"Animal I Have Become"

            “So what if you can see the darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become; help me believe it's not the real me; somebody help me tame this animal.”  Everyone deals with their own demons within them at least at one point in their lives.  Some people deal with this fact in a much better way than others.  For example, Dorian Gray, had he been real, would have been tactless in this matter; giving into one’s demons is not the best way to go about dealing with one’s life.  Dorian Gray becomes deranged due to his own “animal” inside of him.  Dorian became the animal, and to restore himself, he stabs the picture of himself to destroy, and not “tame”, the animal that he had become.  This raises the question of whether or not everyone has such an animal inside them and if people just deal with it in different ways.

            Humans are powerless when pitted against their overwhelming emotions and conscience.  Does this prove that everyone has an uncontrollable animal within them?  In a way, I suppose everyone has their own “animal” inside them, but likely not to the same extent that, for example, Dorian Gray had.  In fact, what Dorian Gray became was more of a monster than an animal.  Not all animals are monsters (how could a puppy be a monster?).  This unit was about monsters within ourselves, which is very fitting in Dorian Gray and when talking about the animal within us all.  Everyone has a choice of whether or not to let that animal or those monsters within us control us.  Do we let out the bad and give into the consequences, or do we fight it off and remain our true selves?  That is what defines us and what makes us who we all are.

            Dorian Gray is seen as an evil, terrible person because of how he acted.  If he had not given in to his dark side, then he would have been seen by all in a different light.  People define you by how you act.  But what matters is how you define yourself.  If you see yourself as a monster, then you probably should “tame” that animal inside.  If you don’t see yourself as doing anything too wild, then you could stay how you are.  Obviously you should trust the evidence, even if you are in denial, but you are not necessarily an animal, even if society says you are.  Society is the reason why people think there are monsters within people more often than not; if anyone deviates from their accepted norm, then you are a beast, and likely a violent beast at that.  However, there are cases where society is right, and you should change, just like in Dorian Gray. 

            Whether you decide if you’re a monster or not is up to your own discretion; society is usually wrong in this matter.  Humans are inclined to give in to their emotions because they are what empower us to do everyday things.  Emotions can be seen as primal or could be seen as gifts to humanity.  Being an animal is natural, being a monster, however, is far from natural.  You have to work to become a monster; it is not easy to be a beast.  Even if you become a monster, there is always time to change yourself; Dorian Gray changed at the end, even if it did cost him everything.  No one is ever permanently a monster unless he/she chooses to be so.  Everything we are is decided by us and our own freewill and our decisive actions.

Deal With the Devil

            Is it worth it to trade your soul for something material?  Should you give up your soul for power, money, longevity, or even a superpower?  These questions are made on a daily basis, but on a much smaller scale.  Every day, you choose to do good or bad, be selfless or selfish.  People are bad and selfish to meet personal ends; in essence, bad things are done to achieve personal gains.  So it is quite true to say that humans make pacts with the devil every day. 

In actuality, it could be proven that good things are done for personal gain, too.  It may be going too far to suggest that making yourself feel better by doing good things is actually selfish, but if someone does good things with a selfish manner, it is virtually the same thing as doing a bad act for the same end. 

            So where is the line drawn?  What is considered a Faustian bargain in today's world?  Granted no one (okay maybe some people might try to) go into the woods to find Satan or otherwise summon Lucifer with the idea in mind that you will give him your soul in order to succeed in some respect, but if you do something such as steal for your own benefit (not pulling a Robin Hood of course), then society may deem that as making a Faustian bargain.  If kids (toddlers or around that age; not too old to know what they're doing) do something like steal, is that still a Faustian bargain?  Society creates standards to which they attribute actions, good and bad.  By abiding by this, little kids and those who don't (or can't) know what they're doing will not suffer overly-huge consequences that a fully-capable person would suffer for doing the same thing.  This raises the question, is the Faustian bargain dictated by the bargainer?  This is a likely conclusion.

            The Faustian bargain from the myths, like Dr. Faustus, may not exist, but society has given the idea its own meaning and application in the real world.  The Faustian bargain has thus changed drastically from Marlowe's 16th century understanding of it.  The more modern and civilized the society, the bigger the change to meanings.  In a civilized society, a Faustian bargain could not possibly apply to the innocent, and the devil could not possibly be hiding in wait for the next person to call to him with the intentions of selling his soul. 

The real point is that the Faustian bargain, however changed from the original meaning, still exists.  The risks and consequences of doing something that society has deemed bad, evil, or unnatural for personal gain are what constitutes a Faustian bargain.  While the consequence of making a Faustian bargain in today's world is not being pulled to Hell by demons, it still can be harsh and everlasting. 

            People can try to avoid doing things that are wicked, and not do things solely for personal gain, but it is human nature to provide for oneself.  This can be taken pretty far by doing nothing but selfish acts, but the person that does that already made a different deal with Satan.  Society has taught us to not be selfish, so maybe it was for something more than just manners and what's expected in humankind.  Deals are not always done physically, but can be done mentally due to an innate tendency to be a certain way.  You get what you want and deserve from the deals you make (or virtually make).  This deal is not sealed in blood, but it is still sealed with the "selling of your soul".

Cruel Cruel World

A Cruel Cruel World

The world we live in can be a horrible place.  There are problems left, right, and center.  An object of the world's horrific acts is, at many times, women.  People in the world (at least in some places in the world) have improved their views, however.  Despite this fact, some places are still under the influence that women are to be belittled and oppressed.  A Thousand Splendid Suns shows this to a T.  The idea that two women were treated so terribly, and whose lives were disrupted and destroyed is disgusting.  As shown in The Yellow Wallpaper, though, it has happened in "developed" and "better" countries in the not-so-distant past, like the United States of America.  The world that we live in is very flawed, but, as it seems, is becoming a better place.

In the past, the world was almost completely, if not completely, dominated by men.  As described in The Yellow Wallpaper, women were treated as less than humans.  They weren't treated equally to men, even though that notion was senseless.  It is disturbing that women couldn't express themselves much, if at all, as see in The Yellow Wallpaper.  Women being sent to places that were virtually prisons or asylums was plain wrong, but in that society, it was deemed fine and actually the right thing to do.  That world was cruel. The one we currently live in is still cruel, but in a different way.

Treatment of women is becoming better.  While far from being perfected, there is considerably more equality between men and women today, especially when compared to fifty years ago.  The plot of The Yellow Wallpaper may be outdated for America, but still has some truth in other parts of the world.  Countries in other parts of the world still believe that men are superior to women, and some may even go as far to say that women are barely human beings.  This is the plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Mariam and Laila were treated as less than humans; neither woman married for love, but either out of necessity or because they were forced.  Once married, they were abused and belittled.  They were forced to hide themselves by their husband and their government.  What kind of world does this to its own people?  A cruel, cruel world.

Something is either innate in humans to make them act this way, or they were taught to be this way for some reason.  Whatever it is, it is very wrong.  It could be that power over other people is so appealing, or it could be an interpretation of a religion or belief system, or it could be a (however incorrect) notion that men were born "better".  There are many possibilities for these old-fashioned, out-dated, obsolete and demeaning ways of life.  The real problem is having to cope with it.  Change on a large-scale is extremely difficult and a long process.  The only way to completely change this world is through law, but that can only happen when the public opinion changes (or a tyrant or other dictator-type leader comes to power and changes it him-/herself, which seems to be unlikely).  To change the opinions and tendencies of people, sometimes the government steps in, but also requires popular support to do so.  This is a vicious and endless cycle, seemingly without end.

Humans were made with faults and flaws, some being much larger and of more importance and relevance than others.  The mistreatment of women was far-reaching enough to be considered a human flaw.  Humans are not likely to mention or acknowledge flaws about themselves, which makes correcting these flaws even more difficult.   The subject of equality for women has been a long-enduring one, and seems to be an oddly-difficult one to embrace for humans.  One day it will be settled, and hopefully soon. One day we can finally say "farewell cruel world."

Fortune-For the Men in Charge of Change

Fortune-For the Men in Charge of Change

Since the beginning of humanity, gender has played a huge role in every society.  Many societies (if not most) put men as the “head of household,” the “breadwinner,” or give men a sense of power over women.  Even slogans for famous magazines, companies, etc. such as the one used for Fortune Magazine, “For the men in charge of change” are patriarchal.  Patriarchal society dominates most of the world, including the United States of America.  This form of society, however, is on its way out the door.

21^st century Planet Earth is changing.  Society, beliefs, and gender roles are changing; everything is in constant change in humankind’s world.  Every society in the world needs to change to form a more gender-equal atmosphere, but many places are already seeing leaps and bounds toward that end result.  Places that still have old, sexist traditions or beliefs, notably and notoriously places in the Middle East, are completely in the wrong (biased based on my own beliefs, I know).  Despite this, countries like the US and countries in Europe (developed, first-world countries for the most part) are hopping onto the gender-equality bandwagon left, right, and center.  There are still snags, like patriarchal traditions that seem harmless when compared to some extreme stances on gender equality.  Examples of this could be the “breadwinner of the family” stereotype that is usually tied to the man of the house, or that wimps are called “girls,” or “you throw like a girl”, all of which are truly insulting to women.  These are the sexist things that will take a long time to weed out because my parents and their parents and their parents’ parents all grew up with that kind of idea thrown around.  Today’s teenagers are much more pro-gender equality, so those sayings or stereotypes will die off.  The key thing here is that fortune will be created by “the men in charge of change.”

While women in popular literature have personal triumphs, there is something to be said about large-scale triumphs.  In A Doll House, Nora leaves Torvald and their children to rediscover herself and to break away from the man she doesn’t love and become independent (which, by the way, I found interesting information about; according to Wikipedia, “Ibsen's German agent felt that the original ending would not play well in German theatres; therefore, for it to be considered acceptable, Ibsen was forced to write an alternative ending for the German premiere.  In this ending, Nora is led to her children after having argued with Torvald. Seeing them, she collapses, and the curtain is brought down. Ibsen later called the ending a disgrace to the original play and referred to it as a 'barbaric outrage'.”  This only goes to show that society, though in the 1800s, is extremely patriarchal.)  Edna in The Awakening swims out into deep water and dies triumphantly as an escape or a way to show her “awakening” from the men she was possessed by in her life.  These two examples showed that there are personal victories for individual women.  These triumphs can set an example for more women to follow, but the thing is that men are the ones with more power and influence (not going to sugarcoat it).  Men are the ones that can easily change ideas, traditions, and mindsets.  In order for women to be victorious, men have to concede, and in the words of Star Wars, “He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power”.  Men are more willing in today’s society to change (or will be once the newer generations of men become older and can start the change), so there is more hope than ever for women to become truly equal in everyone’s eyes, but there are still many obstacles to get by.

That Star Wars quote says “He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which, eventually, of course, he did.”  Even George Lucas saw A New Hope.