Classic Novel?

What makes a novel a classic? The only thing that makes a novel a classic is if it stands the test of time, and people continue to read it long after it is written. The definition of classic is: judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind. This means that all a novel needs to do in order to be a classic is to be continually read after it is written, and continue to be popular for a long period of time.

Anticipation Commentts

To Jen:
I think what you are talking about is important in any relationship. For a couple to be successful, there needs to be someone there who is able to support the family. No matter how much love there is, love won't put food on the table, and love won't give them some place to live. I completely agree with everything you say here, and I think it is important that couples understand this.

To Shayna:
I actually have to disagree with you here. I have had many personal experiences where trying to get revenge has actually gotten me in trouble, instead of the person who originally did it. Sometimes it is more important to be the bigger person, and just walk away than it is to get revenge on someone, and get back at them.

To Caylin:
I would like to both agree and disagree with your first statement. I agree with the fact that children are certainly not responsible for their parent's mistakes. On the other hand, parents are not always responsible for their children's mistakes. There are times when a parent can only do so much, and if the child does not take the initiative, it can not be the parent's fault that the child makes a mistake. In addition, at a certain age, this statement becomes moot, because eventually, children have to be able to take responsibilty for themselves, and their mistakes.

All Rich People are Selfish?

When reading the anticipation guide, I was asked to consider whether or not all rich people are selfish. I think that this is partially true, but also partially false. It is my opinion that in order to survive in the world, you need to be a little bit selfish. You need to keep something for yourself, and can't give everything away. However, I was watching a segment on ESPN, in which they said that all athletes are selfish. The example they used was Derek Jeter, which I think applies well in our NY-Metro area, where everyone knows who he is. They were talking about his relationship with former manager Joe Torre. Since everyone thinks of him as the most unselfish athlete, then it should be assumed that he would be upset when his manager, and close friend was fired. However, it was reported that the same day, he was in Florida partying, and was definitely not all that upset. This shows that although we see many rich people as unselfish, everyone in this world is at least a little bit selfish so it is impossible for someone not to be.  

      However, there are many rich people that are unselfish. Men like Paul Newman and Warren Buffet donate millions of dollars to charity each year. They are unselfish as they can be, without harming their own financial standing. However, they have to be a little unselfish to succeed in the business world.

4 Comments

To Caylin
I completely agree with what you are saying. In a sense, saying that someone without power can not be a racist, is actually being racist to that group. This is just as bad as if you used ethnic slurs against them, etc. You are denying them the right to discriminate against another religion, which is basically depriving them of a privilige (not a good privilige, but that is irrelevant) because they are the minority. I find it hard to believe that someone could be close-minded enough to think that a group isn't racist because they are the minority. Just because they are lesser in numbers, doesn't make their actions towards other people have any less meaning, or are any less racist. You can't justify letting this slide, because the group is a minority. 

Here is an example:
If an African-American assaulted a Caucasian, would they be judged in a court of law any differently than if it had been a white person, because they are the minority group? The obvious answer to that question is no, so how can we judge them differently when they do it?
-Josh

To Jen
I enjoy debating, and I really liked the perspective your article gave me. You made me realize the connection between Malcolm's days as a hustler, and his current job as a member of the NOI. This is very important, because although he has turned around his life, he still has not completely separated himself from his past. I also really enjoyed the article you posted. Being in the same math class, I was able to connect with the references you made, especially in the article. I could look at each tactic, and pick out an instance where I saw this put into action. I completely agree with what you said, and I think that Malcolm's days as a hustler had more of an effect on him than he realizes.

To Sam
I completely agree with what you are saying here. I like your comparison of Elijah Muhammad to a Rabbi. However, I think this is also the area where the two religions differ. In the NOI, the members look to Elijah Muhammad as an extension of god himself, not just a prophet. In Judaism, we look at Rabbis as prophets, who spread god's message, not as god himself. However, I do think of Rabbis as spiritual advisors. Although I don't go to my Rabbi very often, I know that if I ever need help with an issue I am having, I can go to him, and he will give me his honest, unbiased, opinion on the situation.

To Eric
Eric, your post here rings true 100%. I was reading two articles in ESPN the magazine, and in the Bergen Record. One of these articles was about Charles Barkley, and how he vowed never to become a role model. The other was about John Elway. What I am trying to get at is that all celebrities, whether they like it or not, are role models. Their actions are constantly under the spotlight of the media, and everyone is always watching them. I think, that Malcolm's situation may be much worse than someone who looks up to a celebrity, simply because Malcolm was so close to Elijah. Not only did Malcolm lose a role model when Elijah betrayed him, but he lost a friend, and a religion. I agree with what Ben said as well. Something like that is bound to happen when you worship a human being as god. Malcolm must have been devastated, and I agree with everything you say here.

A Prediction (5)

At the end of the story, Malcolm makes the daring prediction that he will probably die a violent death. While this is a plausible idea because he was such a controversial figure, the fact that he is willing to accept this ultimatum shows a lot about his character. He still tried to live his life normally, even though he felt threatened every single day. I can relate this to my life. In some baseball teams I have played on, we have played other teams who have significantly more talent than we do. Although we know that it is very likely that we will lose, we still have to go out and play the game. This is similar to Malcolm's situation. 

Another situation that is similar to this one is Randy Pausch in "The Last Lecture". When diagnosed with cancer,  he chose to lecture, instead of wait to die. Although he only had a few months to live, he chose to live the rest of his life normally, instead of fearing death every day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

So although Malcolm and Randy faced much more dire situations than I do, I can relate to them, in knowing the outcome, but still having to try to act like nothing is wrong anyway.

The Melting Pot (4)

When Malcolm makes his trip to Mecca, he has a realization about the harmony that the Islamic world lives in. He sees people of many different races together, who all believe in the same thing, and this changes his perspective on the racial issues in the U.S. I experience this in my life as well. Living near one of the largest melting pots of races in the world, I get to learn about, and come to understand many of the different races and religions that go on around me. Malcolm also says that he has realized that it is not the entire white race as a whole, but instead the white attitude that is only held by some of the whites. This allows him to let go of his hatred for all white people, and to learn to celebrate the differences in people. I agree with what Malcolm has learned. It is my personal agenda to not judge people because of how they look, and instead, wait until I get to know them to do so. Each and every person is different, so a person shouldn't be judged because of how they look, or what religion they are from. 

In this wikipedia article, you can see in the "Cultural Diversity" section, how many different groups of people are all living in the same place. They have learned to accept each other, so they can now live harmoniously. I hope that one day the entire world can become like this, so that we will not have a need for war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_York_City

Out (3)

In the book, Malcolm discusses how he dealt with Elijah Muhammed's adultery. In the beginning, he can not handle this, and tries to change his teachings to avoid it. However, after he has a conversation with Elijah, he becomes enlightened. Malcolm realizes, and I agree with this, that when you judge a person, you have to weigh both their strengths and their weaknesses, in order to truly judge them. Malcolm realizes that because he believes so strongly in the NOI, that he is willing to accept Elijah's faults that go along with his strengths. I experience this every day of my life. No one in the world is perfect, so when I judge a person, I have to take into their account both the good things about them, and the things that may not necessarily be their strong points. This has helped me in my life, because many people that I have met have not made good first impressions, but when weighing them overall as a person, I am able to accept who they are. However, I always wonder when the negatives outweigh the positives. After a while, Malcolm is no longer able to deal with Elijah, so he decides to break away from the NOI.

In this review of the move Hancock, the writer goes through both the strengths and weaknesses of the movie, before deciding that it is absolute garbage (I happen to agree)

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/06/30/in_superhero_comedy_hancock_weaknesses_outweigh_strengths/

I live every day of my life trying to look at both sides of everything, instead of seeing everything how I want to see it.

The Healing power of Religion (2)

When Malcolm is in prison, the Nation of Islam comes to his aid, and helps him to become a better person. This is an interesting concept, about the healing power of religion. The Nation of Islam, as well as many other religions, were extremely successful at reforming convicts. This shows the power that religion has. This relates to my life as well. Whenever something goes wrong, I can turn to my religion, and know that someone is always watching out for me, and someone always has my back.  Malcolm has finally found something that he can believe in, which stopped the downward spiral of his life.

Here is an interesting news article about religion in prisons:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-05-31-court-religion_x.htm

This article shows how important religion is. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that religion has to be allowed in prisons, even though the inmates who had sued were practicing non-traditional religions. This decision shows that any religion, even ones which may be considered irregular can be healing influences on those who are in need of a reform.

For me, religion plays a huge part in my life. As a part of a congregation, and a community, I know I have a group of people that I can turn to if I ever need help. This gives me a peace of mind, and helps me to realize what is important in my life. Religion helps me to realize that some of the small and trivial things are a lot less important than the big occasions, so I have learned not to worry about them as much. Although religion has not helped me heal from a specific event, it has helped me to mature into an adult. When I was studying for my Bar-Mitzvah, learning many of the more in-depth customs of my religion, I began to have a greater understanding of the world around me, and this helped me to mature into the person I am today.

Reverse Racism (1)

After reading up to the end of Chapter 11 in Malcolm X, I am thoroughly scared by some of his theories on life, and the way the world works. He continuously calls the Caucasian race the white devils. He exhibits extreme reverse racism, because, instead of believing that all races should be equal, he believes that the African Americans should be the superior race. 

Here is an interesting news article about reverse racism, where African Americans discriminate against whites. This is exactly what Malcolm is feeling right now. He has been so brainwashed, that he does not even realize that he is doing the exact same thing that he hates so much about the "white devils"

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1449254

I do have a great respect for Malcolm. He was able to turn around his life, and find something to believe in, and base his life off of. Reading is a way to learn, and reading kept Malcolm focused, and allowed him to break away from his former self. He no longer needed the drugs, and instead had his love of books.

Malcolm X

So far, Malcolm has led a very uneventful life. The most interesting part of the book so far was that he decided to dump his African American girlfriend for some random white girl. This is interesting because it was considered taboo for the two races to mix. It is also interesting to look at the contrast within the African American class. The Hill Negroes consider themselves to be better than the regular African Americans living in Boston. This is interesting because the only thing that this will do is create more racism for blacks. The blacks needed to come together as an entire population to end the racism and bigotry, which means that it was prolonged by the fact that there was a schism within their own race. Other than these two interesting tidbits, the story has been very boring. Malcolm has not done much with his life, and seems to be involved with the wrong group of people. I think that he needs to find a new set of friends if he wants to be successful. One final piece of information is the idea of the "conk". I do not understand this. I just can not comprehend why an African American would want to look like a white person. Do they really want to look like their oppressors? It does not make much sense to me at all, why they would do this.

Privileges

I think that although many people don't realize it, that the "white privilege" is slowly but surely being eradicated from society. There is much less separation between the races, and many of the privileges that were given to whites are now gone. People are still prejudiced, however, the stereotypes are much less drastic than what they once were. However, I have another strong feeling about racism.

I feel that although we should embrace all of the diverse races of the world, by saying that certain races have certain privileges, we are only going to continue the prejudice that is currently occurring. Many times, minority groups are hired by employers, even though they may be less qualified than the other applicants, because the company has to have a certain level of diversity. I feel that we should turn a blind eye to race, and gender when it comes to this sort of situation. People should not be hired because of their race, they should be hired because of their merit. No matter what color their skin is, the person who is the most qualified. That person may be white, may be black, or may be a woman, but it should not matter. The only thing that should matter is that they are the most qualified. Therefore, I believe that if we stop acknowledging race, and trying to end racism by "making it easier" for those who are of a different race, then we can truly end racism. Otherwise, we will still be discriminating against those of color, because even if they are hired, it will be because of who they are, and not how they are qualified.