What Makes a Novel a Classic?

People can have different opinions on what a classic novel may or may not be. I personally believe that a novel can be considered a classic when it's survived so many years, and continues to remain popular. I feel that a classic novel is one of which people will always be able to relate to emotionally, no matter what time period it is. I also feel that the themes along with the characters (and their personalities)  are timeless. Human beings will always have the same emotions and be put into similar situations. I feel that a classic novel will always capture the attention of mature age groups that have experience in life situations. 

My Wuthering Heights Comments

(To JJ)

Hey Jayy!

I believe that with a lot of money comes a lot of authority and power. I feel that a lot of wealthy people, unfortunately, show their feelings of superiority in a snobby way. I think that kids born into wealthy families group up expecting everything to be handed to them, while as you mentioned, other kids have always had to work for rewards. I believe that people who work for certain things appreciation them more, because they understand what was endured to get that reward. Along with the reward comes a feeling of self accomplishment.  I know for a fact that kids born into wealth live inside this little bubble, and expect to get everything they want. When these kids get older and need to go out into the world to work and get jobs, they are going to be very disappointed when they experience "reality" and finally realize that they can not have everything they want. And that the things they desire are going to have to be obtained by working and putting forth some effort, instead of being handed to them. 

(To Kimberly)

Heyy! I agree. People that you think you know really well can turn their back on you in the blink of an eye. I've witnessed that happen many times. It's so unfortunate that when someone that you've know for so long, suddenly changes and evolves into this completely different person. And for the life of you, you can't figure out why. I think that this happens because as kids get older, they start becoming more exposed to the world and experience different things. They also become more influenced by others when they are a little older. I think that when kids are younger they are more loyal, because they are so young that they don't know about betrayal. You may think someone is loyal, but they might shock you and make you realize that you were completely wrong about them. 

(To Matt Margolis)

Matheww=]

I completely agree with you. Just because your friend does not resemble his parents or relatives does not mean that he is not a huge part of that family. even the fact that he is of a different ethnicity than his family doesn't make a difference to me. And it shouldn't to him or his family either. I know tons of kids who are biologically related to their parents and look absolutely nothing alike. Looking like your family has nothing to do with it. The fact that his family loves and supports him for the person that he is today is what really counts. Your friend doesn't have to "act" like his cousins and uncles are his relatives because they absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, are his real family. 

 

Wuthering Heights Adopted/ Foster Children

I believe that the statement saying that an adopted or foster child will never be accepted as a "real member" of the family, is ridiculous and 100% false. Just because you are not biologically related to somebody, does not mean that they are not your family. I believe that a family is a group of people that know you inside and out, love you and will continue to love you unconditionally, will be there for you no matter what path you take in life, and will always back you up and support you 100%. Just because you are not blood related to somebody, does not mean that you are not a "real member" of their family. Kids that are adopted or taken into a household are just as much a part of the family as the biological children are. I believe that quickly over time, an adopted/foster child becomes very much apart of the family that they now belong to; this is because they are surrounded in such a loving environment, and can contribute to the family as well. 

I've known my best friend, Jessica, since I've been 1 years old. We've been such a huge part of each others lives ever since then. My mom always tells me how much she loves Jessie and that she would adopt her in a second. If my mom did adopt her, she would be treated exactly as she has always been by my family, with love, concern, and support. Her mom also tells me that I'm family and that she loves me as one of her own. 

I truly believe that belonging to a family has nothing to do with resembling each other, being related, or coming from the same ancestors; I believe that it has everything to do with your relationship with the person and your true feelings towards them. 

 

Milestones (Post #5)

In the book, and specifically in the religion of Islam, a Muslim  is supposed to journey once in their lifetime to the Holy City of Mecca on a pilgrimage or hajj (only if they are medically or financially stable). Making this spiritual journey is a huge milestone in the life of an Islamic follower. It is said that a Muslim who takes a hajj to Mecca will come back as a newly born baby because they will be relieved of all of their sins. Here is a link that explains why the Muslim's pilgrimage is so important: www.religioustolerance.org/isla1.htm. I think that this link is very helpful because it explains why Muslims take this journey, why it is of such importance to them, what preparations take place before the trip, and what happens on the spiritual journey.  

A huge milestone in my life and religion was my Bat Mitzvah. For a jewish person, this is when you come into the Jewish world as an adult and take on  different responsibilities. This is also when you become responsible for your own actions. A boy is supposed to be Bar Mitzvahed at the age of 13, while a girl is supposed to be Bat Mitzvahed at the age of 12. A girl is allowed to have her Bat Mitzvah earlier than a boy because it is said that girls are more mature than boys. Also, this is the time in a Jewish person's life when moral awareness and sensitivity develops. Not every Jewish person is required to have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, but most people do.

My Bat Mitzvah was very special to me. I was honored to read the torah in front of my family and friends, and to receive blessings from my family as well. At the time, I was only focused on the after-party aspect of my Bat Mitzvah. The party was really fun, but now looking back I'd say that the cultural and spiritual aspect of the day, (at my service), was the best part. This was definitely a huge milestone in becoming a bigger part of my religion. Here is a link that I found that explains what exactly a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is, the purpose of it, the event that takes place at the synagogue, and the reception following it: www.aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/what_is_a_bar_or_bat_mitzvah$.asp

 

My Comments to Others

Comment # 1 (To Danielle Wagner)

Hey Daniellee! I really liked your post and I can totally relate because when I was little I went to Woodloch Pines with my family and the Komrowers. It was really so much fun. Most importantly, I liked how you noted on how Neil Shoemaker called us his family. I felt that this showed that he was able to forget the racism that is still prevalent in our country; it was good that we were all just able to enjoy the cultural aspect of the trip! I also agree with what Neil had to say about how nice it was to see a group of "White Students" and African Americans students unite to watch our African American Presidents' accomplishments. It didn't matter that we were of different ethnicities; but what mattered was that we all came together to recognize a great occurrence of change in our country. Lastly, Bill from the Apollo theatre was a great guy because I thought he was amiable towards us and got me really involved. Personally, I really enjoyed him, and I think part of the reason was because he also enjoyed himself! I thought the trip was really fun! Good job on your blog! I love you, get better!

Comment #2 (To Christian E.)

Hey Christina!

I totally agree with you when you say that you wanted to defend yourself against Malcolm when he talked so harshly (so many times) against the white race. I just don't understand how a man of his intelligence who has been so unfairly discriminated against his whole life, can be such a hypocrite (by blaming the African American peoples' problems on whites). He didn't blame his problems on any other race, and only referred to us as "white-devils",  who allegedly were the cause of African Americans' horrible lives . I feel that this specifically is very racist on Malcolm's part. Not only does it anger me that he feels this way about whites, but that he also goes on to teach this theory of the "white-devil" to other African Americans. This really bothers me. I feel that he is just as bad, if not worse than a so called "white-devil"! 

Comment #3 (To Danielle Wagner)

Hey! I know that we talked about the video that we watched today in class on how African Americans have always been mistreated in various ways, but I have a lot more to say! I guess I can understand if someone has a valid reason to respectfully dislike or disagree with a certain race's beliefs or actions (because everyone is entitled to their own opinions, whether they're right or wrong), but what really agitated me was the graphic pictures shown of an African American slave who was whipped. That made me so upset and irate to see an actual image where physical harm was inflicted upon these human beings, JUST BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. Nobody can help what they are born into, and nobody should be punished for the inevitable. We are all different in our own ways, but every single person living on this earth is the same because we are all human beings with feelings that need to be respected. Just imagine if it was the other way and around, and African Americans were the majority of the population; what if they were the predominant race, while white people were the minority. I know for a fact, I (as a white person) would not want to be abused physically or emotionally for the color of my skin. However, after being angered by the video I'm relieved to see that society has definitely changed for the better in a sense that we are not as racist! 

Comment #4 (To Shayna Lans)

Shayna,

I too had a really fantastic experience at the Mosque in Harlem with Brother Tyrique. I loved how down to earth he was and how he was so eager to please us by answering our questions. I personally learned a lot from him, and I'm sure he learned a few things from us too (as a mixed racial group). I also liked how he was able to teach us about his religion and all of the great things that are apart of it, without trying to recruit us or persuade us to join (or that Islam is the only right religion). I also agree with you when you mentioned in your blog how other religions besides Islam usually try to recruit people to join their religion. The Brother at the Mosque made it clear that Islam was not about recruiting members. It was about changing people and helping them to become the best possible person they could be. I got the message from the Brother that Islam is so much more than just a religion for people. Good job on your blog!

Helping Others (Post #1)

While reading, I was really surprised to see that Ella gave Malcolm all of her money that she had been saving for herself to go on the Hajj to Mecca, and instead gave it to Malcolm. I thought that this was an amazing deed and a great example of sacrifice. Ella must have felt so good to know that she was able to give Malcolm something so special and meaningful to him (especially in a time for Malcolm where he was economically not stable). Below is a link describing the importance of the Hajj (it really helped me to have a better understanding of what kind of spiritual experience Ella gave up for Malcolm): www.observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/1/4/the-importance-of-hajj 

So many people make sacrifices everyday that really change other people's lives. My cousins in Florida have a tough life. My three younger cousins have parents that are constantly fighting (more like at war) all the time, and there is never a peaceful moment in the house between the two. They are always cursing each other (but not in front of my cousins) and NEVER agree on ANYTHING. My cousins'  parents work long hours to support their family. The kids are fairly young. Although the parents hate each other and can never get along, they sacrifice their own well being and their peace of mind to make life better for their kids. If they got divorced, they would have to split up as a family and move to a really low-key home. Their lifestyle would not nearly be the same. Both of them would have to work double the amount of time and would never get to see their kids. They keep it together for their kids so they can have a nice childhood and not have to struggle through life and deal with the after-effects of divorce. My younger cousins are probably not aware of the extremity of the situation, and are probably not aware of the huge sacrifices that their parents make for them, for their well being.  I think what they're doing for my younger cousins is temporarily really great. Below is a link explaining what sacrifice is according to Muslims (what's really weird is that I just typed in 'what is sacrifice' in google and the article i clicked on happened to be about Muslims!)-This article nots on different kinds of sacrifices, what it truly means to sacrifice, and whether all sacrifices are good or not: www.web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/sacrifice_the_making_of_a_muslim/what_is_sacrifice.htm

My Experience in Harlem (Post #2)

In Harlem, what I most enjoyed was going to the Apollo Theatre. The experience was really cool because Billy made it really interesting and sort of brought us back to the past. I liked how we rubbed the special tree stump and were allowed to walk on the stage. By doing this, the experience became much more realistic.  

Whenever I go to places that have existed for a while, I always try to imagine what exactly went on there, and how it was different from what goes on today. Going to Harlem allowed me to get an idea of what life was culturally like for Malcolm. Harlem made me think of The Holocaust Museum because this is a place for me that is a part of my family's life and history as Harlem is for African Americans and specifically Malcolm. Going to the Holocaust Museum helped me so much to have a better understanding of my family's history. However, aside from all of the pictures and stories of the Holocaust, the exhibits helped me to imagine what it was really and truly like in the concentration camps, and what emotions and thoughts ran through all of the prisoners. Here is a link to an article on what life was like, specifically, in a Warsaw Ghetto: www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005188. I chose this because my Grandpa Jack, who was in the Holocaust and is still alive today, was born in Warsaw, Poland. The article shows what the horrible conditions were like in the ghettos of Warsaw during the time of the Holocaust.  

Being a Jewish person, everybody that I know always assumes that I am religious, that I go to temple, worship in the synagogue, and observe the Jewish Holidays. However, I do not even belong to a temple anymore (I haven't for about two years), and although my family and I get together to celebrate certain Jewish Holidays, I feel that being Jewish is more of a title for me, than something of my own. On certain Jewish holidays like Passover, Jewish people are not supposed to eat bread or anything containing yeast. I eat bread and things containing yeast anyway. What I'm trying to say is, I'm proud of my religion, of who I am because of it, and especially proud of my family's difficult past in being involved in the Holocaust; but I feel that in order to be Jewish, you don't have to observe all of the Holidays, and go to temple. I know that I make of it something on my own, in my own meaningful way. On some holidays when certain things are expected of me to do, or not do, I don't always follow the traditions, and my friends say, 'aren't you supposed to this, or aren't you not supposed to do that'. But being Jewish for me is so much more than following the customs of a Holiday-it's knowing that my grandfather survived through such a horrible time in history and had to endure all of that pain and torture, and is still alive today. That's one of the main reasons that i am proud to be Jewish. 

Lastly, my Grandpa Jack is still very religious and goes to temple all the time. He walks to and from temple, and tells me how he prays for my family and me. He observes all of the Jewish holidays, and I completely respect him for that. My grandpa and I are different in a sense that I am not that religious. When he asks about the boys in school, and which ones I like, basically all of them that I talk about are non-Jews. This really upsets him to such a level that it even makes me really upset and agitated to see him so distraught. I understand why he wants me to go out with Jewish guys, but I remind him that I am only 15 years old and not to worry because I will marry a Jewish guy. So basically, the way I see it, I'm just as Jewish as my grandpa, but just for different reasons and beliefs. Below is a link explaining "what a Jewish person" is: www.mideastweb.org/jewreligion.htm. I think this link is really relative to what I've talked about. The Paragrpah Jew and Jewish- Definitions says that different Jews define themselves differently. That was exactly the point I was trying to get at!

You Can Make the Best out of the Worst Situation (Post #3)

In class when we were discussing our quotes from chapters 13-15, I thought of Malcolm's rough life and how he completely transformed his ways of living along with his attitude towards others. Malcolm has showed us that you can make the best out of the worst situation. For Malcolm to be a criminal in prison and to then completely turn his life around by educating himself and turning to the religion of Islam, is truly a great accomplishment. 

Malcolm reminds me of my other grandpa (not the one that was in the Holocaust). My Grandpa Alex had a really hard life growing up during the time of the depression. He was a child of 7 living in the tenements of the Bronx. His parents were both immigrants from Hungary and they could barely make ends meet. Every paycheck barely kept him and his family alive. My grandpa never had a decent education, and he was kicked out of high-school. In the time of the depression, it was very hard to get a job, especially for my grandpa since he had no education whatsoever past high school. My grandpa could have easily decided to give up on life and just become a painter, or carpenter, or somebody of a low paid job during that time; but instead my grandpa decided to turn his life around. My grandpa educated himself by reading books on history, literature, poetry, and many other things. He self-educated himself to the point where he could get a well-payed job and become independent. And that's just what he did. 

My Grandpa Alex went on to become a successful owner of his own Insurance Company.

At first he started out as an insurance agent, and he later on furthered his success by studying very hard to 

become the owner and founder of Health Insurance Network. From his success he became very wealthy. Today, he

is still the owner and now has had a great life because of his will to keep going and not give up. From being kicked 

out of high-school during one of the world's greatest depressions, and being an extremely poor person, my Grandpa Alex

did not give up and completely changed his life for the better. He definitely turned a bad situation into a great one.

Below is an article that shares a story of a woman Jen, who became very ill. Doctors said she was going to die, and that it was probably better off that way. The doctors kept fighting, and they saved Jen. Although they had to amputate both of her hands and legs, Jen considers herself very lucky. Instead of sitting around and accepting defeat, she got right back up and started performing normal activities. She has started driving, has learned to type, and is going back to work. I think that anyone else would just say 'look at what's happened to me, I'm not going to go anywhere in life or really do anything with myself'. Jen showed that even though she was stuck in a really rotten situation, she was still going to live her life and not let it keep her down. (Also, I thought it was so cool that in order to help support her, her family rallied around her at the hospital and on www.getwelljen.blogspot.com!!!): www.playfoundation.net/pdf/article.pdf. Lastly, here is another website that tells you how to make the best out of a really bad situation. It gives helpful tips on how to stay positive and how to move on: http://ezinearticles.com/?Positive-Attitude---Making-the-Best-out-of-the-Worst&id=569007

White Superiority and Racism (Post #4)

  Previously in class, we had discussed white privileges. We read many examples and scenarios where white people would have an advantage over African Americans. What really interested me was when Mrs.Mattessich talked about the African American English teacher from last year. I thought it was interesting that she was the only African American person in the English department. I found it even more interesting when Mrs. Mattessich brought up the question of whether or not it was hard for this African American teacher to express her ideas without being intimidated. Also, did the head of the English department feel inclined to agree with her opinions, or use her ideas solely because of her skin color? 

 While reading chapters 7-10 in Malcolm X, I saw examples of white superiority and privilege. When Malcolm, Shorty, Sophia, and her sister all got caught with the robberies, Malcolm and Shorty were sentenced to ten years in prison, while the girls were sentenced 1-5 years. I felt that this was a really good example of white privilege, because they were all equally involved in the robberies, but the white girls got off easier. I feel that the judge shouldn't have punished them for their race, but for the fact that they were all engaged in criminal activity, and that they all broke the law. Lastly, what really astonished me, was that the court was punishing Malcolm and Shorty more for being involved with white girls, than being involved in the robberies. "The girls got low bail. They were still white-burglars or not. Their worst crime was involvement with Negroes" (152). Another quote that showed an example of this: "'We seem to be getting sentenced because of those girls.' He got red from the neck up and shuffle his papers: 'You had no business with white girls!'"(153). This really angered me because the boys should be punished solely because of their crime, not because they were involved with white girls. If they were white men, I bet they would have been sentenced a shorter amount of years and a less harsh punishment. 

In the past I've witnessed a teacher that acted superior towards one of his students of a different race. I constantly watched the kid be treated unfairly due to something that he was born into This relates to Malcolm because he was punished by somebody of a different race for something that he too was born into. The kid was not punished for his actions, or any wrong-doings, but just because of his race, like Malcolm. Here is a link to an article describing why people are racist and feel the need to discriminate: www.childline.org.uk/info/Pages/Racism.aspx 

Here are two websites discussing white privilege: 

 1) www.unh.edu/residential-life/diversity/aw_article17.pdf

 2) www.dickshovel.com/priv.html

I chose the first link because it is very similar to what we were given in class. It's a list with white privileges on it. It just shows even more how life for a white person and an african-american are so different. The second link is interesting too because it talks about the white race and white supremacy. It notes how whites are born into certain privileges that others of different races are not so lucky to have. It also explains how whites can't understand how other people of other races feel inferior to the white race.