Do The Right Thing vs. How Bigger Was Born

In Do The Right Thing and How Bigger Was Born, both Bigger and Mookie were forced to live in neighboorhoods charactarized by being populated by people of color. Richard Wright, author of Native Son, believed Bigger acted violently towards Mary Dalton, a white young lady, because he had been restricted to live in the boundaries of the South Side of Chicago for his entire life. Bigger knew of no propper way to treat those whom he had lived apart from because there was no integration between people of color, and white people.Wright described this segregation as two different worlds, a "white world and a black world" (437), and the whies believed they oought to never mix. Therefore, Bigger never learned to treat a white man a certain way other than by what he represented; superiority to blacks.Bigger had assumed MAry and Jan's comments towards him and hand gestures were an act of bullying, simply mocking Bigger's skin color. Therefore, Bigger disliked them because he had not experienced any events where whites had rrespectfully interacted with him, and so he did not know of Mary and Jan's true intentions. Similarly, Mookie lived in an area of Brooklyn highly populated by colored people. Therefore him and his friends disliked whites because they had formed a stereotype of the whole race being more arrogant. For example, when Buggin' Out is walking down the street and a white man scuffs up Buggin' Out's new, white Air Jordans, Buggin' Out and his friends call him out for picking on a black person, and tell him to "Go back to Massachutes!". However, the white man scuffed up Buggin' Out's shoes on accident, not because he wanted to bully a black man, and furthermore, the white man was born in Brooklyn, not Massachutes. The boys had not experienced many encounters with white people, other than hearing about whites intentionally harming blacks. Therefore, Buggin' Out and his friends had assumed the white man acted a certain way because of his skin color and what it represented. Also, both Mookie and Bigger worked for white men with a lot of power in the neighboorhoods they lived in. Sal's Famous Pizzeria had provided food services for an entire community of colored people for years, and so the people were reliant on him to eat. Similarily, Mr. Dalton owned the South Side Real Estate Company which gave blacks "cheap" housing in a designated area of Chicago. Wright described how Bigger was "caught up in the tense grind of struggling for bread" (440), and so his mother suggested getting a job so he could get enough money for his daily needs. Mookie also faced many financial struggles, having to support his girlfriend, son, and himself. However, unlike Bigger, Mookie sought to recieve money on his own, without someone telling him to find a job. Mookie was externally motivated by money, and yet Bigger had nothing externally motivating, which he strived to work for. Ultimately, this is why Mookie experienced more self control in aggrivating situations such the first time Buggin' Out requested to see black people on Sal's wall of fame. Instead, voicing his agreement to Sal, he excorted Buggin' Out out of the pizzeria, so he would not risk loosing his job, and his source of income. However, after accidently murdering Mary, Bigger acted in a way not in his best interest. He had no motivation to keep his job and so he harmed Mary's remains rather than admitting to his accidental murder. If he had done what was in the best interest of his job, and told the Daltons, perhaps his consequence would not have been so extreme.

Do The Right Thing was a powerful and inspiring movie, which portrayed situations of racial conflict and how it affected a colored community. One part that particularily stood out to me was the rebellious distruction of Sal's Famous Pizzeria and how the group's actions towards destroying the pizzeria erlated to the two quotes at the end of the movie. Martin Luther King Jr. explained how non-violence is key to solving racial conflict. On the other hand, Malcom X believed in self-defense by means of violence when necessary, and considered it "intelligent". I think the reason Spike Lee chose those two quotes at the end of the movie was to force the reader to choose which black leader's idea was best. The destruction of Sal's pizzeria was an example of Malcom X's violent ideals. Though the situation resulted in the arrests and harming of many blacks, they were able to stand up for themselves and what their people believed in.  Ultimately, it was a question of whether or not action would have been the "Right" thing to do. In my opinion, even if the community did not react violently to the death of Radio Raheem, eventually tension would have still caused the eventual distruction of Sal's pizzeria. However, they gained nothing from their violence. The community's favorite hang-out place was destroyed, a white man was left with only the remains of his sacred business, and pictures of blacks were never added to Sal's wall of fame.

King's Mountain Top Speech

Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of his most visionary speeches, known as the Mountain Top Speech, at the Mason Temple Church on April 3rd, 1968. His determined tone of voice gave the audience hope for a brighter future where Americans would finally "be true to what they say on paper," and grant blacks with social equality to match their equal constitutional rights. He recognized that the black people simply wanted be treated as people, all created by God, and therefore all equal. However, injustice cast a shadow over the possibility of equality, and therefore postponed the achievement of the black's goals. King encouraged his audience to maintain focus on the goal of their people; to rid of injustice. He claimed that injustice was the heart of segregation and discrimination. King spoke of a future where Americans would finally develop a "dangerous unselfishness" where they would rid of segregation and discrimination in order to treat all others equally with respect, though it may have caused individuals to feel discomfort. King made an example out of The Good Samaritan, describing the instance of a man who decided to help a hurt man because he thought "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?", rather than asking "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?". This is an example of the "dangerous unselfishness" King encouraged people to have. The man disregarded his own comfort to help a man who was feeling discomfort. King said that the Good Samaritan's empathy positively affected another's life. Ridding of injustice, would positively affect many lives, as long as the blacks do so by being respectful and self-less in their effort to change.  He meant that the great man’s ability to project the “I” into the “thou” meant to help others as if you were helping yourself. In doing this, one puts himself in another man's shoes. King encouraged all of America to think how eliminating injustice can affect the population, and ultimately create a unified, peaceful, just nation.

Beloved- Rememory, Memory, and the Past

            Sethe becomes aware that Paul D is having an impact on her life, forcing her reflect on the past and apply it to the present. Paul D had "added more: new pictures and old rememories that broke her heart". Paul D, a figure from Sethe's past, represented the era he and Sethe spent together. Rememories are reminders of occurrences from the past that result from similar circumstances. Since Paul D came, Sethe has reflected on her memories of their relationship and life at Sweet Home. Rememory also occurs for Sethe after Beloved arrives and asks Sethe to tell her stories of her childhood. This made it necessary for Sethe to recreate her past memories in her mind so she could tell them to Beloved. Sethe's rough past affected her personality greatly, and those "years of haunting had dulled her in ways you wouldn't believe and sharpened her in ways you wouldn't believe either". The events of Sethe's past shaped her life as she learned from each experience. Depending on the situation, Sethe has developed the ability to handle the varying situations she may be put in because she has learned from her past the best ways to do so. Sethe remembers what her past has taught her and recalls those memories when parallel events to the past take place.

Defining One's Place in Society

Emerson believes in the power of the individual to decide for themselves what role they want to have in society. He discourages the idea of conformity because he feels as though the differences amongst those in a society is what makes one stand out. Emerson says, "Ordinarily, everybody in society reminds us of somewhat else, or of some other person". In stead he insists on a society infused with character and reality. For one to establish their place in society, they must show that they are unique and have different ideas and opinions that have yet to be entertained by society. In Emerson's opinion, society seems to be a unity of clones; the same type of people, with the same desires, who make the same decisions regarding their lives. Nobody offers new ideas or strives to be any different. This could be because of a fear of being misunderstood or not accepted by those around them. Often times, those who are misunderstood by society become the ones recognizable years later for having found their place. Emerson agrees, saying "Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took to flesh". He concluded that "To be great is to be misunderstood". Those that are great are the ones who found their place in society. Everyone else (the clones) seemed to have simply faded into the background of an anti-individualistic society.

Thoughts and Memories about 9/11 and The First Amendment

It was a beautiful, September morning. I remember walking into my second grade classroom and taking my assigned seat. My teacher walked through the door, heading straight for the television. Click. I had never seen something so tremendously terrifying and sad before in my life. Being so young, I was unaware of what was going on. Returning home after school I entered a melancholy house. My mom's cousin was missing (later pronounced dead) and everyone was still distraught by the occurrences earlier that day. Most of us wondered why we were attacked and what had we done to deserve to be treated this way? News reports interviewed witnesses and relatives of missing people. It seemed as though a common idea began to be circulating amongst the American people; Muslims are the enemy. This idea seems to still be consistent amongst some American people's beliefs today, especially regarding the recent news of a Florida pastor deciding to burn the Koran. I do not believe it is fair to blame a whole race of people for a small group's mistakes. Though the First Amendment allows freedom of speech, it is not a good idea to allow for this pastor to burn the Koran. This public, offensive act would most likely result in an outbreak of revenge-seekers. This act would provoke terrorists to attack once again! The First Amendment was established in the best interest of the citizens. However, allowing the Koran to burn, would most definitely not be beneficial to the people. President Barack Obama agrees. "I hope he listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act that he's engaging in," said the President yesterday. Since the president's statement, the pastor says he has reconsidered. I am not looking for any more horrifying memories, and would be grateful for the pastor not to burn the Koran. If he is stopped from doing so, another attack on the innocent people of America could be prevented.

"Whatever", "Bold Men", and Zinn's Revolution Response

"It is important to remember that despite the hardships, not a single one of them defeated or failed to honor his pledge".

It seems as though all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were corageous leaders willing to do whatever it took to ensure freedom from Britain. They endured a lot, whether it was ridicule, or a lack of support from the people, "they paid their price and freedom was born.

Response to Thomas Paine's 'The American Crisis'

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph," says Thomas Paine regarding the conquest for freedom during the American Revolution. He believes that with no pain, there is no gain and uses his words to encourage the readers to take a stand for their rights. It seems as though he bribes the colonial people to act by guaranteeing that God will make it worth one's while. Paine leads the colonists to believe that since petitioning and debating freedom from Britain did not work, war is the only other option. He justifies this by saying that "God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or laeve them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent". This convinces the readers that God will watch over them and keep them from harm if they fight for their beliefs. Though I think Paine's approach to convice colonists to fight is effective, I do not believe it is right of him to guarantee each person's safety under the guidance of God. I think he realized that it was night right of him to do so because later in "The American Crisis" he states that he loves "the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection". On the contrary, I think it was wise of him to encourage the people by saying that they could be heroes. It gives one a greater sense of purpose, and overall I think that is what convinced the colonists to fight.