In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck’s main characters, George and Lennie, are a travelling pair of workers. Lennie has a mental disability that prevents him from remembering anything and causes him to panic and lose control of his strength. Lennie could never survive on his own, but George keeps him safe by practicing a routine of telling him about their fantasy of owning a farm together: “‘O.K. Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs an–’ ‘An’ live off the fatta of the lan’”’ (pg. 14). This is a happy routine that the two characters exercise this a lot throughout the novel, creating that safe space in Lennie’s mind. Steinbeck also uses loneliness as a key theme in this novella, and while George no doubt protects Lennie, Lennie also protects George from isolation: “‘With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys get in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.’ Lennie broke in. ‘But not us! An’ why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got to look after you, and that’s why’” (pg 14). Their relationship sustains them both, and ultimately, George sneers at Lennie that life would be so much easier without him, but one needs human companionship in order to survive both mentally and physically.
Immortals by Mara Rusu is a rhymed poem that explores Mother Nature vs Humanity, human hubris, and the environment. This poem explores the depths of the inquiry question: How does our environment or where we come from define us? It also incorporates the powerful video “I am Nature.” Together, they demonstrate the idea that nature is something so much more powerful than human’s think it is. Coming from an enviorment and society of greed, and hubris affects humanity and mother nature greatly.
In the chapter Weeksboro, Maine, Alex is trying to get her friend Steph a boyfriend. Steph is representing the science and logical side of life, the concrete things which can be measured, the tangible. She doesn’t want to have a boyfriend, she doesn’t believe in love, an unseen force. On the other hand, Alex represents the intangible, love, imagination, and hope etc. The theme in this chapter is unseen forces, what Alex represents, but by the end, they both believe in. The two girls go to the spot where the whirligig is, and Alex starts guiding Steph through a guided visual journey, wishing to the Whirligig that Steph gets a boyfriend. As Alex is wishing, Steph starts to go along with it, she’s still sceptical about it, but she really listens to what Alex is saying. Alex tries to convince Steph that the whirligig is powerful and can help her. “Thoughts are powerful. They’re the seeds of events. By thinking something, we can help make it happen.” Page 25. This quote is important, because it describes the idea that something intangible (imagination, creativity, the idea), has to be there first in order to create something tangible (science, math, inventions). This relates to the question, “Why do we only focus on the tangible or the material in our culture?” We need both tangible and intangible objects in our lives, because that’s how inventions are created. Every great invention came from an idea. After Alex is done her visual guide, Steph finds love, the brother of the boy who was spying on them. Proving that unseen forces can overpower the tangible. “But just in case unseen forces do exist, I pay my respects to them by keeping the whirligig painted and repaired.” Page 32 . This quote confirms that Steph believes in the unseen force that the whirligig held. It changed Steph’s life and helped her find her “heart’s joy” and now she believes in its higher power. In conclusion, the two- intangible and tangible need to work together for humans and ideas to move forward.
I think letting go and moving on is necessary for happiness and peace. However, forgiveness is not. This photo perfectly explains what I am trying to say, forgiveness is for the other person to have peace; But just because I have forgiven someone, does not mean that I am happy or at peace. If someone apologizes and asks for my forgiveness, I will most likely give it to them, but I will not move on right away. Personally, it takes time for me to be able to move on. I cannot forgive someone who does not ask for my forgiveness, and It takes me a long time to move on from that type of situation. On the other side, when I know that I am wrong in a situation, I will apologize. However, it is difficult for me to apologize to someone when they don’t tell me that they are upset or mad at me, and I have to figure it out by myself. As humans, we automatically want revenge, or to “get back at them.” I think restorative justice is something that I wouldn’t be able to do. I don’t usually get revenge, but once someone does something that hurts me, I don’t trust them as much as I used to. However, on a larger scale, for example, the situation in “Walking after midnight,” I don’t know how I would react. If something that big happened in my life, I don’t think I would be able to forgive the person. And without forgiveness, it would be difficult to move on. However, I don’t think I would want to see the criminal executed, or in pain, because that wouldn’t provide me with any closure. Overall, it is difficult for me to move on from a drastic situation, and because I never have been in such a serious and devastating place I don’t know how I would react. I do believe in the idea of restorative justice, and that I could help someone who has done wrong in someone else’s life, but not if that person did wrong in mine.
Did you hear about the new product?
Yeah, the one that’s being sold at Walmart.
It’s astounding, amazing, appealing,
Only 9.99, made especially for children.
If you’re busy, need time,
Here’s an app, let them go tap
Give them another application,
While you go away on a vacation
Soccer? Basketball? Swimming?
No, just scrolling and sitting.
The human race is like a crazy card game,
And we’re all just aces and spades.
Played by the same card holder,
Corporations, and stock brokers.
Where society is the queen
Like a crazy machine
Manufacturing all the screens.
That we now live our life on.
But let me tell you something.
“Technology is our life now.” We all said.
But it’s not a life,
if we’re all brain dead.
From http://www.imgrum.org/user/survivingisalonelything/391529854/1016120137583681283_391529854%5B/caption%5D
