The Diary of a Young Girl Blog Post

          I’ve just started reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. It’s a good book about Anne’s life in the secret annex, her hiding place during World War Two. Anne is so removed from the “real” world in the secret annex, that when she’s brought information about the war from people who bring her and her family food and company, it’s shocking to hear. It’s a hard book to relate to, because it’s set in such horrible circumstances that are hard to imagine. The secret annex is very secluded and cramped with two families living there at the moment. They clash on many topics and instead of the proximity bringing them closer, it seems to be tearing most of the members apart. It’s starting off to be a good book, but hard to relate to due to the harsh and traumatic circumstances.

            Anne’s family is staying above her father’s old office building, and their allies are her father’s old colleagues. They bring the Franks and Van Daans (the other family staying with them) food, news about the war, and company when they stay over and act as a buffer for the clashing families. It’s particularly shocking to hear of the news of the war and Anne’s reaction to the news. I know a lot of the horrifying things that took place during WWII, and hearing Anne’s innocent reaction, thinking she will probably never experiences the horrible things happening, is heart breaking, since she doesn’t deserve any of it. I’ve read about WWII, and though it is shocking and disgusting, it has more of an impact to hear about it through the voice of a fourteen-year old girl (like me) actually experiencing (and about to experience) the harsh consequences the war had to offer. I think it’s very fitting that this book is written in the form of a diary, because even though it’s quite hard to relate to and connect to Anne, the diary aspect of it sort of breaks the barrier between author and reader.

            The secret annex is only a few rooms on two floors. The description was very detailed but it was hard for me to imagine so I’m still not totally sure what the layout of it was. They packed two families into it (at least for the start of the book), so they’re constantly together all the time. This can bring certain people closer together for a while, maybe at first they learn more about each other but still aren’t comfortable enough to get mad at one another. After so much time spent together, the Franks and Van Daans are definitely close enough and are comfortable enough together to snap at one another, and all this closeness is tearing them apart, because they’re starting to not be able to stand each other.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) Blog Post

             I recently finished Mindy Kaling’s autobiography, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). It was a hilarious book about her entire life, including all the embarrassing ups and downs that make any comedian’s autobiography worth reading. As I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but compare it to Tina Fey’s Bossypants. I actually thought this book was better, it gave me more of an insight into her life and was easier to relate to- there was less of a barrier between author and reader. I did notice that in both comedians’ books, there was a lot of humor. It made me think that if someone is writing an autobiography, of course they’re required to include their life’s story, but I think they’re also required to add characteristics of their profession in the making of the book.

            Many different famous people write autobiographies, comedians, actors, scientists, bakers, etc. When a comedian writes an autobiography, it’s usually required to be funny, and when a dramatic actor writes an autobiography, you’d assume there to be a lot of dramatic events in it, many long and complicated facts for a scientist, and different steps to a baker’s biography, like in a recipe, and maybe even a recipe in the book as well. If a baker includes a recipe in their autobiography, it’s like when a comedian includes a joke in theirs, they’re including their talent and profession into the book. It’s not required that you have to include the way your profession feels to people in your book, but most people do it. I think this is also a way of showing your readers that you love your job, and that you’re committed to it, like it’s a part of you. I think people are sometimes classified by their jobs, like “Mindy Kaling? She’s so funny, she’s a comedian.” and, “Have you read Buddy Valastro’s (Cake Boss) book? It has some recipes in it, and it talks a lot about baking. He’s a baker.”

            I’d like to know more about whether some people defy the stereotype that your job could define you, like comedians aren’t always funny, in their autobiographies. I think it would be really nice to read a book by a comedian, for example, and to see a side of them that’s more serious, because I think that would create a much stronger connection between the author and reader. I’d also like to know what some readers’ reactions would be to a serious book by a comedian, or a book that’s unlike what someone does in their profession, and maybe then you can see that some people just want to read a funny book, not actually about the author. I don’t think that this is defying what an autobiography or a biography is all about, because people certainly do have multiple sides to them, and I think it would be interesting to see another side of a famous person who’s known for the side they do show to the public.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story Blog Post

SPOILER ALERT!!!

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is an intriguing book about Craig, a stressed out New York City high school-er and his experience in a mental hospital. Craig suffers from teenage depression because of all the stress he’s experiencing at his school, “Executive Pre-Professional High School”, a fictional high school in the book. Though it’s fictional, it’s quite similar to many high schools in New York City. Craig has been yearning to get into Executive Pre-Professional since the seventh grade, when he began studying like crazy to pass the entrance exam. He studied for hours every night and barely made any time for anything other than studying. He passed the exam with a perfect score, but when he got to school, he realized he wasn’t nearly as smart as the other students there. This book had a clear message; that you need to be the best person you can be. You are good enough for anything, and if you find that you need to change yourself for something (like changing your life to study everyday for two years just to pass an entrance exam) it’s not worth your time and might end up hurting you. However, I also found hints at another message directed towards the educational system that what they’re demanding of their students might be hurting them instead of helping them.

            What Craig did to get into his school was drastic, but it’s not too far from what some students do to get into the high schools of their dreams. Some students have private test prep tutoring, go to test prep classes at school, buy test prep books to do at home, get private coaching for auditions, etc. just to nail their test, audition, or interview. It seems extreme to someone who’s not used to it, but it’s pretty normal to someone applying to high schools in any major city. This winter I went through the high school process myself, and it really was stressful and extensively thorough. There’s a lot you have to do, and as a 13/14 year old, it can really take a toll on you. You doubt yourself a lot, and with the mindset that your high school can determine the rest of your life that’s implied by many of the adults surrounding you, it’s easy to become obsessed with the high school process. This being said, the majority of kids don’t get so depressed that they end up in a mental hospital, but the process can really be crazy and unfair when you think about all the incredibly intelligent and dedicated kids who try so hard to get into the schools they desire to get into and don’t.

Craig ends up switching schools at the end of the book, which reinforces the clear message that you shouldn’t waste your time on something you need to change yourself for. Since Craig needed to change himself to succeed in Executive Pre-Professional, he started to get depressed because he wasn’t enough for the school. After his stay in the mental hospital, Craig realized he wasn’t happy at Executive Pre-Professional and decided to transfer. This is one major hint of the message Ned Vizzini is sending the educational system, that the requirements of their students are too much for them to handle, and that their students are beginning to change themselves for a school. Ned Vizzini is writing this book in the hopes that powerful people in the educational system will hear of it and read it, seeing what possible future consequences of their actions will occur sooner or later. This, along with other, subtler hints, will hopefully influence these powerful people to limit their expectations, and to remember that these students are only children, and that they need to enjoy their childhood while they can, not waste it on worrying whether they will get into this high school, and whether they’re doing enough extra curriculars for that college.

"Romeo and Juliet" Essay

            Having a strong relationship with your mother, or a maternal figure, can benefit both of you in so many ways. A mother will love you, stay with you during highs and lows, and will be able to help you make the right decision for yourself in life. In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet, the main character, does not have a strong bond with her mother. Juliet is very obedient, and loves her parents just as they love her, but they aren’t close, and there aren’t many moments where you see the mother and child type bond between Juliet and her mother, Lady Capulet. Her parents are very strict with Juliet and won’t tolerate any nonsense or disobedience. Juliet and her mother’s relationship is so “loose” because of their impetuous culture of marrying and having children early which may have marred Lady Capulet’s attempt at motherhood since she was so young.

            Juliet is not only getting married to Romeo at a young age, but also to Paris. The culture in Verona (where the play takes place) seems impetuous because it’s quite common for marriage to be so early in one’s life. Lord and Lady Capulet are unaware of Juliet’s marriage to Romeo (which has a significant age difference), but they are aware of her marriage to Paris, which also has a rather large age difference that they are not opposed to. “But saying o’er what I have said before./ My child is yet a stranger in the world./ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years./ Let two more summers wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” (1.2.7-11) Here, Capulet is telling Paris he doesn’t think Juliet is ready to get married, but in two years she will be 15/16, and then she’ll be ready. That’s still a very young age for someone to get married at, but the process speeds up in act 3. “CAPULET Monday, ha ha! Well, Wednesday is too soon./ O’ Thursday let it be.– O’ Thursday, tell her,/ She shall be married to this noble earl.–/ Will you be ready? Do you like this haste?/ We’ll keep no great ado: a friend or two, /For hark you, Tybalt being slain so late, /It may be thought we held him carelessly,/ Being our kinsman, if we revel much./ Therefore we’ll have some half a dozen friends,/ And there an end” (3.4.22-31) Now, Capulet has changed his mind, and makes Juliet marry Paris to cheer her up after Tybalt’s death, while Juliet is still only fourteen, though it doesn’t seem to be much of a concern now that he’s made a decision. Capulet, who at first wanted his daughter to wait two years to marry, is now proposing to have the wedding in three days, while Juliet is still only fourteen.

            The nurse serves as a “bridge” or “translator” for Lady Capulet and Juliet because she’s able to help Lady Capulet and Juliet connect with one another, despite their “loose” relationship. Since Juliet and her mother aren’t very close, Juliet’s nurse helps them communicate using her inappropriate sense of humor and her undivided love for Juliet and the Capulets. “This is the matter.– Nurse, give leave awhile./ We must talk in secret.– Nurse, come back again.” (1.3.8-9) During this scene, Lady Capulet attempts to talk to her daughter by herself, but when she realizes she doesn’t really know Juliet very well, and doesn’t know what to say to her, she brings the nurse in to help her. Juliet and the nurse have known each other since Juliet was a baby. Sometimes that makes Lady Capulet jealous, because she didn’t get to spend precious moments with Juliet like the nurse did. “I never should forget it. “Wilt thou not, Jule?”/ quoth he./ And, pretty fool, it stinted and said “Ay.”/ LADY CAPULET Enough of this, I pray thee, hold thy peace.” (1.3.51-54) In this scene, a hint of jealousy comes up when Lady Capulet asks the nurse to stop telling a funny story about Juliet as a baby. Since Lady Capulet didn’t get to experience these moments, she resents the nurse for having experienced them. Lady Capulet might regret not having raised Juliet as much as she would have wanted to because now their relationship is not as strong as it could have been.

            Lady Capulet was no older than Juliet is now when she had her. Lady Capulet must have married at quite a young age, and had a baby at about fourteen years old. This might have been a factor in her and Juliet’s weak relationship, because she was so young and perhaps didn’t know how to be a mother. Since she didn’t know this skill, or was too young to fully understand it, it evolved into the unfamiliar relationship between the two of them that we read about in the play. Since she wasn’t able to be a mother to Juliet when she was a baby, she struggles to act like a mother for her now, but will never have the chance to be baby Juliet’s mother again. “Well, think of marriage now. Younger than you/ Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,/ Are made already mothers. By my count/ I was your mother much upon these years/ That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:/ The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.” (1.3.75-80) This just enforces the idea of Verona’s impetuous culture of early marriage. For generations, women have been marrying and having children very early, but Lady Capulet doesn’t seem to think that it’s an issue. “PARIS Younger than she are happy mothers made./ CAPULET And too soon marred are those so early made./ Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she;/ She’s the hopeful lady of my earth.” (1.2.12-15) In this scene, Capulet is telling Paris that Juliet will be unhappy and won’t have as good a future as she might have had if she married at a later age. He might be referring to Lady Capulet’s early marriage to him, and how that may have marred her. It seems like Lady Capulet has no problem marrying early, but Capulet does. This disagreement may be a factor in their odd relationship that doesn’t seem like they truly love each other (probably because it was an arranged marriage), which may influence Juliet’s perspective on love because she doesn’t have a relationship to model her own after.

            Lady Capulet and Juliet’s relationship may be so unfamiliar because of Verona’s culture, including early marriage and conception, which marred Lady Capulet’s attempt at motherhood because of her age. I can connect this to the present day controversial issue of adoption, using the TV show “Teen Mom” as an example, as crazy as it seems. In both “Teen Mom” and “Romeo and Juliet”, teenaged girls are becoming mothers. In “Romeo and Juliet”, Lady Capulet and Juliet have a loose relationship in which they don’t really know each other. They obviously love each other, but don’t have an ideal relationship where the mother and daughter can easily confide in one another. In “Teen Mom”, many of the moms give up their children for adoption, an incredibly hard process. I am by no means against adoption, but as they’re giving up their babies for adoption, they’re giving away their opportunity at motherhood with that child, just like Lady Capulet did when she chose to have the nurse raise Juliet. But as they say, when one door closes, another door opens. When mothers give their children up for adoption, they might be giving up their chance of motherhood, but they’re also giving the adoptive mother a chance at motherhood she may never have had if not for the biological mother choosing adoption. Maybe that’s what Lady Capulet was doing when she let the nurse- who lost her chance at motherhood when her daughter passed away- take care of Juliet, giving her another chance at motherhood but losing her own simultaneously.