Tiny Handprints in the Cake

"as soon as two tiny hand prints appeared in the cake (that was it for Howard)"

The quote regarding the handprints in the cake are in the first page of Toni Morrison's Beloved. The first glimpse we get into this book is the "spiteful" nature of the environment in which Sethe and Denver live. Beloved has already driven away her brothers, trying to get Sethe to be only hers.  I makes perfect sense that the boys would leave such a hostile environment. The first chapter makes it seem as though the ghost is the only motivation that the boys have to leave. However, as the book progress, it seems very possible that Beloved didn't have much to do with the departure of her brothers. Howard and Buglar have apparently lived with the ghost for a couple of years, until they were thirteen, so it is seems unlikely that they were not able to cope with these minor events. The ghost of Beloved and her antics might have been the straw that broke the camels back but was most likely not the only factor. The two boys were old enough to comprehend their mothers actions when she killed their sister and they also suffered from the attack, emphasized by the fact that the school teacher thought they were close to death and too far gone that "there was nothing to claim.” (pg. 149). According to an article analyzing the motivation behind the departure of Howard and Buglar, they "left because they were afraid of their mother trying to kill them again, not the ghost of Beloved."  This is a viable theory. As soon as they boys considered themselves to be capable teenagers and no longer needed their mother's help they left for fear of her intense brand of love. All of Sethe's children were affected by her actions, even Denver, who was significantly younger than the boys, harbors fear from the events of that day. It make sense that Howard and Buglar are very afraid of their mother and Sethe simply used the tiny handprints in the cake and the shattered mirror to justify her children leaving her.  

The cake that Sterling and I made is much more modern interpretation of the cake that supposedly drove Howard away. Due to the time period and the circumstances in which they lived, their cake was probably not quite as sophisticated. The flavor of the cake is not really and important detail but we still tried to keep the cake firmly in the south, with the famously southern red velvet. The most important part of the cake is the handprints. They were probably much more subtle than the obvious red that we choose to use but the emphasis of the hands was important. The handprints might have been an excuse to leave home but there is no doubt that the existed and were probably quite unnerving. Beloved did still want her mother to herself and caused disturbances to make that happen. No matter the real reason of fear, the handprints and the shattered mirror are a catalyst that causes the boys to leave. 

Secondary source: http://maggieronnieadambeloved.blogspot.com/2010/06/howard-and-buglar.html

Baby Suggs = Stagger Lee

Toni Morrison's Beloved portrays a snapshot of our collective history as a nation. This history is something that we would all like to move past and forget, an idea which is a theme of Beloved; don't let the past consume you. Unfortunately the past is hard to forget, but it we can move past it and learn from it. Slavery occurred because people were dehumanized, treated as objects that could be worked and abused in any way that the owner saw fit. The downfall of slavery is that all though these people are treated as object they are still human and human nature says that a people as a whole can only go so long being mistreated before someone fights back. These people are the Stagger Lees. 

Stagger Lee is a prominent archetype through history, "Every era has had a Stagger Lee". There is folktale in which a black man shot another man for knocking his hat off. This myth on it's own is not much to look at but Will Powers turned this legend into something more with his musical Stagger Lee. Will Powers suggested that though Stagger Lee is big and bad and can be a destroyer "sometimes Stagger Lee is the protector". This Stagger Lee "energy in our community is necessary" and was especially necessary during the time of slavery. Stagger Lee stands up to societal ideas without fear. Not enough Stagger Lee accomplishes nothing, too much Stagger Lee is dangerous and reckless, and the perfect balance of Stagger Lee makes a difference.  

Baby Suggs is a Stagger Lee. She stood against the ideas of slavery and taught people how to love and be human when there lives were filled with nothing but pain and hate. Baby Suggs started out with the perfect amount of Stagger Lee energy. She was promoting change and infusing humanity into the community. This energy was necessary for all these people who were trying to find out who they were and what they were beyond the chains of slavery. Unfortunately the community felt that the feast was too much Stagger Lee energy. The were angry and also a little scared that Baby Suggs had so easily raised herself up to be a Christ figure, as though she was better than everyone else and no one could touch her. According to Will Powers , too much of this energy causes us to "turn on each other and destroy ourselves." The events of the morning after the feast emphasizes this idea. 

Stagger Lee energy is what has moved us past slavery. Hate and discrimination became a societal norm and were perfectly accepted. If no one speaks up against the norms then no one will acknowledge them as being anything but normal. Though hate and discrimination are no longer norms they still live on. We are not past the need for Stagger Lee energy, something the musical really demonstrates. If we learn from our past while fostering a balanced Stagger Lee energy, we can wipe out slavery and discrimination of all types.  Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as it sounds. If it was we would be living in a utopia. 

Secondary Source: http://www.theaterjones.com/ntx/features/20150123114224/2015-01-25/Deconstructing-Stagger-Lee 

Devil Spawn (inspired Bria Williams's Laughing Soul)

The silence of the night easily conveyed the sound of a party in full swing and she followed the noise until she found the source. The music was so thunderous that the house seemed to throb with the deep beat. Her empty stomach churned as she entered the house full of sweaty bodies.  

“I knew you would come,” shouted a deep voice behind her as strong tan arms encased her tiny waist. She turned around and was abruptly sweep off her feet into sloppy drunken kiss. It took all her power not to push him off her and vomit where she stood.  

“Can we go somewhere else to talk?” she asked with a sultry smile as they both regained their breath.  

“Come on Alice, dance with me first,” he protested as he dragged into the eye of the body tornado. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem any calmer than the rest of the room.  

“Jake, I have a headache. I just want to talk real quick and then you can get back to your party,” she complained adding a whiny quality to her voice to make her act more believable.  

“Just one dance,” he insisted as he grinded against her body with a playboy grin. Her tiny body was bumped into and the booming cacophony really was starting to make her head throb. She was getting pissed and she could feel the dangerous rage boiling in her blood.   

“We really need to talk,” she insisted in a last ditch effort to change his mind.  

“Come on, baby,” he cajoled “don’t be such a buzz kill!” He pulled her tight to his body and blew rancid beer breath into her face. She fought to get away and collided with a passing partygoer. Her shirt was suddenly soaked in a sticky liquid that was accompanied by the putrid stench of beer. She snapped.  

“Enough!” Her whisper seemed to echo with the force of a million screams. The bodies writhing on the dance floor abruptly began writhing for a completely different reason and dropped to the ground as each life giving soul was ripped from its dependent shell. She smiled as her stomach became pleasantly full.  “When I say I need to talk that means you listen.” she scolded in an eerily calm voice.  

“Alice, what’s going on?” Jake questioned in a weak voice as a jagged dagger materialized into her hand.  

“What’s going on is that you’ve overstepped your boundaries, and now someone has to pay for it.”. Despite the harsh words, her tone hid all indications of anger, making her seem all the more threatening. “You and your meager little band of hunters thought you could kill my demons and get away with it.” At the mention of the possessive, she watched the realization of who she really was, and she smirked at the anger and dread that appeared. Light caught the silver tip of the dagger as she twirled it expertly. “As you well know, no one touches what is mine and lives.”  

“You devil…” he choked out, but the rest of the sentiment was cut off by the wet squelch as his head separated from his shoulders, followed by a heavy thud when the severed appendage hit the ground.  

“Close, but no cigar,” she intoned, sounded almost bored with the misconception, “I’m just his daughter.” The acrid smell of death filled the air as she strode smoothly from the scene, her silhouette blending seamlessly back to its true appearance. The color of her swaying hair matched the color of the blood soaked floor.  

                        

War, What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing!!!

I think everyone can agree that war is a rather appalling thing, whether you believe that it is preventable or necessary. I don't believe any sane person would say that war is a good ole time. War sucks. It's painful, violent, intense, tragic, hopeless, the list can honestly go on for ever. Even though war can be described in these horrific ways, it can still be justified by the idea that all the pain and suffering is for a greater cause. This is how basically all war movies present war, Red Dawn included (even though it isn't technically about a real war). War is colored in this light that makes it seem horrendous while also making it seem like this great cause, something you should join to be a real hero.  Slaughterhouse Five is different because I this book war isn't quit as intense as it is everywhere else. War is viewed in the same absurd way that Billy Pilgrim looks at everything else. The whole point of Slaughterhouse Five is to make war seem childish, while Red Dawn has the over arching theme of fighting for your home. 

Though Red Dawn isn't about a real war and is so obviously not the best war movie out there, it has this great relatability to it. I have never had many strong opinions on war because it is a topic I feel quite ignorant about. I have never fought in a war and I don't experience it firsthand. This movie brought war to America, which in a way made it that much more terrifying, but for the first time in my life I felt like I understood war to some degree because "when you're fighting in your own backyard, and you're fighting for your family, it all hurts a little less and it makes a little more sense"(Jed Eckhert/Matt Eckhert in Red Dawn). This movie was so intense because it was a fictional war that in reality could happen at any moment. It portrayed a war that lives as the nightmare in the back of America's mind. This movie also presented the idea that war is okay when you are fighting for your home. This makes you wonder of there is justification for anyone who has been on the other side of any war involving America.  

Slaughterhouse is in no way as fear inducing as Red Dawn. Red Dawn isn't as brutal as the majority of war movies but, Slaughterhouse's portrayal of war is still laughable in comparison. While war movies show us death and gore in the most graphic way, Billy Pilgrim describes a scene of someone bleeding out as snow turning "the color of raspberry sherbet". War is still by no means portrayed in a casual way but it is meant to make war seem like a joke. War is shown in a way that suggest it isn't a noble thing to die and to kill others. War isn't necessary and all the violence and suffering is born of foolishness. 

There are a million answers to how war should be approached. Not I single one of them is necessarily wrong. War shouldn't be started but when it is we should make sure that it wasn't started in vain. We need to make sure all the deaths were worth something. The death of babies is never okay, but when there is greater cause it makes more sense and hurts a little bit less. 

A Defense of Acting

Thespians, according to the circumstances of the age and nation in which they appeared, were called, in the earlier epochs of the world, imposters, or oracles: an actor essentially comprises and unites both these characters. For he not only transforms himself to convincingly portray circumstances of the human existence, but he conveys messages of absolute truth, and his performances are the eyes of man, the mirrors to the soul that reflect the façade of life and the quintessence of daily struggles that come with the entry of breath into the lungs. Not that I assert thespians to be oracles in the gross sense of the word, or that they lips of divinity, a vehicle of godly communication: such is the pretense of superstition, which would make acting an attribute of celestial utterance, rather than celestial utterance an attribute of acting. An actor participates in the eternal, the infinite, and the one: as far as relates to his conceptions, time and place and numbers are not. The words, as well as the body language and facial expression which are a better received form of communication, are convertible with respect to the highest embodiment of acting without injuring it as acting; and the speeches of Moses, Socrates, and Martin Luther King Jr. would afford, more than any other dialogue, examples of this fact, if the limits of this essay did not forbid citation. The creations of dances, sculpture, painting, and music are illustrations still more decisive. 

Language, movement, form, and religious and civil habits of action, are all instruments and materials of acting; they may be called acting by that figure of speech which considers the effect as a synonym of the cause. But acting in a more restricted sense expresses those arrangements of communication, even that which is non verbal, which is created by the magical gospel of human nature. And this springs from the very nature of communication, which is something that has always existed even when language did not, and is susceptible of more various and delicate combinations, than color, form, or motion, and is almost more universal than the act of breathing itself. For communication is what forms the relationships that determine whether we are really living or simply existing, and has relations to thought alone, even more so than language; but all other materials, instruments, and conditions of art have relations among each other, which limit and interpose between conception and expression. The former has the depth of the ocean, while the latter is as shallow as a kiddie pool, the water of which both are mediums of communication. 

Thespians are the most successful con artist; the role models and deviants of society; the bridges which connect the world when language is a barrier unable to cross; the mirrors which reflect the turmoil of the past, present, and future; the inspiration of great beauty and great reform. Thespians are the underappreciated sustainers of passion in the world. 

The Lion King= Hamlet?

The Lion King, one of the better Disney movies of ones childhood, is a cartoon almost everyone is aware of. Almost everyone has some connection to this charming little film. Kids like the cartoon animals and the jaunty musical numbers that almost immediately put a smile on their impressionable tiny faces. A lot of people like the plot twist and the dynamic character as well as the spiritual undertones that suggest that we are all connected in this "circle of life". Some people feel that they have grown out of this silly film, but will still watch it when it happens to be on television because it reminds them of their childhood. It doesn't really matter why people like it or are connected to it, we simply are, which also means that we are connected to Shakespeare. 

Yep, the quirky little story of The Lion King is basically a happier , easier to understand version of Hamlet (As shocking as learning most horror movies are scarily similar to Hansel and Gretel, isn't it?). So Simba's father is a king which makes him a prince. Hamlet is also a prince though when the story begins his father has already fallen victim to fratricide, in TLK we get to watch the murder happen first hand (we knew one of Simba's parents had to go because almost no Disney character gets to keep both parents, don't be so greedy Simba). It is also important to mention that they both have insane uncles who kill their fathers, this is a detail that shouldn't be overlooked. Both princes are sent away from their homes. Simba spends his banishment in a jungle paradise while Hamlet spends his time depressed, suicidal, and a touch insane. The princes both see their dead fathers, though Hamlet's dad tells him to get revenge and Simba's dad tells him some cryptic crap about taking his part in the circle of life. Last but not least, both princes kill their uncle. Disney turned it into a happily ever after where Simba is a happy king. The Shakespeare version isn't quite so rainbows and unicorns (or African sunsets and lions if you prefer). Hamlet ends up dead as well as countless others. So TLK is Hamlet without the never ending tragedy of almost all Shakespearian stories, also it has lions which makes it cooler. 

Shakespeare is impossible to avoid. If you are sitting around and want to watch a rom com like 10 Things I Hate about You or She's the Man, you are still subjected to Shakespeare, more specifically Taming of the Shrew and Midsummer Nights Dream. Shakespeare follows us everywhere, but you have to admit the stories are quite entertaining even when half the character don't end up dead by the end. Shakespeare simply works. All the stories are timeless tales, adaptable to any time period and any species.  

Shakespeare is everywhere but I often wonder if there wasn't someone before Shakespeare, the real mastermind from whom Shakespeare got all his stories. Perhaps this stories originate from a source unknown yet we still give Shakespeare all the credit. Maybe Shakespeare is on the some level as every other writer that came after him, trying in vain to receive a portion of the original fame.