Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York. Doubleday, Jabber & Company: February 28, 1906.

Through all the hype, I decided to pick up this book from both recommendations and disgust of the plot. The book is a fictional account of an immigrant in a meatpacking city. The book was written in defense of immigrants and the honest man while it seems to lean towards a communist reach.

The book is centralized in the city of Packingtown, a city devoted to the meatpacking industry in the mid-west. The city has been a hub for all sorts of immigrants, from the Irish to the Slovaks and the Lithuanians. The book follows Jurgis, a strong youth from Lithuania with a will to work, who is trying to make enough money to establish his marriage to his sweetheart. Sinclair tends to create the most disgusting of all settings throughout this book, including extreme evils such as inhumanity, corruption and grotesque images, showing the capitalistic world in all its beauty.

Grandmother Majauszkiene is my favorite personality in the book. She is one Lithuanian who has been able to last in Packingtown longer than all the immigrants that have had to flee. She provides the ideal position, a woman whose son was able to actually pay off the house sold to them, and now lives by herself. Though she would seem to wish to help Jurgis and his family, she seems very cold to them, and represents a very sardonic, biting character.

I honestly did not like this novel. The whole text was a long whiny rant. Sinclair must have had a bad experience in America, because he really has nothing good to say. Between the corrupt lawyers who work with real-estate agents to swindle poor people to the unforgiving companies, Sinclair really makes America look like a fate even worse than hell. The redeeming qualities of this book, including great plot development and realistic characters, are trumped by Upton's lack of humane images.

This book really puts Capitalism and Racism into a clear light. THe book shows the clear evils of Capitalism, in the extreme cases of bloody jobs and severely unfair worker treatment, coincide with those of racism and a lack of acceptance towards immigrants. The attitude towards the immigrants in the book seemed very similar to those that are being expressed against those coming up from the border.

In another note, the book highlights the inhumane practices of the meatpacking industry, which must mean that Sinclair was supporting vegetarianism. I didn't really like how he portrayed the worst of the worst to make a point, but then again, those were different times.

Current Event: US Erects Wall

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/world/middleeast/18sadrcity.html?ex=1366257600&en=a151aa60f77a7c80&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

The United States army has determined that the best solution to their infiltration of militia fighters from Sadr City. The giant, cement wall has been constructed since last week, and many of the soldiers feel it is the right solution. Though many residents of other cities also with cement wall partitions have complained about a feeling of isolation, the walls have prevented insurgents from attacking the city.

Is this the 1600's? We're building a stone wall to prevent our enemies? This seems more ludicrous than going into Iraq in the first place. Of all things to do, while we're in someone else's country, it would seem that we shouldn't be erecting large barriers that will affect the population's living style. Think of it like someone's house. If you visited a friend's house, you might take some food or use their Tv, but you wouldn't go to Ikea, buy a furniture set, and then build it in your friend's house. Why should Iraq be any different?

Vocab Week T

I definitely revere all of those musical icons who made their way through the psychedelic years while avoiding the mass drugs that were passed around.

Slander is a sin in Judaism.

I tend not to squander my weekly allowance, but lately I haven't been so disciplined.


Those who appear to be forlorn are not as alone as they think they are.

I am unable to quell my thirst for knowledge.

Counter-Culture and Jerry

Counter-Culture is a movement, mostly based in the mid to late sixties, that was based upon the principles of rebellious natures, much like generations before. Like their parents, they resisted all strains of society that the previous generation had placed on them through art, drugs and protest. The movement is famous for acts such as the Who, who represented the Mod movement in England, and the Beatles, who were the first band to incorporate their drug experiments into their recording techniques. Counter-culture included artist Andy Warhol, who's brand of artwork which featured regular items in order to represent the view of going against the idea of art in the existentialist period, and Janis Joplin, who's singing style stood in far contrast from the accepted idea of how a female singer sounded and composed herself. The Counter-Culture era included mass protests of the generation against the war that was being readily supported by the parents and politicians, including the Cold and Vietnam wars. Many coincide the end of the era with the death of Janis Joplin, October 4, 1970.

I specifically chose Jerry Garcia, Andy Warhol's painting for the Velvet Underground's debut album, and the peace symbol because they all represent everything Counter-culture was about. The Mod generation of England and the Hippy generation of America believed heavily in creating a universal peace in the world, especially in contrast to the quickly spiraling Vietnam Crisis. Jerry Garcia, who's music was heavily influenced by the popular counter-culture drug, "LSD," was beneficial in spreading awareness of the movement and promoted its ideals. The quote chosen, "Hope I Die Before I Get Old," was penned in the Pete Townshend-written track, "My Generation," which was the Who's idea of what being in Counter-Culture was all about.

Gaza sniper kills Israeli Security Aid

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/world/middleeast/05mideast.html?ref=world

In Gaza, a sniper aimed at an Israeli Security Aid and wounded him. He was breifing a visiting group of Canadian Jews and was severly injured. Many Palestinians claimed responsibility for the shooting including Hamas and the Army of The Nation.

What? I...don't understand. Not only do people view Gaza in a positive light and blame Israel for its problems but they also play the news like a puppet. They claimed responsibility? A large quantity of orginizations say that they WANTED this man shot? I just don't understand how the world can watch Israel with such an ignoring eye, it makes me confused.

Wish Making

1. Be a Musician
2. Be a chef
3. Go to the Moon
4. Visit all 50 states
5. Skate like Tony Hawk

This talk really just made me depressed. What I realized is that some people have no motivation and some people do. Unfortunately, I feel completely unmotivated compared to this guy who not only went into space but worked with Imagineers at Disneyland. What this really showed me is that I am too short to get over the brick walls that prevent us from getting to my dreams.

I also felt that this placed a large emphasis on being self-indulgent. Everything shouldn't be done only for oneself; there should be a balance between caring for others and caring about oneself. The guy tried to appear as selfless as possible, but I felt he was extremely narcissistic and self-centered. Everything he did seemed to be done to benefit him.

Plus his jokes were terrible.