatsby’s car to murder Myrtle. This is just one example of where Gatsby’s pure intentions are being used by inconsiderate people like Daisy. Nick was correct, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end.”

Gatsby's yellow Rolls-Royce

What do you think about Gatsby’s yellow Rolls-Royce?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Curtains for Everyone

Do you have a curtain in your car? Maybe not a complete curtain, but many of us have sun shades that are either built into the window mechanism or can be attached to the window. A car sun shade is an unnecessary product but people still have it for comfort, and this idea stemmed from the beliefs of the 1920s and the Modernism Era.

The photograph above is an advertisement for curtains that block the sun from entering your car. Advertisements such as these started appearing mainly during the Modernism Era (the 1920s), and this photograph is a perfect example of the shift in consumerism that occurred during this time. For example, before the 1920s the idea of having curtains on your car windows would have been something available only to the rich; however, during the 1920s, there was a shift of consumerism from the rich towards the common person. The advertisement shown above was meant for everyone, not just the wealthy.

Inevitably, this shift led to excess consumerism; people were buying items that they did not really need, and nowhere is this more relevant than the Eggs from The Great Gatsby: in the West Egg, Nick has "a swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden", yet he mentions that it is an "eye-sore" compared to the other houses there. Additionally, he also mentions that the East Egg has fashionable "white palaces".

In many ways, just like the car shades, excess consumerism has persisted in the United States to this day. This includes food, vanity items, cars, clothing, etc. Although this is mostly negative, it has also resulted in many advancements in science and technology. Engineering, for example, has advanced greatly due to the increased demand of customized vehicles. Still, many of us today buy items that are totally unnecessary, and we should be helping out people who cannot afford these items instead of buying them.

Uncle LeBron Wants YOU For U.S. Army

This is my masterpiece called Uncle LeBron, inspired by The Chancellor Séguier on Horseback by Kehinde Wiley. In our textbook, it is mentioned that Wiley "seeks out average African American men", tells them to "strike a pose", and then he uses these men to create his own take on historical paintings (pg 563). I chose to replicate Wiley's style because it is simple yet meaningful at the same time.

The original painting was a famous WWI poster created by James Montgomery Flagg. The man depicted in the original painting is Uncle Sam, a personification of the US government. Uncle Sam had a huge influence on the US at the time, as he was used, especially in this poster, as war propaganda to recruit soldiers for the war.

In a similar way, LeBron James has a huge influence on the US today. Granted, he is not trying to recruit people for war, but he can still convince people to do things through social media or advertisements. Additionally, I also chose a famous African American to replace Uncle Sam because  the stereotypical image of white superiority from the early 1900s is not nearly as prevalent as it used to be.

Please let me know what else this image could symbolize in comments section below. I would love to hear what everyone has to say!

The Food of Solomon

Reading "Song of Solomon" has made hungry, and you might be a bit confused because of the wide assortment of confusing characters. So, as a helpful classmate, I have decided to assign some of the main characters a type of food so it is easier for everyone to comprehend this wild story.

Milkman is an egg (even though his name has "milk" in it). Everyone handles eggs carefully, and Milkman is no different. He has been babied his whole life like how people normally care for an egg. Plus an egg has a hard shell that protects it from its surroundings, just like Milkman, who was protected by people like his father, Ruth, Pilate, and Guitar. He has also been shielded, like an eggshell, from racism because of his father's money. This is why he never had to deal with the struggles of a "normal" African American at that time.  His racism shell partially cracks, however, when he is pulled over by the police for no apparent reason. It later cracks fully when Magdalene called Lena opens his eyes as to how he has been "peeing" on everyone by taking advantage of them.


Macon Dead Jr is a date. What do dates look like? They look dead. Macon Dead is a date not only because of his last name but because he is emotionally dead from the inside. His unhealthy obsession with money and material possessions has ruined his family relationships. Macon may be emotionally dead, but he still has a lot of money, which is why Macon is a date and not a raisin since he still has a presence in society. Before going into the outside world, dates are murdered by the sun and forced the shrivel up, loosing their juicy, scrumptious appearance. A similar experience happened to Macon when his father was killed: he was forced to forget emotions and think only about money.


Ruth is a grape. But not just any grape, a naked grape. Grapes normally have a very thin outer layer that protects the soft insides, but a naked grape (one without the skin) is soft and unprotected. Similarly, Ruth loses the thin protection that she had with her father when she marries Macon Dead, making her vulnerable to abuse from Macon and Milkman. Ruth herself mentions that she is figuratively small because of her limited freedom and presence in the outside world. In the same way, a grape is also a very small fruit. I wonder if dates bully grapes...



Pilate is nuts. Yes, she's crazy and odd, but she also embodies many of the properties of nuts. Milkman said it best: "Pilate had been shorter... but Pilate was as tall as he was" (Morrison 206). Pilate has the ability to change her appearance based on different situations. She is normally tall and authoritative but at the police station she acts short and meek. Similarly, nuts come in a variety of sizes: from tiny pine nuts to whole walnuts. Also, Macon is basically allergic to Pilate just like many people are allergic to nuts.




I hope these comparisons help you understand a few of the relationships between characters in the Song of Solomon. I better go eat lunch now...

Colors Are More Than You Think

What color do you think of when you picture a Ferrari?

Is it Red?

The most popular color seen on a Ferrari is their traditional Rosso Corsa (a bright red), and it has been like this throughout history. If someone told me to close my eyes and think of a red supercar, I would immediately think of a bright red Ferrari. Here, the color red is simply describing a car, but is that all that colors do?

I used to think that colors were shallow adjectives with only purpose: to describe nouns. While it is true that colors can be used to describe objects, it is definitely not their only role. Colors can create moods such as blue representing a sad mood. They can also create vivid imagery through words or images. Most importantly, however, colors can be meaningful symbols. For example, Toni Morrison in Song of Solomon uses the colors of the American flag to symbolize the United States within the first five pages. Morrison shows the colors red and blue by using the phrases "bits of red flashing" and "circled in blue" (Morrison 5). She then shows white by describing snow multiple times in the paragraph. The colors here are ironic because a man attempting to kill himself is not something that is normally related to patriotism. Through the colors, Morrison is also able to criticize the United States for the injustice of segregation at that time.

The hidden meaning behind colors can also be seen with red Ferraris. Ferrari's Rosso Corsa red color symbolizes the rich racing history of Italy. In the early 1900s, the International Automobile Federation assigned the color red to Italian racers in the Grand Prix and Ferrari has kept it its main color since then. 

CAR RELATED QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

What are the most popular car colors in America?


Leave your answer along with your thoughts in the comments section below!

Life Lessons From Maus

Our unit of Maus has come to an end now, and I feel sad. One reason is because I simply enjoy reading comics. More importantly, however, is that reading Maus has taught more skills than most word-heavy books. One of these skills is being able to notice details and be more observant.

I believe that the amount of subtle details that Spiegelman was able to put into Maus was only because of its picture-word format. If an author is trying to hide something a comic book, it can be drawn on the page but not explicitly mentioned to the reader. This effect is impossible with words as the author must explicitly mention through words that the detail exists. For example, look at these panels:

The only way to show a road shaped like a swastika in an implicit way would be by drawing it or showing a picture of it. Using words to describe something like this would be nonsense: "We walked in the direction of Sosnowiec (by the way the road was shaped like a swastika)." It simply does not work.

Maus has taught me, from passages like the one above, that there is more to my surroundings than what meets the eye. Ever since I finished reading Maus, I have tried to make out the details, whether it be places, people, or just other books. I even tried to do this type of close interpreting with music and I heard parts of songs that I had never noticed before.





RANDOM CAR-RELATED TRIVIA QUESTION:

What car brand from the USA was used the most in WWII?


Leave your answer in the comments along with your thoughts!

The Goldilocks Zone of Storytelling

Words lack imagery. Pictures lack definition. Comics, however, have the ability to combine words and pictures creating the "Goldilocks Zone" of storytelling. This is why Maus, being a comic book, is the best representation of the Holocaust.

You already know that Maus effectively combines pictures and words to tell a story, but Maus strikes balances between other factors as well. For example, Art uses censorship in a very unique way. By using animals as main characters, Art makes the story easier for readers to understand, as they are not bombarded with gory images. However, the reader is still reminded that these events took place in real life by seeing symbols like the swastika. But just to make sure that the reader isn't too detached from reality, Speigelman includes the realistic account of his mother's suicide. This part contrasts from the rest of the comic in that it is very detailed and almost nothing is censored.

Spiegelman cleverly designs the road to look like a swastika.
The subtle imagery reminds the reader that these were real, horrific events. 

Maus may be the best representation of the Holocaust, but it is not perfect. According to Jim Powell, representing the Holocaust is like attempting to "represent the unrepresentable" or "say the unsayable" (Powell). I completely agree. It is simply impossible to comprehend what the victims of the Holocaust faced. Unfortunately, only someone who went through a similar situation can understand.

Let's talk about something less depressing ya? Cars! Just like Maus is the most well-rounded story, the Mercedes-AMG E63S Wagon is the most well-rounded car. It combines the functionality of an SUV with a monstrous AMG engine that produces 600 hp and does 0-60 in 3.4 secs. THAT'S INSANELY FAST -- not only for a station wagon but for any car in general. In addition to those sports car numbers, it also gives the luxury that you would expect from Mercedes Benz. Only problem: it costs $120,000.

Overcoming Selfishness

"This Is Water" by David Foster Wallace got me thinking about myself more than anything else. I have always thought of myself as a genuine and caring person, and I still do, but reading "This Is Water" has taught me that I am not perfect. That I have some subconscious selfish tendencies as well.  Wallace mentions that people subconsciously think that they are the "absolute center of the universe" and that humans have a "natural, basic self-centeredness … hardwired into our boards at birth". On the other hand, Wallace also mentions towards the end of his speech that anyone can change towards being an empathetic and caring person if he or she puts a conscious effort towards achieving it. And that is what I am going to do.

For example, I've always dreamed of owning an expensive supercar in the future. Is that selfish? Some people may argue that I can do whatever I want with my money, but is it the right thing to do? The same money could feed thousands of starving children for weeks, maybe months. It could provide shelter for homeless families across the United States. It could support people devastated by hurricanes and floods. Hundreds of thousands of dollars could go into an unnecessarily intricate vehicle that has the same primary purpose as a Ford Focus. Or, the same money could save millions by creating grocery stores in food deserts*, or by funding cancer research. 

That being said, my love for cars isn't going anywhere, but I definitely need to rethink my dream of buying one...

Where should it go?

*Read more about Food Deserts and how severe they are in the United States by clicking here and here

The Ladder of Intensity

The three works of literature that we read this week are actually very similar to each other. The only main difference was the level of intensity that the authors used to get their points across. At the top of The Ladder of Intensity, is, undoubtedly, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau's intensity shows in his writing because he is very direct with the reader. However, the main distinction that makes Thoreau stand out from the other two, aside from his radical tone and views, is that he proposes a call to action: "I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine" (Thoreau).

As we climb down The Ladder of Intensity, we come across "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" by Sarah Vowell. Vowell's work is under Thoreau's on The Ladder because she connects more with the reader on a personal level. By seeing stories of Vowell's personal experiences, the reader can properly understand her views and where they come from. The sarcasm and humor sprinkled throughout the essay also adds to casual mood. While this is true, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is still close to "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" on the ladder because Vowell still displays strong opinions about the US Government.

At the bottom of The Ladder of Intensity is "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins. Although Collins's poem poses a significant question, the tone of the poem itself is very casual and simple. By using children as a focus of the poem, Collins is integrating innocence with the complicated question of censorship and authority. 

This idea of a hierarchy of intensity is seen in many places other than in literature -- especially in cars. The purpose of a car is to simply take a person from point A to point B, yet that car could be anything from a Pagani Huayra to a Honda Civic; it depends on the person. This concept of varying levels of cars makes everyone happy since there will always be a car somewhere that one likes. Similarly, out of the three works of literature that we read, I personally found "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" more effective than the others because I could relate with Vowell, I enjoyed her sarcasm, and she had the perfect level of intensity.

The Meaning of Freedom and How Cars Fought Jim Crow

After reading "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" by Frederick Douglass, I have realized that many people today have forgotten about the meaning of freedom, including me. On the Fourth of July, I used to watch the fireworks and maybe eat a nice dinner, but otherwise, it was just another normal day for me. Not anymore, however, because "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" has made me appreciate the struggles that African Americans went through to gain freedom. Back in 1852, when Douglass wrote the speech, the United States was divided by race. "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine" says Douglass, showing the divide between whites and enslaved blacks (Douglass 1). Douglass's sarcastic comments and harsh criticisms of the United States throughout the speech represent the struggles that African Americans faced during this time.

Frederick Douglass

Slavery in the United states was abolished thirteen years after Douglass wrote "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro", but this, unfortunately, did not mean the end of struggles for the African American population. In the late 1870s, the Jim Crow Laws were created. These laws restricted the freedom of African Americans by segregating many areas including means of public transportation such as buses. Cars actually have a special connection to this time period because they were used by African Americans to fight the nasty Jim Crow Laws. African Americans who had cars used them to avoid segregated means of public transportation and therefore lived generally safer lives. Even with cars however, life as an African American was difficult because segregation occurred nearly everywhere: restaurants, hospitals, schools and many other places.

If you want to read more about how cars helped African Americans against the Jim Crow Laws, then click here http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Casestudy/R_Casestudy2.htm

11 AP Cars

Welcome to my Blog!

A Journey Through Cars is exactly what it sounds like: a journey through cars. In this blog, I will incorporate common themes relating to cars into every post to spice up the previously mundane content. After you have finished reading a post, you will have taken a journey around a race track through cars ranging from bulky American pickup trucks to exotic Italian hypercars.

Cars will be chosen based on the story. For example, if the topic is about a practical house with lots of storage and room for people, I might compare the house to the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which is a very fuel efficient car with lots of practicality and storage space. However, if the story involves something that is impractical yet fun, I might choose a Lamborghini.

Even if you know nothing about cars, A Journey Through Cars will bring an interesting twist to exciting stories for you. Enjoy!