In Czechoslovakia during the 1950s, Kurt Freund developed the penile plethysmograph (PPG) to stop drafters from falsifying that they were homosexuals to evade military service. The PPG is a device that gauges blood course within the penis when being exposed to image stimuli. This tool determines the intensity of sexual arousal while the subject is subjected to sexually evocative photos, movies, or audio. When the PPG was first invented, it used pornographic photos to illicit a response; however, nowadays it is more common to use non-pornographic stimuli in order to “[shift] the focus to the general arousal patterns rather than a specific arousal point” (Penile Plethysmograph). Over time, the PPG has found many uses such as screening in regards to erectile dysfunction, psychological experiments, law enforcement, and could possibly become a reliable technique for finding individuals with pedophilia potential.
Of the many purposes of the PPG, one is in screening organic versus psychogenic erectile dysfunction (Penile Plethysmograph). Virilplant defines erectile dysfunction as “the inability of the male to obtain and or maintain penile erection sufficient for…penetration.” According to WebMeds, “it is estimated that 10 to 20 million men suffer [from] erectile dysfunction in the United States. Erectile dysfunction can generally be categorized as organic or psychological. Organic dysfunction means that the problem lies within physiology—whereas psychological erectile dysfunction means that the body is functioning normal but the mind is hindering normal function whether it is due to anxiety or depression. While both are classified as erectile dysfunction, the causes for the sexual disorder are polar opposite. The PPG, by bombarding the affected with images, are related to the mind, and which are related to the body by how much blood enters the penis, if images illicit a sexual response, how long the engorgement lasts, and whether fetishes or sexual orientation are the cause of their inability to maintain an erection. Since the treatment is completely different depending on which cause for the disorder one possesses, the PPG is an important tool to doctors and psychologists.
Another function of Penile Plethysmography is in psychological experiments. For the most part when using classical conditioning, the behavioral psychologist can see or measure the results of his or her conditioning through response. For example, when Skinner conditioned a child to fear a white rabbit, the response was seen: fear. When Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell, the response was able to be measured through a device attached to the dog’s mouth. In regards to sexual conditioning, there was no way to gauge or precisely measure what was conditioned. In a recent experiment, subjects were conditioned to demonstrate sexual arousal in reaction to images of shoes. This was accomplished by presenting images of the shoes which were preceded by photos of naked women. With the invention of the PPG, it is now possible for psychologists to expand their methods of measuring and data collection. Instead of utilizing a survey or Likert scale, measurements can now be taken that are not as biased or subjective which opens a new door to the future of Psychology.
Also, the PPG is utilized in law enforcement. Wikipedia makes the distinction that “the PPG is not intended to be used as a guilt or innocence tool, but rather as a supplemental device to add to a complete psychosexual evaluation” (Penile Plethysmograph). There are two major methods to gage erectile responses. One can measure the volume changes in the penis or one can monitor differences in penile circumference. Measuring penile circumference is the most accepted practice in the psychiatric/psychological communities. When using the PPG, “the gauge is fitted around the penis after being examined to ensure proper functioning” (ForensicEvidence.com). Then, when the device is in place, a baseline level of arousal is determined. Visual and Auditory stimuli are presented and the increase in circumference is recorded. The first time the PPG caught attention from the public was in December 2003 with the trial of basketball star Kobe Bryant (CNN.com). Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault and the state of Colorado would require evaluations with the PPG following Bryant’s conviction (Penile Plethysmograph). So, law enforcement has found use in the PPG in finding progress after conviction to gauge progress in therapy and mindset.
And now with the uprising of pedophiles selecting jobs in the churches, school districts, and after school activities in the community, the PPG would be a great screening technique. Using the John Jay Report, it was found that accusations were raised against a total of 4,392 priests between the years 1950 and 2002 (John Jay Report). This statistic does not include the many other accused pedophiles found in school districts and after school activities. Ultimately “penile plethysmography is a test utilized to make subjective determinations about an individual's psychological condition with regard to certain sexual disorders and deviant behavior in the male” which would make an accurate device for screening potential pedophilia. This device has “been used in many states when evaluating convicted sex offenders” (Penile Plethysmograph) so why not require it for those who seek jobs relating to children. In regards to biases with the test toward males, “[an] equivalent procedure for women, vaginal photoplethysmography, measures blood through the walls of the vagina, which researchers claim increases during sexual arousal” (Penile Plethysmograph). A PPG is a biological lie detector, and while tests are not 100% foolproof, the institution of the PPG would bring about a decrease in child molestation within communities.
However, there are still some flaws to be worked out in the test before it could be concrete enough to be considered valid to restrict certain people that fail the PPG in relation to jobs dealing with to children. Before the test could be implemented there would have to be standardization for the test. As of today, those giving the test can choose their own pictures and audio stimuli for the specific cases. There would have to be a devised set of stimuli that would be a constant for all test takers. Also critics argue that some can control their arousal levels, however, the PPG is so precise that it can detect arousal that even the patient can not detect. These two kinks are being dealt with now, so screening for potential pedophiles is somewhere in the near future.
The major issue in making the penile plethysmograph screening a reality is the right to privacy in the United States. A person has a right to keep their sexual orientation and preferences out of the view of the public. However, homosexuality and heterosexuality are not against the law whereas pedophilia is. For example, if there is probable cause that one is under the influences of drugs or alcohol, police have the right to perform tests to prove or disprove their inclinations. Also, if one is found guilty of having alcohol or drugs in their system, the law can require random drug screenings which is not considered invasion of privacy in the eyes of the law. Testing with the PPG would be a precaution for further observation. Pedophilia is an action—and if a teacher does not act on their sexual urges, there would be no need to remove the teacher, coach, or Boy Scout leader from his position. Random screenings would be the result of the PPG and more caution toward certain individuals that are prone to pedophilia. Another example is the person that is told they have a genetic trait that makes them more susceptible to obesity. Close monitoring and outside help prevents the possibility of obesity. If a doctor screened a male for pedophile-like tendencies, then treatment such as behavioral therapy could be instituted at an early stage to monitor behavior and make sure children are not being harmed. The penile plethysmograph has come a long way from being a primitive, non-reliable device that has the potential to change the world. Maybe it won’t take center stage during our life-time, but the possibility is out there.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Separated at Birth: The Benefits and Detriments of Male Circumcision
As far back as 3000 BC, Egyptians and Aztecs began performing circumcision for purposes of hygiene (Circumcision - History and Recent Trends). A few centuries later, the Old Testament (Genesis 17:10-11) proclaimed “…You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between [God] and you” (Reading the Old Testament). Then, the procedure gained popularity as a routine surgery in America in the late nineteenth century when in 1896 a very popular parenting book entitled All About Baby recommended circumcision for most boys to “halt the vile habit of masturbation” (Mothers Who Think). Nowadays, sixty percent of American males are circumcised in the United States (Infant Male Circumcision is not in the Best Interests of the Health & Rights of the Child). While there are some minor arguable benefits to circumcision such as reduced risks of urinary tract infections, cancer of the penis, transmitting STDs, there is still the possibility of trauma to the infant, infections, and deformities of the penis, not to mention sex and health risks as adults.
In the U.S., over 1.25 million [male] infants are annually circumcised; that’s more than 3,300 babies each day and one child every 26 seconds (Infant Male Circumcision is not in the Best Interests of the Health & Rights of the Child). In males, circumcision is a surgical procedure that removes some or all of the foreskin from the penis. Most male infants are circumcised at birth in the hospital where they are born. Others are circumcised as part of a religious ceremony. The possible benefits to circumcision are reduced risks of urinary tract infections, reduced risk of penile cancer, and reduced risk of transmitting STDs.
Firstly, it is true that circumcision does reduce the risks of urinary tract infections; however, studies find that urinary tract infections are only reduced during the infant’s first year of life. Secondly, it is proposed that circumcision reduced the risk of penile cancer. According to VHI Healthcare, penile cancer is an “extremely rare cancer” (VHI Healthcare). Also, VHI Healthcare goes on to state that “good personal hygiene is equally protective [against penile cancer as circumcision]” (VHI Healthcare). And thirdly, it is believed that men who are circumcised have less of a chance of transmitting and contracting STDs. This theory is true to a certain extent because according to Maggie Fox of Reuters.com, “sexual intercourse may cause tiny tears in the foreskin, allowing [viruses] into the bloodstream” (Fox). However it is also stated that if a man uses condoms or not is more “important in STD prevention than whether or not he is circumcised.” So while these benefits to a certain extent are valid, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that “the benefits of circumcision are not significant enough to recommend circumcision as a routine procedure” (VHI Healthcare).
In addition to the benefits of circumcision, there are also a number of detriments. Some of the detriments include trauma and shock to the infant, irritation and infection, deformities of the penis, and absence of normal function of the penis. First of all, one major detriment of circumcision is trauma and shock to the infant. A recent study conducted by a group of Canadian researchers concluded that circumcision has “long lasting traumatic effects” on the infant. Researchers “tested 87 infants at 4 months and 6 months of age. The boys who had been circumcised were more sensitive to pain than the uncircumcised boys. Differences between groups were significant regarding (1) facial action, (2) crying time, and (3) assessments of pain.” The researchers believe that "neonatal circumcision may induce long-lasting changes in infant pain behavior because of alterations in the infant’s central neural processing of painful stimuli” (Taddio). After being circumcised, the open wound is left confined inside a diaper. The diaper prevents proper airflow to the wound which can interfere with the healing process. Furthermore, the diaper gets filled with urine and feces more than a couple times a day, which can lead to irritation and infection if any of the urine and/or feces gets inside the open wound. Also, due to complications and/or a lack of proper training, botched circumcisions can lead to penile deformities. Most deformities include portions of the foreskin that needed to be removed but were not which can cause psychological issues and self-consciousness. The psychological problems can lead to erectile dysfunction. However, some botched circumcisions require the male to have corrective surgery in order to be able to obtain an erection. Furthermore, there have been a few reports of extreme cases where an entire penis needed to be surgically removed.
In addition to the trauma and shock to the infant, irritation and infection, and deformities of the penis, there is also an absence of normal function of the penis with circumcision. The first function of the foreskin is in protection. Like the female clitoris, the head of the penis is intended by nature to be a protected internal organ. When the foreskin is removed, the head of the penis is no longer protected so keratinization (callusing) occurs which causes a loss of sexual sensation and pleasure.
Also, gliding action is affected when the foreskin is removed. During sexual activity, the foreskin and glans work in together to create a complete sexual response. So a normal sexual response is not happening. Normal functioning also includes the non-abrasive gliding of the penis in and out of itself within the vagina which facilitates smooth and gratifying intercourse. Furthermore, without this gliding action, the corona of the circumcised penis can function as a one-way valve, dragging vaginal lubricants out into the drying air and making artificial lubricants essential for non-painful intercourse.
Thirdly, the frenulum connects the inner foreskin to the underside of the glans of the penis. For many intact men, the penile frenulum is a male "G-spot" that is highly pleasurable when repeatedly stretched and relaxed during sexual activity. Depending on the surgical method used, the frenulum is partially to completely destroyed by circumcision. And finally, the foreskin contains several feet of blood vessels, including the frenular artery and branches of the dorsal artery. The loss of this rich vascularization interrupts normal blood flow to the shaft and glans of the penis, damaging the natural function of the penis and altering its development.
According to VHI Healthcare, medically, the only valid reasons for male circumcision are Phimosis, Paraphimosis, and Balanitis which are all disorders where the foreskin hinders proper blood flow throughout the penis. Also, penile cancer that affects the foreskin is cause for removal of the foreskin. And finally painful sex due to improper retraction of the foreskin is also means for circumcision (VHI Healthcare). But usually these are not the reasons that male circumcisions are performed. The detriments of male circumcision vastly outweigh the benefits. Furthermore, male circumcision is a procedure that should not be performed on all males. The procedure should only be performed if there is a problem affecting the foreskin and the blood flow of the penis, penile cancer, or if there is pain caused by the foreskin. Parents should be provided with more information on circumcision before they decide to have the surgical procedure performed.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Going Green: Saving the Planet one Car at a Time
For the past couple of years, global warming has become an important issue in today’s society. Throughout the United States, the Going Green Campaign draws more attention to the detriments global warming brings to the balance of our eco system. As the Earth’s average temperature is rising, glaciers are liquefying, hurricanes are hitting more frequently, and droughts and floods are destroying the land, and global warming is the culprit behind these environmental disasters (Allianz). With this newfound conviction to end global warming, many new innovations are available to aid in conserving energy. One major contribution from car manufacturers has been the introduction of the Hybrid car. Hybrid car engines reduce contaminants that contribute to global warming by one-third (National Resource Defense Council). With the Hybrid being a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car, this technological novelty produces less pollution for the environment by reducing tailpipe emissions and improving mileage which contributes to the efforts to end global warming (How Hybrid Cars Work).
Remarkably, the Hybrid car gets around twenty to thirty more miles per gallon than standard automobiles. With the Hybrid car, mileage efficiency can be enhanced by having a smaller engine, lighter parts, and by reducing the number of cylinders. According to Nice and Layton, “composite materials like carbon fiber or lightweight metals like aluminum and magnesium can be used to reduce weight” in the Hybrid car’s structure (How Hybrid Cars Work). “A lighter vehicle” like the Hybrid “uses less energy each time you accelerate or drive up a hill” (How Hybrid Cars Work) which in turn will increase gas mileage. Also, the Hybrid car has a smaller engine which helps extend mileage. Most automobiles need a moderately large engine to create a sufficient amount of energy in order to rapidly accelerate. By making the engine smaller, it is more energy efficient. Furthermore, larger engines usually have additional cylinders, and each cylinder uses fuel every time the engine fires, even if the car is not in motion. So by constructing the Hybrid car with a smaller engine, making it have lighter parts, and lessening the number of cylinders, less gas per mile is achieved. By being able to use less gas per mile because of their design, Hybrid cars add to the fight against global warming.
While the Hybrid car gets more miles to the gallon, it also reduces tailpipe emissions such as carbon dioxide. According to Nice and Layton, the only requirements an automobile must meet to be marketed is it has to (1) “drive at least three hundred miles before re-fueling,” (2) “be refueled quickly and easily,” and (3) “keep up with the other traffic on the road” (How Hybrid Cars Work). While a gasoline-powered automobile meets these standards, it generates a hefty amount of pollution. An electric automobile, on the other hand, produces almost no pollution; however, it only can reach between fifty and one-hundred miles between recharges. By combining the gas-powered and electric car, the Hybrid is a “compromise.” It attempts to considerably “reduce the emissions of a gas-powered car while overcoming the shortcomings of an electric” (How Hybrid Cars Work). This is vital because from their tailpipes, cars release a pollutant called carbon dioxide. Scientists believe that the carbon dioxide emitted from cars contributes to global warming. Furthermore, an automobile that burns two times as much gas adds twice as much carbon dioxide in to the environment (How Hybrid Cars Work). So, Hybrid cars are aiding in the stop of global warming by reducing carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions by having a more energy efficient car.
In order to help cut global warming pollution, it is vital to incorporate conserving energy into a daily routine. Nowadays, the total carbon dioxide annually dumped into the atmosphere is one ton per person (Global Warming). Every time a more eco friendly product is purchased, it is contributing to the fight against global warming. Biodegradable and reusable products, even though small steps, assist the fight. Even a compact fluorescent light bulb when chosen over an incandescent bulb, keep nearly seven hundred pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere (Natural Defense Council). Like the compact fluorescent light bulb, Hybrid cars are just one more step toward helping the eco system and one more step toward immensely contributing to the efforts to end global warming.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Happiness is Prozac: Changing Concepts of the American Dream
Americans used to be entertained by a flying nun and a talking horse; we are so sophisticated now watching people marry strangers and eat bugs for money (Degeneres 2003). Life has gone from Father Knows Best to stay-at-home dads (Maasik 27). God favors us. We are a fast food nation; McDonalds and Taco Bell have replaced home-cooked meals. The logo Starbucks makes us feel socially accepted after paying $4 for a urine-sized cup of coffee. More money is spent funding research for erectile dysfunction than a cure for Alzheimer’s; so a bunch of old men will have erections, but because of the Alzheimer’s, won’t know what they are used for (Johnston 2006). American women see their plastic surgeons more than their husbands; fake boobs are like Nazis: they don’t laugh, they don’t smile, they are just hard and angry looking. When a patient asks, “Doctor, what are these lumps under my eyes?!” and the doctor replies “Those are your tits Madame,” plastic surgery has gone too far. Books and writings are now Shakespeare with a strap-on (Williams 2002). More people vote for who they want kept on American Idol than who will be running our country (Johnston 2006). Procrastination is the American way (Degeneres 2003) along with wealth, obesity, and materialism. Now we have ADHD, OCD, ADD---all these three to four letter abbreviations because we don’t have the time or patience to say the whole word; in other parts of the world, we don’t have all these subtypes of diseases, we just have crazy people (Degeneres 2003). Kindness is considered sexual harassment. Monogamy is laughable, and divorce rates are over fifty percent. Only thirty to forty percent of Americans reach Paiget’s formal operational stage; only thirty to forty percent of Americans can think abstractly and apply the abstract concepts to concrete examples (Johnston 2006). We now have Go-Gurt…yogurt for people on the go; was there a mobility problem with yogurt? (Degeneres 2003) Individuality has come full circle and made us all the same by trying to be different. Only in the United States is anal floss (or as women like to refer to them as to make them feel sexier: thongs) a marketable product. Coca-Cola is the American beverage. Barbie is not just a toy anymore; it is a style for young girls (Maasik 276). I wonder if Hitler would have succeeded if he would have made a doll of his ideal person; would Jews run to buy blonde hair dye and blue contacts? Cell phones are the new diaphragm. Commercials used to be six minutes long telling us how good cigarettes and alcohol were. We are a Prozac nation (Degeneres 2003). We don’t have anxiety like we believe we do; go follow some pigmy around that is being chased by a lion…now that’s stress; you won’t find a pigmy on Zoloft (Degeneres 2003). The city-upon-a-hill nation has been burned to the ground and it is a race to trample everyone to be on top. So many Americans are so obese that South West Airlines makes overweight passengers purchase two seats in order to accommodate their “horizontally challenged” ness (Williams 2002). Laziness is king, morals are overrated, and Chihuahuas are accessories that defy all of Darwin’s rules of natural selection. Through Charles Dickens’ detailed portrayal of characters—Sydney Carton, and Lucie and Charles Darnay, Dickens challenges the superficiality and self-centeredness of the American Dream by highlighting redeeming selfless qualities and condemning self-absorbedness.
There is much debate between authors on whether or not Sydney Carton was portrayed by Charles Dickens as the Jesus Christ figure in the novel A Tale of Two Cities. “Moral conversion lies at the heart of many Dickens novels” (Hardy 39) and is most prevalent in the character of Sydney Carton and “we know that rebirth through death [is] the essential Christian paradox” (Marshall 46) however, Sydney Carton did not resemble Jesus Christ in all aspects. Jesus Christ lived a humble and good natured life up until his crucifixion. Sydney Carton on the other hand was an alcoholic and a bad natured man. Sydney Carton did not heal the sick, change the world, or save the followers of God, yet Sydney Carton is compared repeatedly with Jesus Christ because of the ultimate sacrifice. Therefore, Sydney Carton embodies the American Dream. Americans are lazy corner cutters who have gone from prestigious producers to gluttonous consumers. Americans dream no longer of building a foundation on nothing, but vegging on a couch and waiting to hear those seven lucky numbers called on the television screen. Sydney Carton lived a sinful life like most modern Americans indulging in sex, alcohol, pride, materialism, and gluttony. Sydney Carton was considered “saved” by his American readers for sacrificing his life so that Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay could live happily ever after and most American’s believe this because of his ultimate sacrifice which in Sydney Carton’s case was a quick fix to erase all the sinning he did earlier in life. Therefore Sydney Carton is the American dream…live a sinful life and procrastinate and later right before death, live a virtuous life and add in a good deed to be saved.
Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was transformed into a movie in the year 1935 under the direction of the infamous Jack Conway. The movie was practically identical to the text, except for a few key differences surrounding actor Ronald Coleman’s character, Sydney Carton. The original novel, A Tale of Two Cities, basically revolves around and is the story of Dr. Manette. In the trailer of the movie A Tale of Two Cities, the plot summary reads as follows:
An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes enamored of Darnay's fiancée, Lucie Manette, and agrees to help her save Darnay from the guillotine when he is captured by Revolutionaries in Paris (Maasik 563).
Director Jack Conway’s approach put Sydney Carton at the center focal point of his movie. In the opening credits, well-known actor Ronald Coleman’s name was listed first. Also, in Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens made no mention of Sydney Carton being affiliated with the Christian religion. Sydney Carton was a drunk with no intention of sobering up his ways. Also, blatantly obvious is the concept that “Carton and Darnay’s fates [were] entwined from their first meeting” (Gross 22). Sydney Carton was an individual who did not particularly care for Charles Darnay despite the fact that he looked virtually identical. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton states:
…and at the end of the same day Carton stares at his own image in the glass and upbraids it: ‘Why should you particularly like a man who resembles you? There is nothing in you to like: you know that. Ah, confound you!...Come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow’ (Dickens 22).
Sydney Carton’s only reason for making the ultimate sacrifice was to be remembered fondly by the lovely Lucie Manette since he could not be with her because she chose Charles Darnay. However, in director Jack Conway’s interpretation of A Tale of Two Cities on Christmas Eve, Sydney Carton attends a Catholic Church service with Lucie Manette. Jack Conway was trying to portray Sydney Carton as more of a religious figure to make a parallel between Jesus Christ and Carton so that he could win the hearts of many giving up his life for Charles Darnay to live with the love of his life: Lucie Manette. Then, near the end of the movie, Carton was not seen highly intoxicated and alluded to the fact that Sydney Carton was changing his ways by sobering up. Then, director Jack Conway completely leaves out the conversation between Sydney Carton expressing his feelings toward Lucie Manette with their conversation as to make Sydney Carton seem more like a virgin as Jesus Christ was made out to be. And lastly, before Sydney Carton was seen going to make his ultimate sacrifice, Carton is juxtaposed with a Bible verse reading “I am the resurrection and the life” hanging on the wall making his seem like he was following Jesus Christ’s example and that was his motivation and not self gain in the eyes of Lucie. Carton is also guilty peering into his half drank glass of liquor almost seeming for the first time like he is regretting his past choices and that life changes and reform were in store for the future.
Jack Conway was born in Graceville, Minnesota USA. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in England. Charles Dickens was not American; Director Jack Conway who portrayed Sydney Carton as a reformed Christian, however, was American. The interpretation of Sydney Carton based on Charles Dickens’ novel of Sydney Carton was twisted by Jack Conway transforming Sydney Carton into the American Dream of goodness instead of the self-absorbed drunkard he really was. So, director Jack Conway, being an American himself, made Sydney Carton to be a Jesus Christ figure more than Charles Dickens who was not an American. Director Jack Conway added in original scenes that were not written in the original text A Tale of Two Cities to highlight Sydney Carton as a Christian to make his ultimate sacrifice perceived more in following in Christ’s footsteps and solidifying him as the American Dream. Wearing her blonde hair of innocence is good-hearted Lucie Manette. Lucie Manette’s description in the novel is exactly the American Dream of beauty. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and Barbie-doll-like features allure the American readers and other characters in the novel to be engaged in her every action. However, Lucie Manette does not fall into the category of the American Dream’s characteristic of self-absorbedness, but shows sacrifice and true unconditional love. Lucie Manette leaves the life she has become accustomed to in order to investigate the possibility of her father being alive. Once her father was released from the Bastille, after being imprisoned for fourteen years and Lucie believing he was dead all this time, Lucie sacrifices her needs and life style to take care of her recalled-to-life father.
Then Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay fall in love. However, lawyers C.J. Stryver and Sydney Carton also entertain an infatuation with Lucie Manette. Americans are usually not faithful types; cheating is second nature and truthful openness between couples during relationship breaks, fights, and even functioning relationships is non-existent when it comes to the subject of unfaithfulness. According to TeenStatics, 74% of Americans admit that they have cheated in a relationship or on a spouse (Boehm 2006). Lucie Manette had every opportunity, especially when Sydney Carton expressed his feelings to Lucie to forget about her relationship and potential with Charles Darnay and indulge in her primal instincts, yet she acted against the way most Americans would in staying true to Charles Darnay. “Vital to Dickens was [this] idea of pure love” (Stoehr 17). Her pure love and sacrifice were contradictive of the American Dream highlighting redeeming selfless qualities and condemning self-absorbedness like Sydney Carton’s action.
Charles Darnay also does not embody the characteristics of the American Dream by sacrificing his enormous amount of wealth and prestigious family name for true love and rejecting his Evremonde family. Charles divorces the Evremonde family because of their terrible treatment of the peasants and relocates under the name Charles Darnay. The Marquis St. Evremonde is the American Dream. The Marquis St. Evremonde has an abundance of money and likes to brag by showcasing his wealth in how he dresses, travels, and lives his day to day life. The Marquis St. Evremonde is pampered by his meticulous servants. There is one scene in Jack Conway’s interpretation that is consistent with Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities text, where the Marquis St. Evremonde is seen in his bed chamber and his seven servants are dressing him for bed, brushing his teeth for him, and even tucking him into bed. The Marquis St. Evremonde in the text and movie runs over and kills a small child with his carriage and has no remorse or compassion and throws the father of the child who is holding his stomped-to-death infant a few coins to compensate for his loses. The Marquis St. Evremonde is American ways of laziness. The Marquis St. Evremonde embodies the idea of having other people do things for him and other catering to his every need. The Marquis St. Evremonde has the wealth that every American dreams of and the laziness that consumes the American lifestyle because of it. The ideal image that Americans strive for is the Marquis St. Evremonde and Charles Darnay wanted nothing to do with that image and did not want to be affiliated with slothfulness uncompassionate indulgence in wealth.
Americans are also the biggest hypocrites; we claim to have separation of church and state…so why is “in God we trust” written on the dollar bill? If there is separation, why is it illegal for homosexuals to marry? Marriage is a religious practice and union, but the Bible claims homosexuality is wrong and marriage is controlled by the government. Is every other place in the world besides America making a mockery of us? America was built on laws, rules if one will, that makes our country great. In North Dakota “It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on” and “beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant,” and “It is legal to shoot an Indian on horseback, provided you are in a covered wagon.” In Utah “No one may have sex in the back of an ambulance if it is responding to an emergency call.” And, in the great state of Texas, “It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel,” “It is illegal to sell one’s eye,” and “Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos” (Maasik 433). “Even Caligula is like ‘what the fuck are you doing?’ What’s next: Hannibal Lecture having his own cooking channel?” (Williams 2002). “We stole countries with the cunning use of flags. Just sail around the world and stick a flag in. "I claim India for Britain!" And they're going "You can't claim us, we live here! All Five hundred million of us!" "Do you have a flag? ... No flag, no country!” (Izzard) It doesn’t scare me that Bush waved at Stevie Wonder, but that billions of dollars are spent in national defense and Bush almost chokes to death from a pretzel; our president, the man who is competent enough to be running our country, almost dies from snack food! And we thought Canadians are strange with their funny accents and silly currency called the Looney. Canada is like a loft apartment over a really great party (Williams 2002). God bless the USA.
There is much debate between authors on whether or not Sydney Carton was portrayed by Charles Dickens as the Jesus Christ figure in the novel A Tale of Two Cities. “Moral conversion lies at the heart of many Dickens novels” (Hardy 39) and is most prevalent in the character of Sydney Carton and “we know that rebirth through death [is] the essential Christian paradox” (Marshall 46) however, Sydney Carton did not resemble Jesus Christ in all aspects. Jesus Christ lived a humble and good natured life up until his crucifixion. Sydney Carton on the other hand was an alcoholic and a bad natured man. Sydney Carton did not heal the sick, change the world, or save the followers of God, yet Sydney Carton is compared repeatedly with Jesus Christ because of the ultimate sacrifice. Therefore, Sydney Carton embodies the American Dream. Americans are lazy corner cutters who have gone from prestigious producers to gluttonous consumers. Americans dream no longer of building a foundation on nothing, but vegging on a couch and waiting to hear those seven lucky numbers called on the television screen. Sydney Carton lived a sinful life like most modern Americans indulging in sex, alcohol, pride, materialism, and gluttony. Sydney Carton was considered “saved” by his American readers for sacrificing his life so that Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay could live happily ever after and most American’s believe this because of his ultimate sacrifice which in Sydney Carton’s case was a quick fix to erase all the sinning he did earlier in life. Therefore Sydney Carton is the American dream…live a sinful life and procrastinate and later right before death, live a virtuous life and add in a good deed to be saved.
Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was transformed into a movie in the year 1935 under the direction of the infamous Jack Conway. The movie was practically identical to the text, except for a few key differences surrounding actor Ronald Coleman’s character, Sydney Carton. The original novel, A Tale of Two Cities, basically revolves around and is the story of Dr. Manette. In the trailer of the movie A Tale of Two Cities, the plot summary reads as follows:
An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes enamored of Darnay's fiancée, Lucie Manette, and agrees to help her save Darnay from the guillotine when he is captured by Revolutionaries in Paris (Maasik 563).
Director Jack Conway’s approach put Sydney Carton at the center focal point of his movie. In the opening credits, well-known actor Ronald Coleman’s name was listed first. Also, in Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens made no mention of Sydney Carton being affiliated with the Christian religion. Sydney Carton was a drunk with no intention of sobering up his ways. Also, blatantly obvious is the concept that “Carton and Darnay’s fates [were] entwined from their first meeting” (Gross 22). Sydney Carton was an individual who did not particularly care for Charles Darnay despite the fact that he looked virtually identical. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton states:
…and at the end of the same day Carton stares at his own image in the glass and upbraids it: ‘Why should you particularly like a man who resembles you? There is nothing in you to like: you know that. Ah, confound you!...Come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow’ (Dickens 22).
Sydney Carton’s only reason for making the ultimate sacrifice was to be remembered fondly by the lovely Lucie Manette since he could not be with her because she chose Charles Darnay. However, in director Jack Conway’s interpretation of A Tale of Two Cities on Christmas Eve, Sydney Carton attends a Catholic Church service with Lucie Manette. Jack Conway was trying to portray Sydney Carton as more of a religious figure to make a parallel between Jesus Christ and Carton so that he could win the hearts of many giving up his life for Charles Darnay to live with the love of his life: Lucie Manette. Then, near the end of the movie, Carton was not seen highly intoxicated and alluded to the fact that Sydney Carton was changing his ways by sobering up. Then, director Jack Conway completely leaves out the conversation between Sydney Carton expressing his feelings toward Lucie Manette with their conversation as to make Sydney Carton seem more like a virgin as Jesus Christ was made out to be. And lastly, before Sydney Carton was seen going to make his ultimate sacrifice, Carton is juxtaposed with a Bible verse reading “I am the resurrection and the life” hanging on the wall making his seem like he was following Jesus Christ’s example and that was his motivation and not self gain in the eyes of Lucie. Carton is also guilty peering into his half drank glass of liquor almost seeming for the first time like he is regretting his past choices and that life changes and reform were in store for the future.
Jack Conway was born in Graceville, Minnesota USA. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in England. Charles Dickens was not American; Director Jack Conway who portrayed Sydney Carton as a reformed Christian, however, was American. The interpretation of Sydney Carton based on Charles Dickens’ novel of Sydney Carton was twisted by Jack Conway transforming Sydney Carton into the American Dream of goodness instead of the self-absorbed drunkard he really was. So, director Jack Conway, being an American himself, made Sydney Carton to be a Jesus Christ figure more than Charles Dickens who was not an American. Director Jack Conway added in original scenes that were not written in the original text A Tale of Two Cities to highlight Sydney Carton as a Christian to make his ultimate sacrifice perceived more in following in Christ’s footsteps and solidifying him as the American Dream. Wearing her blonde hair of innocence is good-hearted Lucie Manette. Lucie Manette’s description in the novel is exactly the American Dream of beauty. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and Barbie-doll-like features allure the American readers and other characters in the novel to be engaged in her every action. However, Lucie Manette does not fall into the category of the American Dream’s characteristic of self-absorbedness, but shows sacrifice and true unconditional love. Lucie Manette leaves the life she has become accustomed to in order to investigate the possibility of her father being alive. Once her father was released from the Bastille, after being imprisoned for fourteen years and Lucie believing he was dead all this time, Lucie sacrifices her needs and life style to take care of her recalled-to-life father.
Then Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay fall in love. However, lawyers C.J. Stryver and Sydney Carton also entertain an infatuation with Lucie Manette. Americans are usually not faithful types; cheating is second nature and truthful openness between couples during relationship breaks, fights, and even functioning relationships is non-existent when it comes to the subject of unfaithfulness. According to TeenStatics, 74% of Americans admit that they have cheated in a relationship or on a spouse (Boehm 2006). Lucie Manette had every opportunity, especially when Sydney Carton expressed his feelings to Lucie to forget about her relationship and potential with Charles Darnay and indulge in her primal instincts, yet she acted against the way most Americans would in staying true to Charles Darnay. “Vital to Dickens was [this] idea of pure love” (Stoehr 17). Her pure love and sacrifice were contradictive of the American Dream highlighting redeeming selfless qualities and condemning self-absorbedness like Sydney Carton’s action.
Charles Darnay also does not embody the characteristics of the American Dream by sacrificing his enormous amount of wealth and prestigious family name for true love and rejecting his Evremonde family. Charles divorces the Evremonde family because of their terrible treatment of the peasants and relocates under the name Charles Darnay. The Marquis St. Evremonde is the American Dream. The Marquis St. Evremonde has an abundance of money and likes to brag by showcasing his wealth in how he dresses, travels, and lives his day to day life. The Marquis St. Evremonde is pampered by his meticulous servants. There is one scene in Jack Conway’s interpretation that is consistent with Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities text, where the Marquis St. Evremonde is seen in his bed chamber and his seven servants are dressing him for bed, brushing his teeth for him, and even tucking him into bed. The Marquis St. Evremonde in the text and movie runs over and kills a small child with his carriage and has no remorse or compassion and throws the father of the child who is holding his stomped-to-death infant a few coins to compensate for his loses. The Marquis St. Evremonde is American ways of laziness. The Marquis St. Evremonde embodies the idea of having other people do things for him and other catering to his every need. The Marquis St. Evremonde has the wealth that every American dreams of and the laziness that consumes the American lifestyle because of it. The ideal image that Americans strive for is the Marquis St. Evremonde and Charles Darnay wanted nothing to do with that image and did not want to be affiliated with slothfulness uncompassionate indulgence in wealth.
Americans are also the biggest hypocrites; we claim to have separation of church and state…so why is “in God we trust” written on the dollar bill? If there is separation, why is it illegal for homosexuals to marry? Marriage is a religious practice and union, but the Bible claims homosexuality is wrong and marriage is controlled by the government. Is every other place in the world besides America making a mockery of us? America was built on laws, rules if one will, that makes our country great. In North Dakota “It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on” and “beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant,” and “It is legal to shoot an Indian on horseback, provided you are in a covered wagon.” In Utah “No one may have sex in the back of an ambulance if it is responding to an emergency call.” And, in the great state of Texas, “It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel,” “It is illegal to sell one’s eye,” and “Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos” (Maasik 433). “Even Caligula is like ‘what the fuck are you doing?’ What’s next: Hannibal Lecture having his own cooking channel?” (Williams 2002). “We stole countries with the cunning use of flags. Just sail around the world and stick a flag in. "I claim India for Britain!" And they're going "You can't claim us, we live here! All Five hundred million of us!" "Do you have a flag? ... No flag, no country!” (Izzard) It doesn’t scare me that Bush waved at Stevie Wonder, but that billions of dollars are spent in national defense and Bush almost chokes to death from a pretzel; our president, the man who is competent enough to be running our country, almost dies from snack food! And we thought Canadians are strange with their funny accents and silly currency called the Looney. Canada is like a loft apartment over a really great party (Williams 2002). God bless the USA.
The Mundane Existence of the Western Cultural Society
The Western culture is unique in its individuality. It prides itself in distinguishing that it is one of a kind whether it is through clothing, vocalizing against the majority, or becoming an extremist in whatever one is passionate in…the more socially unacceptable, the better. We like structure. We like the routine of having a stable job, feeding the kids, quick caffeine boosts like Starbucks, and easy meals like McDonalds. We have gone from producers to consumers. The American Dream is no longer working your whole life to achieve greatness from scratch…it is who can get rich the fastest doing the least amount of work as possible. America is lazy. Pop culture is God. Fashion is more important than monogamy and dogs have gone from pets to accessories. Waiting For Godot has been characterized as a strong voice of the Western Cultural milieu of the 20th century because of laziness, routine, gullibility, and quick fix nation.
Pozzo is the American Dream. He wants everything done for him no matter what the cost or who he hurts to compensate for his lazziness. In the play, Pozzo’s servant is Lucky. When Pozzo is blind in Act II and cannot get up, Pozzo instructs Vladimir and Estragon how to get lucky up to do Pozzo’s work by saying on page 100, “Well to begin with, he should pull on the rope, as hard as he likes as long as he doesn’t strangle him. He usually responds to that. If not he should give him a taste of his boot, in the face and the privates as far as possible.” So that is a great example of Pozzo going to any extreme to get what he wants and not considering the pain he is inflicting on unfortunate lucky. Pozzo is the American Dream of laziness.
Routine is Vladimir and Estragon who go through this monotonous cycle of waiting for Godot. On page 107 the reader sees their endlessness continue with the repetitive conversation of Vladimir and Estragon saying,
VLADIMIR: We have to come back to-morrow.
ESTRAGON: What for?
VLADIMIR: To wait for Godot.
They are making a mockery of the Western Society by showing the extreme version of what we do. But, instead of us waiting for Godot, we sleep, got to work, eat breakfast and lunch and dinner, go to school, etc. That is our routine and ultimately we are all waiting for Godot, but just passing the time differently.
Gullibility is Estragon. He greatly symbolizes Americans. He listens to what Vladimir says and takes it as truth without finding out for sure. In Act II on page 67, Vladimir and Estragon have a conversation that demonstrates Estragon’s gullibility. It reads,
VLADIMIR: The tree, look at the tree.
ESTRAGON: Was it not there yesterday?
VLADIMIR: Yes of course it was there. Do you not remember?
We nearly hanged ourselves from it. But you wouldn’t.
Do you not remember?
ESTRAGON: You dreamt it.
VLADIMIR: Is it possible you have forgotten already?
Estragon doesn’t check evidence or go with what his gut says happened. He only blindly follows what Vladimir says. That is the American way. We don’t check statistics. We go by hearsay. We once believed that an electrical pad that one attaches to their stomach could elicit a six pack. Estragon is also only following Vladimir with waiting for Godot. Estragon wants to leave, but believes that because Vladimir says that Godot will come tonight that he will come even though every other night Godot hasn’t.
Quick fix nation is the idea of suicide. Americans look for quicker ways to do almost everything from drive through pharmacies to the IPASS to using pills instead of therapy to fix their problems. In Act I, Estragon and Vladimir toy with the idea of hanging themselves on page 12. Their conversation reads,
VLADIMIR: What do we do now?
ESTRAGON: Wait.
VLADIMIR: Yes, but while we are waiting.
ESTRAGON: What about hanging ourselves?
VLADIMIR: Hmm. It’d give us an erection.
ESTRAGON: An erection!
VLADIMIR: Let’s hang ourselves immediately!
Suicide is a quick fix. Instead of trying to work out one’s problems and deal with the hardship of digging deep and rationalizing…suicide is the answer. Then in Act II, Estragon actually tries to use his belt to hang himself from the tree but is unsuccessful because of the belt’s short length and the trees inability to hold his weight.
All in all, Waiting for Godot was a huge metaphor for the lives of the Western Culture. Vladimir and Estragon spend their entire lives waiting for Godot which is ultimately death or God depending on one’s belief. They spend their whole days waiting for death to come and relieve them of their routines. Vladimir and Estragon try to spice matters up by running into Pozzo and Lucky which symbolizes memorable events such as marriage, birth of children, graduation…anything that marks a significant event in one’s life to change the monotony, but ultimately even after, they are left with the identical routine after their brief detour.
Pozzo is the American Dream. He wants everything done for him no matter what the cost or who he hurts to compensate for his lazziness. In the play, Pozzo’s servant is Lucky. When Pozzo is blind in Act II and cannot get up, Pozzo instructs Vladimir and Estragon how to get lucky up to do Pozzo’s work by saying on page 100, “Well to begin with, he should pull on the rope, as hard as he likes as long as he doesn’t strangle him. He usually responds to that. If not he should give him a taste of his boot, in the face and the privates as far as possible.” So that is a great example of Pozzo going to any extreme to get what he wants and not considering the pain he is inflicting on unfortunate lucky. Pozzo is the American Dream of laziness.
Routine is Vladimir and Estragon who go through this monotonous cycle of waiting for Godot. On page 107 the reader sees their endlessness continue with the repetitive conversation of Vladimir and Estragon saying,
VLADIMIR: We have to come back to-morrow.
ESTRAGON: What for?
VLADIMIR: To wait for Godot.
They are making a mockery of the Western Society by showing the extreme version of what we do. But, instead of us waiting for Godot, we sleep, got to work, eat breakfast and lunch and dinner, go to school, etc. That is our routine and ultimately we are all waiting for Godot, but just passing the time differently.
Gullibility is Estragon. He greatly symbolizes Americans. He listens to what Vladimir says and takes it as truth without finding out for sure. In Act II on page 67, Vladimir and Estragon have a conversation that demonstrates Estragon’s gullibility. It reads,
VLADIMIR: The tree, look at the tree.
ESTRAGON: Was it not there yesterday?
VLADIMIR: Yes of course it was there. Do you not remember?
We nearly hanged ourselves from it. But you wouldn’t.
Do you not remember?
ESTRAGON: You dreamt it.
VLADIMIR: Is it possible you have forgotten already?
Estragon doesn’t check evidence or go with what his gut says happened. He only blindly follows what Vladimir says. That is the American way. We don’t check statistics. We go by hearsay. We once believed that an electrical pad that one attaches to their stomach could elicit a six pack. Estragon is also only following Vladimir with waiting for Godot. Estragon wants to leave, but believes that because Vladimir says that Godot will come tonight that he will come even though every other night Godot hasn’t.
Quick fix nation is the idea of suicide. Americans look for quicker ways to do almost everything from drive through pharmacies to the IPASS to using pills instead of therapy to fix their problems. In Act I, Estragon and Vladimir toy with the idea of hanging themselves on page 12. Their conversation reads,
VLADIMIR: What do we do now?
ESTRAGON: Wait.
VLADIMIR: Yes, but while we are waiting.
ESTRAGON: What about hanging ourselves?
VLADIMIR: Hmm. It’d give us an erection.
ESTRAGON: An erection!
VLADIMIR: Let’s hang ourselves immediately!
Suicide is a quick fix. Instead of trying to work out one’s problems and deal with the hardship of digging deep and rationalizing…suicide is the answer. Then in Act II, Estragon actually tries to use his belt to hang himself from the tree but is unsuccessful because of the belt’s short length and the trees inability to hold his weight.
All in all, Waiting for Godot was a huge metaphor for the lives of the Western Culture. Vladimir and Estragon spend their entire lives waiting for Godot which is ultimately death or God depending on one’s belief. They spend their whole days waiting for death to come and relieve them of their routines. Vladimir and Estragon try to spice matters up by running into Pozzo and Lucky which symbolizes memorable events such as marriage, birth of children, graduation…anything that marks a significant event in one’s life to change the monotony, but ultimately even after, they are left with the identical routine after their brief detour.
A Whole New World
Sylvia Plath was a poet; Samuel Beckett a play writer; Franz Kafka a novelist. All three masterful writers transformed the norm into their own interpretations and concocted their own worlds within their writings. Through their writings, any reader can identify with the themes and situations they paint with words and be unwillingly sucked into their world of upside down rules and contorted view of man and life.
Sylvia Plath’s poetry paints a picture of her sorrows she felt consumed her life. Plath writes of somber depressing situations. Through her imagery and poetic lines, she transports the reader into her world sucking the liveliness right out of the reader one word and metaphor at a time. One cannot walk away from reading Plath with a content feeling about the world and the way life unfolds. But with Sylvia Plath’s descriptions of places she writes about the reader feels as if they are there seeing what Plath is writing about.
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot takes the reader on a seemingly endless journey with Vladimir, Lucky, Estragon, and Pozzo. This world is very much desolate and by the long extended conversations and ability to identify with the characters, the reader is sucked into the world of waiting for Godot. One feels like they are present and within the pages when Lucky gives his speech and Estragon is eating a carrot. The sadness of the repetition is a concept every reader can identify with so while reading Beckett, one feels like they are part of his twisted world.
Franz Kafka also has created his own world. His main character K. appears in a mysterious situation of reaching the castle in a village built on social status and rules. Through Kafka’s extended scenes and ability to relate to every reader with common themes most struggle with, Kafka embeds the reader into his world and one feels like they are present during the love making, the bar scenes, and the struggle to reach the castle.
All three writers have created their own worlds which include common situations and themes that every reader can identity with. Through their use of words, descriptions, imagery, and extended scenes, the reading feel as if they are part of the world in which the author created living the scenes with the characters in the books, plays, and poems.
Sylvia Plath’s poetry paints a picture of her sorrows she felt consumed her life. Plath writes of somber depressing situations. Through her imagery and poetic lines, she transports the reader into her world sucking the liveliness right out of the reader one word and metaphor at a time. One cannot walk away from reading Plath with a content feeling about the world and the way life unfolds. But with Sylvia Plath’s descriptions of places she writes about the reader feels as if they are there seeing what Plath is writing about.
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot takes the reader on a seemingly endless journey with Vladimir, Lucky, Estragon, and Pozzo. This world is very much desolate and by the long extended conversations and ability to identify with the characters, the reader is sucked into the world of waiting for Godot. One feels like they are present and within the pages when Lucky gives his speech and Estragon is eating a carrot. The sadness of the repetition is a concept every reader can identify with so while reading Beckett, one feels like they are part of his twisted world.
Franz Kafka also has created his own world. His main character K. appears in a mysterious situation of reaching the castle in a village built on social status and rules. Through Kafka’s extended scenes and ability to relate to every reader with common themes most struggle with, Kafka embeds the reader into his world and one feels like they are present during the love making, the bar scenes, and the struggle to reach the castle.
All three writers have created their own worlds which include common situations and themes that every reader can identity with. Through their use of words, descriptions, imagery, and extended scenes, the reading feel as if they are part of the world in which the author created living the scenes with the characters in the books, plays, and poems.
An Unanimated Preview: The Assassination of JFK
Free love, mini skirts, and massive drug consumption consumed the 1960s. The British Invasion swept America; The Monkeys and Beatles topped the charts. Dan Rowan and Dick Martin owned the tube. Extremists were the norm. Marriage was absurd, rebellion ran rampant in the streets, and a young graduate of Harvard from Brookline, Massachusetts, President John F. Kennedy, reigned over the chaos. President Kennedy was young juxtaposed next to other presidents around his time in office. The Kennedy’s brought new life and vigor to the White House. Behind the fascinating façade, the Kennedy’s also suffered many personal tragedies. Jackie suffered a miscarriage in 1955 and gave birth to a still born daughter in 1956. Despite tragedies, John was still an awe-inspiring husband, father, son, and role model. On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, while riding along side his wife, Kennedy was lethally wounded by gunshots fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. In Christopher Johnson’s “A Day Without Cartoons,” Johnson takes a look at the assassination of Kennedy from the perspectives of uncorrupted cartoon crazed kids and how this day of despair resulted in the shattering of their innocence.
Christopher Johnson’s “A Day Without Cartoons” starts out using imagery to initiate the speaker’s flashback reading, “A somber procession of black felt cut outs marched across our T.V. screens / Chasing Mr. Magoo and Daffy Duck off the air / They ambushed Art Linkletter and routed Mickey Mouse” (lines 1-3). The procession of black felt cut outs refers to the black worn for Kennedy’s funeral and the children are questioning why Daffy Duck, Art Linkletter, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of their cartoons friends are not on their regular stations at their regular times, and how come these black felt cuts outs for Kennedy’s funeral have replaced them? The black felt cut outs “[set] up Pickett lines in front of Captain Kangaroo / then they camped there all day / making a bivouac on major channels” (lines 4-6).
With the first stanza, there is a concern about the cartoons in a questioning child-like voice, but the second stanza of the poem switches from present tense to past tense. The speaker is now grown and reflecting back on that day and recalling the facts saying, “It was late in November, 1963, and the shock / was met with church bells / And strings of cars with roses dangling from the aerials” (lines 6-7). Church bells tolled and roses hung from the aerials morning the death of President John F. Kennedy. The third stanza continues still reflecting back on that day saying, “We did not understand the events that transpired that day / for we were safe then still living in our graham cracker world (lines 8-10).” This concept of a graham cracker world refers to the speaker’s innocent world of youth; the snacks the children received as kids are acting as shelter…their shelter of innocence still living in a time when nothing made sense and didn’t affect them.
To the children, “Kennedy was just another name / A face in a film blinking over and over” (lines 11-12); The child does not comprehend that unlike the cartoons, this incident is real. To them, Kennedy is just another name like an actor in a film that kept playing the entire day like a movie instead of their routine cartoons. Though the speaker did not comprehend it at the time, he looks back and realizes that “The flag draped coffin” (line 13), and “The faces and feet shuffling past” (line 14) were “Ants, dragging a crumb of our graham cracker world” (line 15). However, the speaker of Johnson’s poem “cried when [he] saw him shot / The bullet ripping off his forehead / The last wave of that hand on Earth” (lines 16-18). But the older version of the speaker rationalizes why there was no crying by realizing that “[they] didn’t cry to see him shot” (line 16) because of their innocence and relating the incident to their cartoon world of immortality, “[they] cried because he didn’t get up /Elmer Fudd always got up even when an anvil fell on his head” (lines 19-20) but “Why could this man not rise after only a bullet?” (line 21). This speaker is questioning why after seeing anvils fall on Elmer Fudd’s head, dynamite blow Bugs Bunny to smithereens, and Calamity Coyote fall off cliffs, have boulders crush him, and run into painted on entrances to walls why this man, President Kennedy, did not get back up for the next scene after being shot with a tiny bullet which is much smaller than a boulder or effect of a stick of dynamite. Kennedy was just the beginning to their generation’s end of innocence Kennedy’s assassination “was just a preview / A preview into the world of Beatles, riots, Vietnam, Watergate” (lines 23-24). With their innocence lost after the assassination of Kennedy they “have made the transition and no longer have time for Daffy Duck / The graham cracker world has been put away in a box” (lines 25-26) like so many of their other child hood favorites. Put in a box and placed in an attic or basement as memories of something once of great importance. However “we recall that day in November / For those of us who witnessed it as kids / It was our initiation” (lines 27-29) it was “an unanimated preview” (line 30) into adulthood and loosing of innocence it was “a day without cartoons” (line 31).
Times have drastically changed since the assassination of renowned President John F. Kennedy. Children grow up much more rapidly than their proceeding generations. First kisses are earlier, first dates are more expensive, and more independence is given at a younger age where children are bombarded with images from magazines, television shows, movies, and peers being catalysts to speed up the journey to adulthood faster than the previous generations. The 1960s had the burning tragedy of the assassination of JFK. The new millennium has the twin tower terrorists on September 11th, 2001. For the children of this generation, it was not their day where Cartoons were chased away by airplanes flying into buildings; it was their day that the Soap Opera’s were put on pause…the day Oprah was silenced.
Christopher Johnson’s “A Day Without Cartoons” starts out using imagery to initiate the speaker’s flashback reading, “A somber procession of black felt cut outs marched across our T.V. screens / Chasing Mr. Magoo and Daffy Duck off the air / They ambushed Art Linkletter and routed Mickey Mouse” (lines 1-3). The procession of black felt cut outs refers to the black worn for Kennedy’s funeral and the children are questioning why Daffy Duck, Art Linkletter, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of their cartoons friends are not on their regular stations at their regular times, and how come these black felt cuts outs for Kennedy’s funeral have replaced them? The black felt cut outs “[set] up Pickett lines in front of Captain Kangaroo / then they camped there all day / making a bivouac on major channels” (lines 4-6).
With the first stanza, there is a concern about the cartoons in a questioning child-like voice, but the second stanza of the poem switches from present tense to past tense. The speaker is now grown and reflecting back on that day and recalling the facts saying, “It was late in November, 1963, and the shock / was met with church bells / And strings of cars with roses dangling from the aerials” (lines 6-7). Church bells tolled and roses hung from the aerials morning the death of President John F. Kennedy. The third stanza continues still reflecting back on that day saying, “We did not understand the events that transpired that day / for we were safe then still living in our graham cracker world (lines 8-10).” This concept of a graham cracker world refers to the speaker’s innocent world of youth; the snacks the children received as kids are acting as shelter…their shelter of innocence still living in a time when nothing made sense and didn’t affect them.
To the children, “Kennedy was just another name / A face in a film blinking over and over” (lines 11-12); The child does not comprehend that unlike the cartoons, this incident is real. To them, Kennedy is just another name like an actor in a film that kept playing the entire day like a movie instead of their routine cartoons. Though the speaker did not comprehend it at the time, he looks back and realizes that “The flag draped coffin” (line 13), and “The faces and feet shuffling past” (line 14) were “Ants, dragging a crumb of our graham cracker world” (line 15). However, the speaker of Johnson’s poem “cried when [he] saw him shot / The bullet ripping off his forehead / The last wave of that hand on Earth” (lines 16-18). But the older version of the speaker rationalizes why there was no crying by realizing that “[they] didn’t cry to see him shot” (line 16) because of their innocence and relating the incident to their cartoon world of immortality, “[they] cried because he didn’t get up /Elmer Fudd always got up even when an anvil fell on his head” (lines 19-20) but “Why could this man not rise after only a bullet?” (line 21). This speaker is questioning why after seeing anvils fall on Elmer Fudd’s head, dynamite blow Bugs Bunny to smithereens, and Calamity Coyote fall off cliffs, have boulders crush him, and run into painted on entrances to walls why this man, President Kennedy, did not get back up for the next scene after being shot with a tiny bullet which is much smaller than a boulder or effect of a stick of dynamite. Kennedy was just the beginning to their generation’s end of innocence Kennedy’s assassination “was just a preview / A preview into the world of Beatles, riots, Vietnam, Watergate” (lines 23-24). With their innocence lost after the assassination of Kennedy they “have made the transition and no longer have time for Daffy Duck / The graham cracker world has been put away in a box” (lines 25-26) like so many of their other child hood favorites. Put in a box and placed in an attic or basement as memories of something once of great importance. However “we recall that day in November / For those of us who witnessed it as kids / It was our initiation” (lines 27-29) it was “an unanimated preview” (line 30) into adulthood and loosing of innocence it was “a day without cartoons” (line 31).
Times have drastically changed since the assassination of renowned President John F. Kennedy. Children grow up much more rapidly than their proceeding generations. First kisses are earlier, first dates are more expensive, and more independence is given at a younger age where children are bombarded with images from magazines, television shows, movies, and peers being catalysts to speed up the journey to adulthood faster than the previous generations. The 1960s had the burning tragedy of the assassination of JFK. The new millennium has the twin tower terrorists on September 11th, 2001. For the children of this generation, it was not their day where Cartoons were chased away by airplanes flying into buildings; it was their day that the Soap Opera’s were put on pause…the day Oprah was silenced.
Orgasmic Selection: The Secrecy of the Female Orgasm
Some females claim that chocolate covered cherries, banana flavored ice cream, vanilla pudding, Hawaiian salad, buying sexy shoes, pickle chips, or even a new kitten is better than sex…but my question to you is…if these items, actions, and delicious delights are better than intercourse…what kind of sex are you having?!
In the past, females’ needs have been neglected. Sex was not a choice between both parties, but a demand from the male. Whether a woman reached orgasm or was satisfied under the sheets was not a concern of the self-interest-seeking man. But as times changed, females became more particular in their choice of males making men more conscious of their appearance in attire, hair style, and sexual appeal...and…pleasing a female in the bedroom.
For years, scientists have been disputing the purpose of female orgasm. Psychology Today states “The male orgasm is no great mystery. It's little more than a physiologically simple ejaculation that is accompanied by a nearly addictive incentive to seek out further sexual encounters.” The male abides by the simple rules of biology, “[t]he greater the number of inseminations a male achieves, the better his chances of being genetically represented in future generations.”
Compared with the frequent and effortlessly achieved orgasms that males experience, a females’ sexual climax has remained secrecy. “Darwinian theorists who made premature attempts to address the female orgasm proposed that orgasm keeps a woman lying down after sex, passively retaining sperm and increasing her probability of conception. Others suggested that it evolved to create a stronger pair bond between lovers, inspiring in women feelings of intimacy and trust toward mates. Some reasoned that orgasm communicates a woman's sexual satisfaction and devotion to a lover,” says Psychology Today: The Orgasm Wars and “[m]ost recently, evolutionary psychologists have been exploring the proposition that female orgasm is a sophisticated adaptation that allows women to manipulate--even without their own awareness--which of their lovers will be allowed to fertilize their eggs.”
Psychologists including Harvard evolutionist Stephen lay Gould, insist that female orgasm doesn’t have a role in reproduction. Gould argues that the female orgasm is accidental, caused by “an anatomical peculiarity of embryonic development.” In embryos, the undifferentiated organ that later becomes the penis in males becomes the clitoris in females. Anti-adaptationists like Gould--whose thinking uncannily parallels Freud's belief that women spend their life in penis envy--hold that the clitoris is, biologically speaking, an underdeveloped penis; it can let women mimic male orgasm, but it has no functional relevance or evolutionary history of its own.
“By the late 1960s, The British Medical Journal gained a clue for a reasonable adaptation hypothesis when they published an exchange of letters about the muscular contractions and uterine suction associated with women's orgasm. In one letter, a doctor reported that a patient's uterine and vaginal contractions during sex with a sailor had pulled off his condom. Upon inspection, the condom was found in her cervical canal! The doctor concluded that female orgasms pull sperm closer to the egg as well.”
Researchers Baker and Bellis formed an experiment that sought to learn just how female orgasms might affect which lover's sperm is used to fertilize a female’s eggs. Baker and Bellis “asked volunteers to keep track of the timing of their orgasms during sex, and, after copulation, to collect male ejaculates from vaginal flowback--a technical term denoting a distinct form of material that emerges from the vagina several hours after sex (scientists have devised a way to collect it). The team counted sperm from over 300 instances of human copulation.”
Baker and Bellis discovered that when a female climaxes between a minute before to 45 minutes after her lover ejaculates, she retains drastically more sperm than she does after non-orgasmic sex. When her orgasm precedes her male's by more than a minute, or when she does not have an orgasm, little sperm is retained. Just as the doctors' letters suggested decades earlier, the team's results indicated that muscular contractions associated with orgasm pull sperm from the vagina to the cervix, where it's in better position to reach an egg.
Therefore, Baker and Bellis proposed that by manipulating the occurrence and timing of orgasm--via subconscious processes--women influence the probability of conception. So while a man worries about a woman's satisfaction with him as a lover out of fear she will stray, orgasmic females may be up to something far more clever--deciding which partner will sire her children.
So, now that Evolutionary Psychologist have determined the importance of the female orgasm…you females…and males…might need additional advice. Guys are sometimes clueless about the complexities of the female body…but, females are guilty of the same crime. A great web-site to console is “Best Female Sex Positions - Sex Positions for Women to Reach Orgasm” where I found the articles:
Mouth and Finger, Yum!
How to have Awesome Sex
Give Yourself an Orgasm
&
4 Positions for a better (female) Orgasm
Many more articles that you and your partner can try are available by just google-ing “female orgasms” or “female orgasm positions.” There are many websites that cater to heterosexual and homosexual couples. Any male or female seeking to know her body better is also recommended to pick up an occasional Cosmopolitan magazine where great tips can also be found along with an array of other treats to try. And hopefully once sex becomes orgasmic, chocolate covered cherries will not be better than sex.
In the past, females’ needs have been neglected. Sex was not a choice between both parties, but a demand from the male. Whether a woman reached orgasm or was satisfied under the sheets was not a concern of the self-interest-seeking man. But as times changed, females became more particular in their choice of males making men more conscious of their appearance in attire, hair style, and sexual appeal...and…pleasing a female in the bedroom.
For years, scientists have been disputing the purpose of female orgasm. Psychology Today states “The male orgasm is no great mystery. It's little more than a physiologically simple ejaculation that is accompanied by a nearly addictive incentive to seek out further sexual encounters.” The male abides by the simple rules of biology, “[t]he greater the number of inseminations a male achieves, the better his chances of being genetically represented in future generations.”
Compared with the frequent and effortlessly achieved orgasms that males experience, a females’ sexual climax has remained secrecy. “Darwinian theorists who made premature attempts to address the female orgasm proposed that orgasm keeps a woman lying down after sex, passively retaining sperm and increasing her probability of conception. Others suggested that it evolved to create a stronger pair bond between lovers, inspiring in women feelings of intimacy and trust toward mates. Some reasoned that orgasm communicates a woman's sexual satisfaction and devotion to a lover,” says Psychology Today: The Orgasm Wars and “[m]ost recently, evolutionary psychologists have been exploring the proposition that female orgasm is a sophisticated adaptation that allows women to manipulate--even without their own awareness--which of their lovers will be allowed to fertilize their eggs.”
Psychologists including Harvard evolutionist Stephen lay Gould, insist that female orgasm doesn’t have a role in reproduction. Gould argues that the female orgasm is accidental, caused by “an anatomical peculiarity of embryonic development.” In embryos, the undifferentiated organ that later becomes the penis in males becomes the clitoris in females. Anti-adaptationists like Gould--whose thinking uncannily parallels Freud's belief that women spend their life in penis envy--hold that the clitoris is, biologically speaking, an underdeveloped penis; it can let women mimic male orgasm, but it has no functional relevance or evolutionary history of its own.
“By the late 1960s, The British Medical Journal gained a clue for a reasonable adaptation hypothesis when they published an exchange of letters about the muscular contractions and uterine suction associated with women's orgasm. In one letter, a doctor reported that a patient's uterine and vaginal contractions during sex with a sailor had pulled off his condom. Upon inspection, the condom was found in her cervical canal! The doctor concluded that female orgasms pull sperm closer to the egg as well.”
Researchers Baker and Bellis formed an experiment that sought to learn just how female orgasms might affect which lover's sperm is used to fertilize a female’s eggs. Baker and Bellis “asked volunteers to keep track of the timing of their orgasms during sex, and, after copulation, to collect male ejaculates from vaginal flowback--a technical term denoting a distinct form of material that emerges from the vagina several hours after sex (scientists have devised a way to collect it). The team counted sperm from over 300 instances of human copulation.”
Baker and Bellis discovered that when a female climaxes between a minute before to 45 minutes after her lover ejaculates, she retains drastically more sperm than she does after non-orgasmic sex. When her orgasm precedes her male's by more than a minute, or when she does not have an orgasm, little sperm is retained. Just as the doctors' letters suggested decades earlier, the team's results indicated that muscular contractions associated with orgasm pull sperm from the vagina to the cervix, where it's in better position to reach an egg.
Therefore, Baker and Bellis proposed that by manipulating the occurrence and timing of orgasm--via subconscious processes--women influence the probability of conception. So while a man worries about a woman's satisfaction with him as a lover out of fear she will stray, orgasmic females may be up to something far more clever--deciding which partner will sire her children.
So, now that Evolutionary Psychologist have determined the importance of the female orgasm…you females…and males…might need additional advice. Guys are sometimes clueless about the complexities of the female body…but, females are guilty of the same crime. A great web-site to console is “Best Female Sex Positions - Sex Positions for Women to Reach Orgasm” where I found the articles:
Mouth and Finger, Yum!
How to have Awesome Sex
Give Yourself an Orgasm
&
4 Positions for a better (female) Orgasm
Many more articles that you and your partner can try are available by just google-ing “female orgasms” or “female orgasm positions.” There are many websites that cater to heterosexual and homosexual couples. Any male or female seeking to know her body better is also recommended to pick up an occasional Cosmopolitan magazine where great tips can also be found along with an array of other treats to try. And hopefully once sex becomes orgasmic, chocolate covered cherries will not be better than sex.
Eureka: The First Traffic Light
Traffic congestion within larger cities constantly posed a problem for local authorities. Everyday “police officers had to be stationed full time directing traffic at busy intersections” (Great Ideas Finder). Before the invention of the first automobile in the year 1908 by Henry Ford, traffic consisted of solely “…pedestrians, buggies, and wagons” (Great Ideas Finder). In 1868, London set up the first “revolving lantern with red and green signals” (Great Ideas Finder) as an attempt at the first traffic light. In this case, a red light implied that it was time to “stop” and green denoted “caution.” These primitive traffic light lanterns were powered by gas and literally needed to be turned when the colors needed changing by a police officer on the ground. That is where we today get the expression, “The light turned green.” Then “on January 2, 1869, this crudely primitive gas powered traffic light exploded, injuring the policeman who was operating it” leaving the invention desperately crying out for improvement (Great Ideas Finder).
In the colossal city of Detroit, Michigan, irritated police officer William L. Potts was also getting more aggravated with the high number of automobile accidents. Potts wanted to find a way to “adapt railroad signals for street use” (Great Ideas Finder) in hopes of solving Detroit’s growing problem. In the year 1920, “on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenue,” Potts used the colors red, “amber” and green to invent the world’s first four-way tri-color traffic light costing only about thirty-seven dollars to engineer. Within the year, the city of Detroit installed fifteen of Potts’ automatic tri-color lights. However, since William Potts was a police officer, and therefore held a government job position, he was not allowed to patent his invention.
Therefore, Garrett Morgan of Cleveland, Ohio is actually the man credited with inventing the first traffic light in 1923 because he was able to patent it, “though it looked more like the semaphore signals you see at train crossings today” (Great Ideas Finder). Morgan, like Potts, also understood the necessity to manage the profound stream of traffic. Morgan was said to be “a gifted inventor and reportedly the first African American to own an automobile in Cleveland, Ohio” (Great Ideas Finder). Since 1918 others entrepreneurs besides Garrett Morgan had obtained US Patents for traffic signals. However, “Morgan's Patent was purchased by General Electric Corporation and provided the protection they needed to begin building a monopoly on traffic light manufacture” (Great Ideas Finder).
Later, Garrett Morgan put up for sale the rights to his traffic signal which was purchased by the General Electric Corporation for a grand total of forty thousand dollars! Morgan lived out his life a wealthy man until his death in July of 1963 at the age of eighty-six (Wikipedia). Along with the invention of the traffic light came positive effects for the drivers of the automobiles, the police officers, and the economy. The invention of the traffic light brought about less car accidents for those behind the wheel. Rather than clean up accidents and monitor intersections, the police officers could use their time and energy on crime prevention, revenue collection, and community outreach allocating their resources more efficiently. By having the need to produce every traffic light, the economy is also stimulated by making more job positions available.
The only negative effect that could possibly come out of the invention of the traffic light is the fact that there are not police officers on every street corner directing traffic. Citizens are more likely to run a red light that is not being monitored by police officer. However, this problem is now being taken care of with the invention of the Red-light cameras. These cameras are programmed machines that gather enough proof that authorities need to ticket red light runners by taking a photograph of the driver running a red light.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 22 percent of all traffic accidents in the United States are caused by drivers running red lights. Every year, these accidents kill some 800 people and rack up an estimated $7 billion dollars in property damage, medical bills, lost productivity and insurance hikes. And this sort of traffic violation seems to be on the rise. In many areas, red-light violations have increased by 10 percent or more since the 1980s (Harris). So, now with the invention of the red-light runners, it is as if there is once again a cop on every street corner disciplining those that run red lights.
Ultimately, controversy plays a role in who is credited with the development of the first traffic light. William Potts, Garrett Morgan, and others who attempted the role of entrepreneur found a way to make America’s streets safer. The invention of the traffic light brought about positive changes and little if no detriments. And now in the year 2008, traffic lights with red-light cameras are bringing citizens closer to safer conditions as if having a police officer on every street corner.
In the colossal city of Detroit, Michigan, irritated police officer William L. Potts was also getting more aggravated with the high number of automobile accidents. Potts wanted to find a way to “adapt railroad signals for street use” (Great Ideas Finder) in hopes of solving Detroit’s growing problem. In the year 1920, “on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenue,” Potts used the colors red, “amber” and green to invent the world’s first four-way tri-color traffic light costing only about thirty-seven dollars to engineer. Within the year, the city of Detroit installed fifteen of Potts’ automatic tri-color lights. However, since William Potts was a police officer, and therefore held a government job position, he was not allowed to patent his invention.
Therefore, Garrett Morgan of Cleveland, Ohio is actually the man credited with inventing the first traffic light in 1923 because he was able to patent it, “though it looked more like the semaphore signals you see at train crossings today” (Great Ideas Finder). Morgan, like Potts, also understood the necessity to manage the profound stream of traffic. Morgan was said to be “a gifted inventor and reportedly the first African American to own an automobile in Cleveland, Ohio” (Great Ideas Finder). Since 1918 others entrepreneurs besides Garrett Morgan had obtained US Patents for traffic signals. However, “Morgan's Patent was purchased by General Electric Corporation and provided the protection they needed to begin building a monopoly on traffic light manufacture” (Great Ideas Finder).
Later, Garrett Morgan put up for sale the rights to his traffic signal which was purchased by the General Electric Corporation for a grand total of forty thousand dollars! Morgan lived out his life a wealthy man until his death in July of 1963 at the age of eighty-six (Wikipedia). Along with the invention of the traffic light came positive effects for the drivers of the automobiles, the police officers, and the economy. The invention of the traffic light brought about less car accidents for those behind the wheel. Rather than clean up accidents and monitor intersections, the police officers could use their time and energy on crime prevention, revenue collection, and community outreach allocating their resources more efficiently. By having the need to produce every traffic light, the economy is also stimulated by making more job positions available.
The only negative effect that could possibly come out of the invention of the traffic light is the fact that there are not police officers on every street corner directing traffic. Citizens are more likely to run a red light that is not being monitored by police officer. However, this problem is now being taken care of with the invention of the Red-light cameras. These cameras are programmed machines that gather enough proof that authorities need to ticket red light runners by taking a photograph of the driver running a red light.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 22 percent of all traffic accidents in the United States are caused by drivers running red lights. Every year, these accidents kill some 800 people and rack up an estimated $7 billion dollars in property damage, medical bills, lost productivity and insurance hikes. And this sort of traffic violation seems to be on the rise. In many areas, red-light violations have increased by 10 percent or more since the 1980s (Harris). So, now with the invention of the red-light runners, it is as if there is once again a cop on every street corner disciplining those that run red lights.
Ultimately, controversy plays a role in who is credited with the development of the first traffic light. William Potts, Garrett Morgan, and others who attempted the role of entrepreneur found a way to make America’s streets safer. The invention of the traffic light brought about positive changes and little if no detriments. And now in the year 2008, traffic lights with red-light cameras are bringing citizens closer to safer conditions as if having a police officer on every street corner.
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