Open Letter to Charles Bukowski (Dinosauria, We)

This may seem petty, but of the whole poem only one part bothered me: “The fingers reach toward an unresponsive god.” From this I am understanding that you’re either atheist, or just don’t think god will respond in this particular situation where there is no optimism in the world. Hopefully the second reason, but either way I don’t agree. It may be because I am religious or just maybe because I am Muslim, but I don’t think god would just ignore innocent people thrown in the mist of chaos. If He did, it would most likely be because his creations wandered from the straight path and have forgotten about the truth, to the point where He allowed them to leave His guidance. For me, in Islam, it is described that god gives direction in the human heart, like a light. And when you no longer seek the light, He takes it away from you leaving you in darkness drawn from the correct path where you cannot find your way again. This is also the reason why you will see many Muslims try not to convince people of the principles of Islam, because if the person isn’t asking sincerely (which they usually aren’t), they’ll just try to defy what you’re saying; but most of the time this comes off as us Muslims having blind faith where we believe whatever we’re told if we’re not willing to explain. The rest of the poem I believe is quite accurate. Knowing human nature, we will eventually out-greed ourselves to dirt. And the sad thing is, it’s not most of society who is going to drive us to this point; but it will be most of society that is affected. We have been trained for generations to be prepared for the future; and generally we are the perfect cattle. All of us are distracted to some point, with our sanity/brain/compassion being numbed to a efficient degree. We become immersed in things that we think are important or interesting, but really have no substance. For instance, Politics; they are just another way to throw away time (although not seemingly), with ephemeral events. Honestly most political affairs can be equated with celebrity affairs. For most of us, if we're shook back to actuality we want to turn it away, but if we’re thrown into it will perform the unimaginable. So , I thank you Bukowski for making this eye-opening poem, and shaking us back to reality; even if only for 3 minutes.

Father and Son

Looking at the topic “Father and Son,” I was instantly sparked to write about family relations; so I thought of writing about daughter and father since it’s something could I relate to more (being that I am a daddy’s girl). But rather, The Road won't allow this type of drift from the main theme, being that the perspective in the novel is too narrow to still someway connect it to other subjects and be able to support my point with the book: therefore I write only of “Father and Son”.
To me a father and son are like yin and yang…or should I say play into yin yang. They only complete one side, where the child is the bigger portion, and the father the smaller. The other side would probably be the mother/mother figure; and I don’t believe the region (lighter or darker) of the circle they inhabit matters as long as it is complete. And although they only make up half, without each other they would be lost or insignificant. The situation I am about to examine only looks upon two possibilities, so I don’t deny other menial details could change the scenario.
Say they were the yin half, (the dark half with the white dot in the middle…and again the father being that dot). The boy without that light/guidance his father gives in the book, would be engulfed in darkness to the point of death. This also works vice-versa for the father. I don’t know if you have seen the Avatar Airbender episode where yin is taken from the pond, and only yang is left. Yang becomes overdrawn & outraged with the evil that surrounds it (because it is pure) …possesses Ang… and is taken to the point of destruction. The father without the boy, no matter how big of a threat carrying a child along in this apocalyptic world is to his life, wouldn’t survive without him.
Now say they were the yang half, (the boy is always the bigger portion, so the father is the dark circle). The same concept applies here. The boy is the fathers guiding light from death, and the father is the boys way of survival. And although the other half of the symbol is still at lost in this, being half way whole is better than being at chaos as the rest of the world.

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

The Crucible is ironic . Simply Ironic. John Proctor is one to urge a behavior towards others that he believes deserves to be drawn out and scrutinized, yet lives in hypocrisy himself. Adultery. It is the name of the crime (crime in the Puritan society at least) he is guilty of, yet looks on others with shame as they conduct themselves in double standards. Although this is certain, Proctor is my favorite. Could it be his wittiness and sharp tongue? Even though the other characters make for great entertainment, he serves his role quite well as the hero. Proctor judges himself with the same harshness as he does with anyone else. Elizabeth Proctor said it herself. The balance of justice is clearly thrown all the way off on the crazy side in this book, and at the point of my last read (end of Act III) his scale seems to be weighed the most even. He confessed his sin, which by Puritan means makes him a clean man, and in this book, a clean man means a clean name. Name and politics is what influences power and authority in this community, but unfortunately Proctor’s exposure came in a bit late, and now works in means of his downfall (as is what the book is foretelling for now). So is Proctor foolish for advocating the simple well-being of his town? No, but his ways in going about so lead him in the counter direction of his goals. For instance, we have a perfect example: Abigail. This girl was nothing but sly and devious to achieve her revenge, and also in gaining the trust she needed through manipulating the Puritan society. Of course her ways were unethical, so we have to ask: do the means justify the ends? In some cases yes, and some no. When complicated matters boil down to a yes or no question, all that remains is the simplification of a dense situation that does no justice (or finds no real solution) to the matter as a whole. So when asked is John Proctor a hero or stooge , I would throw my dart somewhere in the middle; and perhaps, that is the bull’s-eye.

Sinners in The Hands of An Angry God

Gawsh it took me forever to put this up '-_-

Most people respond to this sermon with a modern Christian point of view, and what I mean by this is not that Puritans aren’t Christian, but that its thesis seems a bit radical. One thing I noticed that might bother some Christians is that this sermon doesn't corroborate its sentences with the bible itself. It’s more of interpretation of how one thinks God is and should be, and so basically I from this I grasp that a Christian only has to cohere that Jesus is the messiah, and then everything else becomes legal with redemption. And what I believe is that for a Christian to criticize this, then they must criticize the rest of their religion. If all believers of Jesus are saved, then what need is there to interpret the bible? What need is there to have disputes on what is right and what is wrong? And what right do other Christians have to pass judgment on Puritans? This also leads me into another subject. How does America decided to separate church from state. Together or apart, they both are corrupt. Furthermore, how are laws determined? By democracy? No, the people ruling can lead to downfall. As it always has. What mankind needs is a genuine religious power/church/whatever to rule and govern out of pure good will. And what will lead people to this is faith, not fear. And although the Puritans use fear to instill trust in God, faith and sincerity is what they had, so who are you to criticize?

Arrivals... There Goes the Neighborhood

Ok so I forgot a bit about what this topic is supposed to be about...but I do remember what came to my mind when our teacher mentioned it….so I’ll just write that. I was homeschooled until 3^rd grade. In 2^nd grade I went to school for a month, but I couldn’t “handle” it (lol) and transferred out. This school we’re speaking of goes by the name of Drake, a CPS that is predominately black. During my years of studying at home, I only socialized with family, ALL FAMILY, and if you can guess (or have been in the same situation) I was antisocial. Incredibly. My family lived in a (small) apartment not far from the school, and my mother was having more children (by the year hahaha) and couldn’t teach us all to the full extent that she approved of, therefore she sent us off to school for a while. So, I was off to Drake. Like I mentioned before, I tried 2^nd grade first. Now, before we get into the story, I also had my two other sisters attending with me. Ok…When I arrived, I met my extremely nice/patient homeroom teacher. I also met a boy who I guessed I liked back then, (HA! 2^nd grade love pfft), and from what I could tell he liked me also, so this made school all-the better. Everything was going fine, until my mom ABANDED ME in the classroom with a whole lot of children. That night, I told my mom I was being bullied, some kid tried to pull my scarf off, somewhere along those lines…but she sent me back anyway, and every day I had other fibs to tell about school, and within a month I was free. HALLELUHAH. Still, my mother had a HUGE work load teaching all of us, and asked me if I wanted to try again. I wanted to scream, but didn’t, since I am the oldest. I can’t do that. “I’ll try again.” 3^rd grade I was back in the hell hole, but this time me teacher was crazy. She used to scare yet fascinate me with her wildness and energy. That night I told my dad (I am daddy’s girl by the way lol) she was trying to hurt me (with her craziness). I didn’t really go into much detail after that, but my dad was at the school the next day. For some reason, he came to my school very calmly, spoke with the teacher very calmly, and left me at school; very calmly. I decided I need to stop this madness, and I went to school the next day. My parents dropped me off in front of the school, and I walked my sisters to their classrooms. Seconds later, not trying, a huge fear and sadness came over me. I missed my mother, and my papa, and my sisters down the hallway. I cried continuously for the first 3 whole months. Some reason they stopped when I got home. I know right, how could my parents leave me there for 3 months. Some kids already thought I was weird because of my scarf, but I gained friends through letting them braid my hair. I stayed there for the whole year, and then I moved to a new neighborhood and school where all the kids HATED ME. Gosh, I didn’t even speak to them.

Introduction

Hello... My name is Zainab.

I am Muslim, meaning that I follow the religion Islam. I don’t consider myself super religious, just follow the principles that I believe in (all of them lol), and so, I am not led on by blind faith. My parents are strict, but have never forced me to believe and anything; just hoped that I would listen. I LOVE them with all my heart, but of course they can get on my nerves…a lot. This also applies to my siblings (which I have seven) who never allow me to have a dull moment. I find it weird for people to ask me if we all have the same two parents, of course! All my life I considered myself black...don’t know what nationality (since slavery poo) but my mother is also German, Native American, and my father is African American. One of my favorite music artist is Miyavi, because he has charisma and mind blowing guitar skills. He inspired me to learn guitar, but that spark quickly left me with broken notes and a broken guitar…lol. My life is fencing, school, and kpop. Back to music, I would just like to say GD (G-Dragon) and TOP (both music artists) have so much swag; what can I say, YG entertainment is unique hahaha. Recently I listened to Hey Mama by Kanye West Grammy version (yes I already knew the song I just revisited it) and I admit, got a little teary eyed, even though I don’t particularly like him…or his music. YouTube and Korean Drama is what I do with my free time…which is like what, nothing lol. I clean every day after school, not because of chores, but because I like to be clutter free in order to organize my life. I thrift shop because I like to: cheap. I do have a job at my dad’s small IT business that he owns, (not because of his “connections”, he would never do that, I earn everything I have … no joke). I hate internet Ads, drive me crazy. I think I get a little too excited over food than the average person. I think 9/11 was an inside job. I want to live in Korea with my family when I grow older, I definitely don’t plan to be in America; they secretly have enmity towards Muslims that I can’t even fully understand or imagine. I am a pretty bold person, but I will never be rude, I promise. I don’t like fake people (and yes I can tell, I think everyone can), don’t care for makeup, and will always try to be honest. My dream is probably to spread what I believe in most with the strongest faith: Islam.