If I was a Rich Girl, Like Rich Boy

I was trying to write my last post on Rich Boy when news broke loose that Osama Bin Laden was found dead and my productivity plunged.  So, instead, I thought that I would write a final thank you to Paula and every one in our class!  It's been an "enriching" semester, and we've learned a lot.  Every time paula played a song, or mentioned the novel Rich Boy, all I could think about was Gwen Stefani's popular song, "If I was a Rich Girl."  The video is great, and the lyrics are even better...Have a great summer!

"Rich Girl"

[Gwen]
If I was a Rich Girl
Na [x15]
See, I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl
No man could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end
Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl

Think what that money could bring
I'd buy everything
Clean out Vivienne Westwood
In my Galliano gown
No, wouldn't just have one hood
A Hollywood mansion if I could
Please book me first class to my fancy house in London town

All the riches baby, won't mean anything
All the riches baby, bring what your love can bring
All the riches baby, won't mean anything
Don't need no other baby
Your lovin' is better than gold and I know

If I was rich girl (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na nah)
See, I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl
No man could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end
Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl
I'd get me four Harajuku girls to
Inspire me and they'd come to my rescue
I'd dress them wicked, I'd give them names
Love, Angel, Music, Baby
Hurry up and come and save me

All the riches baby, won't mean anything
All the riches baby, bring what your love can bring
All the riches baby, won't mean anything
Don't need no other baby
Your lovin' is better than gold and I know

[EVE:]
Come together all over the world
From the hoods of japan Harajuku girls
What? It's all love
What? Give it up
What?
(shouldn't matter) [x4]
What?
Come together all over the world
From the hoods of japan Harajuku girls
What? It's all the love
What? Give it up
What? (shouldn't matter)
What happened to my life? Turned up side down
Chicks that blew ya mind, ding, it's the second round
Original track and ting
You know you can't buy these things
See Stefani and her L.A.M.B I rock the fetish people you know who I am

[Eve and Stefani:]
Yes ma'am, we got the style that's wicked
I hope you can all keep up
We climbed all the way from the bottom to the top
now we ain't gettin' nothing but love

If I was rich girl (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na nah)
See, I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl
No man could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end
Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl

Losing Who You Are

Rich Boy addresses a prevalent issue in many of the books that we've read this semester.   Robert Vishniak leaves his working class Jewish family to find wealth and a higher social class while losing himself in the process.  It is only a beautiful woman from his home neighborhood who makes him remember his roots and creates the turn within the novel. 

As we have seen with virtually all of the novels we have read this semester, characters cannot exist within a higher social class without losing their identity entirely.  Robert may have some oft he things that he has always dreamed of, but he is also in a constant battle to prove himself to the people that he begins to surround himself with.   This paradigm is one that is unfortunate but also rings true in The Rise of Silas Lapham and The Great Gatsby just to name a few.  Because Rich Boy is our last novel I wanted to comment on the fact that I truly believe that one cannot move to a higher social standing without a loss of their inner being and a constant fear of losing their new social standing.  Robert serves as a reminder to us that money is not where the importance lies, but morals and values.  However, he also shows us that when money is present, one will stop at nothing, whether or not that means leaving everything they've ever known, to try and achieve that higher social standing.

After looking up more information on Sharon Pomerantz, Rich Boy, I also happened to notice that "Rich Boy" is the name of a rapper...I found one his most popular songs, "Top of The World."  It seemed appropriate and I thought you would enjoy...

Schooled Website!?

After talking about the cover of Schooled in class, and then under Paula's instruction to take a look at the website, I peeked around and thought I would comment further on the website of Schooled and all of its pretentious glory.

I must say as a bit of a disclaimer, however, that after reading this book, the website is quite fitting-tacky and totally misses the point.

First, I am curious as to why Lahkani chose to use the same atrocious lay out for the website as the book itself...How about a desk?  An apple to emphasize the theme of education?  I would have to argue that a shopping bag and a broken pencil just contradicts the message that Lahkani tries to send at the end of her novel.  After getting over this though, I decided to click on the next "pencil tab" and read Ms. Lahkani's bio...besides her "beloved shit zhu Harold M." <we will get to him in a minute...I couldn't help but notice a jarring difference in her "About Me" compared to her novel..."Ms. Lakhani is single and lives in the city with beloved shitzu, Harold Moscowitz."  In the back of Schooled, it mentions her husband but here we learn of her divorce...my question is this, "Ms. Lahkani, was it really necessary for you to let us know that you were single?"  Is this your book website, or a dating website?  I really can't remember any more...does anyone else find this detail just a bit odd?  Who cares if you're single Ms. Lahkani?

Now, the dog.  As someone mentioned in class...shitzu's run somewhere upwards of $1500.  So, of course it would make perfect sense continually mention and advertise this fact in a book that tries to send a message about reforming education and the corrupt elite New York City boarding schools.  Makes perfect sense, right?  How can we take Ms. Lahkani seriously when all she does is barrage us with information about this shitzu, put him third inline on her website and even dedicates this book to him?  I feel embarrassed for her...


I feel like if I go on any further I may say things that I will regret, but probably not...it was a disaster.

all in all, this book and website was simply an embarrassment...I won't be advertising the fact that I ACTUALLY READ THIS.

Maybe I should go check out some of Lahkani's other required reading...People, Marie Claire, Hamptons...I'm starting to feel sick...

Schoold by Schooled? I hardly think so.

After reading Schooled by Anisha Lakhani, I felt like I should lather on some more sunscreen, readjust my  towel and take in the sounds of the waves because this was a book that normally, I would only choose to read on the beach.  Lakhani's representation of an elite New York City prep school missed the mark for me, and I found it hard to get through.  I couldn't help but wonder, however, that maybe some of the reason I found this book so repulsive was the fact that she was writing about some harsh truths regarding "elite schooling" that I wasn't about to fess up to.  As a former boarding school student, sometimes reading about obnoxiously preppy students and extremely wealthy parents always makes me uncomfortable because the truth is, those people were and still are some of my friends.

What I did find completely off was the way in which Lakhani represented Anna and her obsession with wealth.  Do people like Anna actually exist?  I think that she contradicted herself throughout the entire novel starting with her desire to help the students and then plagiarizing for them.  She talks about how she wants to live a simpler lifestyle, but then complains about the fact that she "only has $1500 in her bank account."  I just found Anna impossible to relate to, and horribly annoying.  I have to say that yes, some of the things the Lakhani wrote about were true (whether I liked it or not)  but her over all message really just wasn't for me (or the majority of our class, so it seems.)

Chute's Intentions

Carolyn Chute's, The Beans of Egypt, Maine, inspired a lot of conversation in our class, and afterward, I did some research on Chute to find out a little bit more about her and possibly uncover some of her intentions for writing Beans. 

Carolyn Chute

Born: June 14, 1947
Chute was born in Portland, Maine.  She now lives in a home with no telephone, no computer, and an outhouse in lieu of a working bathroom. She is married to Michael Chute, a local handyman who never learned to read.

After learning some of these startling details about Chute, I couldn't help but wonder, does she choose to live this way, or does she have to?  Because Chute seems to have left her novel soley up to the readers interpretation, I found that her living situation might be one of choice, but also necessity.  From what I found about the Chute family, I feel as though Carolyn enjoys her lifestyle very much.  Although our initial reaction to The Beans, may be one of horror, I believe that Cute also wanted to expose the idea that abject poverty does not have to mean  a life void of love and spiritual wealth.  Would I ever want to live like Carolyn Chute? Absolutely not, but I am glad she has found a life that makes her happy whether or not she has t use the bathroom outside during a Maine winter.

Small Town Poverty

To put my thoughts on The Beans of Egypt, Maine bluntly, I hated it.  After listening in class and thinking over why I felt so strongly about this book I came to the realization that I didn't hate the actual writing, or the story itself, I hated the fact that Carolyn Chute was addressing the real and somewhat scary fact that people like the Beans still exist in our society today.  I hated it because I realized that sadly, she is right.  Because we go to one of the best colleges in the country, and seem to live inside the nice bubble that is Colby, it's a hard fact to realize and accept that people like the Beans not only exist, but exist in close proximity to us.  The Beans don't live in "the boonies" far, far away-they live right next door.  As readers, I found that we are able to interpret the novel in whatever way we would like because it is mostly just description of the every day life on the Beans, and I interpreted the novel to be an exposure on some of the hidden realities of current, real, American Poverty. 

What startled me even more, however, was the realization that families like the Beans exist in my very own town.   I live right outside of Hanover, New Hampshire in a teeny town that is essential located in the middle of the White Mountains (aka, the middle of no where.)  Although I did not go to the public school that my little sister attends, I was shocked to realize that she goes to school with kids just like those in the novel.  For my entire family, I feel as though my little sisters school experience was a bit of an eye opener, but in the best way possible.  One of my little sister's best friends just turned sixteen and just had her SECOND child. When I first heard this I instantly passed judgment on this girl, her family and even asked my mom "you actually let Stefanie hang out with her?!"  But here's the thing, my little sisters friend lives in a trailer with her single mom in the middle of the woods and she has never known anything different.  Her mother was also a teenage parent, and my little sister's friend has never been raised to believe that she was a mistake or that her life "lacks."  I am not sure if she is ignorant, ill informed, or just lives a life that is different from what we would perceive as normal but this girl actually has a HEART OF GOLD.  She is one of 45 kids in my little sister's sophomore class (not the only teen mother, however) and I know that my sister acts as more of a support system for her than anything else, but in the midst of raising two babies while still trying to figure out what it means to be a teenager, she has also been there for my sister without fail whether or not she has one baby on her arm and the other in an infant carrier. 

The point of all of this is that, it may seem easy to hate and judge the Beans, but aren't they trying to achieve some of the same things that we are?  Don't we all want to eat, feel safe, and find people that love us?  I feel as though I would rekindle my initial statement about "hating the beans,"  but maybe at first I found them impossible to relate to until I thought about basic human necessities and the will to survive. 

Location, Location, Location

In one of Kelsey's posts on The Women of Brewster Place, she comments on the idea of location and how Brewster Place "therefore serves as a microcosm of the worlds in which the residents live, a world shaped by exclusion, lack, and loss. The isolation of the neighborhood parallels to the alienation the women feel from dominant culture, greater society, and—occasionally—themselves"

I began thinking about location in general and how the location of a family or group of people can define who they are.  Throughout the course of the semester we have seen characters living in specific locations that shape and mold them (especially because of their social standing.)  In The Women of Brewster Place, the women of the novel are defined by the loneliness and loss that accompanies Brewster Place.  They are tormented by their poverty and lack of anything they see valuable.  The women are set to live in one place excluded from the rest of the world which speaks to the alienation that women feel as whole.  (<I got many of these ideas from Kelsey's blog...just want to give credit where it is due!)

Many other locations that we have read about are essential to defining certain characters we have talked about this semester.  I think that in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the Long Island Sound to locate the story and expose certain characterizations of the Buchanans, Callaway and Gatsby.  The difference between East and West Egg, the class difference between Gatsby and Daisy, and the intermediate land of the Valley of Ashes are all defined and expanded on because of their specific location.  The East Egg is old money, West Egg means new money, and the Valley of Ashes is just that, a valley for the left behind. 

Kelsey's post exposes so much in regards to the location of Brewster place and I also feel like she creates questions (that I briefly answered) in regards to some of the other novels that we have read because where and why they are located in the locations that they are. 

Oh So Many Animals!

After reading Grapes of Wrath, and paging through overwhelming scenes with animals, I started to consider many of the different animals in all of the works we've read this semester.  As I mentioned in class, I couldn't help but think of the book Marley and Me because it is centered around the story and portrayal of an animal.  The turtle in Grapes of Wrath is representative of the journey and struggle that the Joad's face, while the dogs in Gatsby are symbols of wealth and conspicuous consumption.  Although the wild yellow lab in Marley and Me teaches the human's of the novel much more overt lessons than those in the novels we have read in class, the animals are positioned to help the character either learn something or give the readers of these novels a better understanding of struggles faced and class representations. 

Josh Gorgan, the author of Marley and Me writes, " "A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty." (<on a side note, this is one of my favorite quotes of all time).  Gorgan speaks about the lessons that Marley taught him as an animal, and even though the symbolism of the turtle in Grapes of Wrath  may not be described in the way that Grogan describes Marley (yes, i realize they are two completely different pieces of literature) the turtle clearly serves as a reminder of the Joad's journey west and can help readers get a different perspective of some of the raw hardships that they faced. 

Leaving Everything I've Ever Know - Post Fourteen

I know that I will never be able to officially relate to the characters from the Grapes of Wrath because fortunately, I have never experienced extreme poverty.  However,  for me, the Joad's story did ring close to home because like them, I was also forced away from my home-town and entered life in a completely foreign place when I  was just seventeen years old.  Only in my story, my parents were the bank and I was the Joad family (along with my two other sisters).  The summer before my senior year in high school, my mom rounded up my sisters and me, sat us down on the couch, and told us that we were moving.  My Dad just accepted a job offer in Vermont, about 700 miles from my hometown of Ocean City, New Jersey, and we would be leaving sometime in December.  As tears instantly sprang into my eyes, all I could do was look at my mom and tell her simply, "I'm not going."  The fact that we were moving was only the beginning.  My parents also decided that it was time to "live the simple life," and they both took up jobs making a significantly less amount of money than they made while we lived in New Jersey.  Literally in a matter of moments, my whole life was turned upside down.  Our new house was a 200 year old “beautiful fixer upper” as my dad liked to say, which my sisters and I soon coined "the shack."  They also thought it might be too hard to drag my twelve year old Basset Hound all the way to Vermont, and that the trip would surely be too hard on him, so there was much speculation about putting him to sleep. Not only were they forcing me to leave my home town but now they wanted to just kill off my best friend, bedside companion, and soul mate too?  I was waiting for them to tell me this was all some horribly sick joke....

My sisters and I sat vigil, and I, the ring leader of the three of us, refused to let our parents decide the rest of our lives.  My little sister even failed to tell her friends that she would soon be leaving and no longer a part of their lives.  This was my house, my home town, and after seventeen years of forming my identity, no one, not even my good old mom and dad were about to take that from me.  I actually refused to pack up my room (when the movers finally came and tried to touch my stuff I literally had a hysterical crying fit-yes, I extremely embarrassed myself) I sobbed uncontrollably every time we were forced to drive nine hours to look at the ugly white shack with no heating,  and I even laughed at my parents when they tried to tell me that I simply didn’t have a choice in the matter.   

They were right.   

On December 7^{th 2007} I literally left behind everything I’ve ever known, the beach, my friends, the guidos of Sea Side New Jersey, and found myself smack in the middle of a New England winter in a house that felt like a horrible hotel-cold and unfamiliar. 

Now, three years later, I have seen that life does begin again.  My parents fixed up the "shack" into a beautiful colonial that yes, may be smaller than my former seas side establishment, and located literally IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE, but it has actually become my home (whether or not I like to admit that to my parents.)  And even though life may not be as “cosy,” as it used too I have found that I am still surrounded by the people that love and care for me unconditionally (don't worry, we saved my dog...hes 15 and still kicking) and that’s what truly matters.  Have I forgiven my parents for “what they did?” Of course not. But have I learned the true meaning of home, and for that I am thankful. 

The Joads may have been kicked off of their land and forced to leave everything they’ve ever know, but I can only hope that like me, some where in their own fictional world, they also found a sense of unwavering love even in their days of darkness.

Fitzgerald's View of the Rich - Post Twelve

"That's my Middle West...the thrilling returning trains of my youth, and the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark....I am part of that, a little solemn with the feel of those long winters, a little complacent from growing up in the Carraway house....I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all - Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life." (Chapter 9)


At the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carroway talks about the difference between the east and west life and the inability to transition from one place to another.  This quote best represents Fitzgerald's view of the rich because it is exemplifies the notion that it is unable to climb from one social status to the next.  As we talked about in class,  the characters within The Great Gatsby, are ranked from highest to lowest social standing.  Although many of the characters try, there is no character that completely moves into a higher social standing without serious repercussion and failure.  In this quote, Fitzgerald uses Nick to parallel the idea of migration to a different place with the movement of social status.  The Westerners, Nick, Gatsby, and the Buchanans, are unable to adapt to the Eastern life.  Moreover, the inhabitants of East Egg in Long Island represent old money while  West Egg holds people of new money (ie. Gatsby).  As seen in the novel, Gatsby is unable to ever assimilate with the East Egg residents.  Although Fitzgerald's view of the rich is not explicitly stated, it seems as though his idea regarding "the rich" is embodied in his  notion that social status is fixed.  All of the Characters within Gatsby end up where they began, or worse. 

Great Gatsby in 3D?!

Maybe I'm way behind on my current entertainment events, but in case you haven't been up on the up in recent months...Baz Lurhmann recently announced that The Great Gatsby in 3D will be coming out  and will be filmed in Australia!  Leo DiCaprio will play Jay Gatsby, Tobey Macguire is Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan will play Daisy Buchanan. 

Jay Gatsby

Daisy Buchanan

Nick Carroway

Looks like an all star line up and I hope that it lives up to the three other productions of The Great Gatsby that are already in production!  More than the movie itself (which I will most definitely be seeing) I wanted to comment on the lavish movie set and the 3D format (among other things.)

With such modern day technology and an amazing amount of resources (special effects and so many different film techniques)  I cannot wait to see how extravagant Luhrmann makes Gatsby's house, Daisy's outfits, and his representation of East and West Egg in general.  I do find it a bit ironic that this book is a commentary on wealth and social class, yet the amount of money that will be spent to make this movie most definitely ranges somewhere in the millions. And then I couldn't help but think, how much has actually changed since Nick met Gatsby?  While there is still immeasurable amounts of suffering going on in the world, we are able to fall into the trap of conspicuous consumption and spend millions of dollars on entertainment (let's not get into how much the actors are going to get paid...)  I know it may seem silly, but after finding numerous articles on the actors and some of Lurhmann's plans for the movie, I felt a little bit nostalgic after everything that we've talked about in this class.  Although I cannot wait to see the movie, I can't help but feel like all the money and excessiveness put into the making The Great Gatsby 3D follows exactly what we've been talking about in class.  There is a sense of a leisure class and conspicuous consumption both within Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby as well as the actual production of the movie itself.

The Seasons of The Great Gatsby - Post Eleven

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald pins the story of Jay Gatsby and Daisy during the summer season, and parallels their love story along with the climax of the summer heat.  The novel also ends with Gatsby's death right as the impending presence of Autumn approaches.  In the beginning of the novel, when we first meet Nick, before Gatsby is seen for the first time, Fitzgerald writes, "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." The change or progression into the summer opens up the story and thrusts the plot line forward.  It is in the summer weather that Gatsby throws his lavish parties, Jordan and Daisy are able to sit around all day embodying the definition of conspicuous consumption, and Daisy and Gatsby momentarily rekindle their lost love.  The summer seems to represent the rebirth of "life" for the characters of the novel.  During the summer season, the action of the novel takes place, and becomes a transition period.  Nick moves in next to Gatsby, Gatsby finally find's Daisy again, and the characters constantly travel to New York City through the Valley of Ashes.  The summer is a period of movement where the period of time outside the summer becomes stagnant. 

As the summer ends, as the seasons transition into fall, it is then that Gatsby's story falls apart.  While Gatsby is laying in the pool, under the falling Autumn leaves, Wilson shoots Gatsby and then kills himself.  While life began again with the coming of summer, it ends at the coming of autumn.  Because the novel is continually in a state of transition, the summer serves as a bridge that the movement is guided along.

The Theory of the Leisure Class - Post Ten

After being thoroughly confused while reading Thorstein Veblen's, The Theory of the Leisure Class, I decided that I wanted to try and find some easier, more relevant examples to help all of us better understand the idea of Conspicuous Leiuse as well as Conspicuous Consumption.  First, I simply Googled both of these terms to see what funk images I could find to help us better understand these upper class "societal" terms.

Here's what I found...

Conspicuous Leisure:

I think this one speaks for itself...

Not so sure how this one fit in with "Leisurely Consumption," but Google Images did...we talked about pets in class?

People have been doing nothing for as long as we can remember.

Modern day Leisurely Consumption-she doesn't have to do anything but look good and drink that nice alcoholic beverage....

Conspicuous Consumption:
(these pictures seemed to fit the definitions we talked about in class much better)

Everyone needs a pink Hummer, right?

I think this cartoon represents Conspicuous Consumption so well!  It exemplifies the pressures to show off wealth that the upper class were sure to face as well as their excessive, lavish spending and lifestyle.

I think that Veblen would have to agree with this statement.

I thought that these pictures did a pretty good job helping me better understand these two terms, but then I found this You Tube video and I don't think that even Veblen did such a great job at explaining conspicuous consumption...see for yourself...(also, I really think that this applies to a lot of what we've learned and studied over the semester-except maybe the cocaine part?)

As the last line of this gem of a song so aptly puts it, "it's over for most of the characters we've read about in their towns"

House of Mirth - Post Nine

Lily Bart is a stunning woman who desperately tries to fit into an elaborate social scene throughout the course of House of Mirth.  She also fails to choose a man to marry and ends up alone and dead at the end of the novel.  After reading House of Mirth, along with the other novels we have read this semester, I couldn't help but wonder:  Is it possible to ever be happy within a higher social class?  Wharton's novel tells us that it is not.  Lily cannot find happiness within the upper elitists.  We also see that the other characters of the novel, within the higher social class, struggle through marriage issues, a seeming desperation to show off their wealth, and they fail to recognize anything of true value.  Their are characters within House of Mirth who do exhibit strong humility and exemplary morals, however, they are poor and alone.  In expressing her opinions about Gerty, Lily says that she is "happy," but lives in a shabby apartment and has given up so much. 

Furthermore, in The Rise of Silas Lapham, we see the Lapham family try to fit in with the Coreys and their "old money, elite social class"  but fail to do so by the end of the novel.  Howell sets up the Laphams in direct contrast to the Coreys and eventually, the Laphams are forced to go back to where they came from.  In Maggie, A Girl of the Streets, Maggie briefly enters into  a relationship with Pete.  He shows her into a higher social class that she has never experienced only to abandon her and leave her to prostitution and death. 


In relation to House of Mirth, most of the other novels we have read this semester (not just the two listed above) all characterize rich and poor in the American culture and set down similar standards as to what was socially acceptable at that time.  After reading house of mirth and relating it to our class as a whole, I think that all of our authors are telling us that people of extreme higher class lack the ability to function within any sort of relationship and are far from happy.

Beauty and Style in House of Mirth - Post Eight

In House of Mirth, Edith Wharton obsesses over Lily Bart's beauty and social appearance throughout the course of the novel.  Wharton consistently mentions Lily's clothes, and her desire and need for more.  After reading through Wharton's lavish descriptions of the dinner parties and the extreme amounts of money that Lily spends, I couldn't help but wonder what some of these outfit's looked like.  I started looking at certain photos from the House of Mirth movie and was surprised at how ugly some of Lily's clothes were-here is just a sample:

After looking at some of Lily's hideous outfits from the movie, I then became interested in all the different kinds of fashion during the Gilded Age.  It seems that most of the fashionable outfits at this time focused on bawdiness and extreme frills and lace.  As we saw through Lily, a woman's clothes were representative of her  wealth and social class.  The bigger, the better.  More lace, bigger hats, and fancier dresses only meant more money.  So, as I was browsing through some pictures of these very interesting outfits -example two:

 

 I started to wonder...Has anything really changed since Lily Bart's time in regards to fashion? Sure, most women today would never be caught dead in a corset and large brimmed hat with more feathers than a peacock, however, I think that clothing has always been and still one of the most common and easiest ways of representing wealth.  We define different types of jobs, and the amount of money earned is these professions, to be either a blue or white collar .  Even at Colby, the type of bag you carry around or the certain types of shoes that you have are all displays of certain social standing.  I'm pretty sure we'd never see this guy walking across the quad:

and Colby students most definitely stick out like sore thumbs at the local Waterville Walmart:

Just one of the many preppy outfits seen on Colby's Campus

Yes, this woman actually went to Walmart dressed like this. 

That being said, I am posing this question:  Without wealth, is it impossible to dress "appropriately"  or in a manner than conceals any sort of social class standing? 

Silas Lapham - Blog Post Seven

After our class discussion on the difference between the "Upper Crustys" and the "Non Crustys" in The Rise of Silas Lapham I couldn't help but wonder whether or not an "Upper Crust" can ever embody the positive character traits of a "Non Crusty." I began thinking about different people within our modern day society that are of an "Upper Crusty" status but still have not strayed from moral value. How bout Bill Gates? Many people consider him to be a philanthropist...

This couple started Shawmut Construction in Bosoton and then sold it to their employees. Now they dedicate their lives to philanthropy all over the world and started the Ansara Family Fun and the Haiti Fund out of the Boston Foundation. They donated over 2 million dollars to start the Haiti Fund. What do you think the Corey's would think about the Ansara family?

Finally...OPRAH! Probably one of the most famous philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest women in the world (shes a big Upper Crusty) can we deny her positive impact on the world?

Maybe we need to think of another name for "Upper Crustys" who've made an Impact??

After watching Sam's hilarious videos in class today, I thought that I'd add some youtube humor to my blog as well. Over the course of Silas Lapham, we see the Laphams push their new money against the Corey's old money. The Corey's reject the idea of the Lapham's newly found wealth, and seem to believe that they can never be equals. I find it interesting that the amount of actual money that either families have is not really what mattershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTEpRq9bmE. Instead, the origin of the money is what seems to be important.

I then began thinking about our society today and whether or not the idea of new or old money still applied...then I remembered this clip of this trashy MTV show I happened to see a few weeks ago. The show, "You're Cut Off" is about rich, spoiled women who are cut off from their families money. Even though these girls are just short of, if not millionaires, are they classy? What would the Corey's say about them? Does their money represent new or old, and aren't they trashy even tough they represent a higher social class?

See for yourself!

"How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis - Blog Post Five

Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives is a non fiction, historically accurate account of the poverty and tenement housing in New York City's Lower East Side. In comparison to our other readings, I found it very helpful to get an in depth view of the conditions that many immigrants faced upon coming to America. Riis' article proved to be a bit more arduous to get through because it did not use any sort of humor or comedic relief to draw its readers in. However, I did find that the tragic reality that so many people during the 19th century horrifying. Riis' article looked at the "Genesis of the Tenement," as well as the different types of diseases that these people were exposed to and the virtually unlivable conditions of the tenement houses. Like Twain and Crane, Riis' constructs poverty throughout the course of his book to pain a picture of loss and deprivation. Furthermore, although all three authors approach the subject of "rich and poor" within America in very different ways, after reading Riis' article, they all seem to center on the same issues regarding money. Extreme poverty, as seen in Crane and Riis, and even extreme wealth, as seen in Twain can cause a lack of family or domestic life, a decline in health (mental and physical), a downfall in an employment and economic system, as well as an obsession with social climbing and survival.

"Maggie" Blog Post Four

While reading "Maggie," I was thinking about her inevitable fate and how it relates to society today and the "fate" of people who grow up in the projects, live below the poverty line, or in very poor areas of the country. I couldn't help but wonder if Maggie was subjected to such a horrible life style and eventual sad demise simply because she didn't have any other choice. I would like to think that, yes, if Maggie had worked hard and tried a little bit more, she would have been able to break free from the slums, leave behind her dysfunctional family and create change within her life. However, it seems as though Maggie's situation, or horrible home life project her on a path that can only lead to destruction. Maggie is unable to see the phony that Pete really is because she is only looking for something even slightly better than what she has. She cannot control her mother's drunken outrages and the complete destruction of her home. She also cannot control the fact that she lacks the money or resources to break free from her tenement house and try to move up in society. In relation to America today and the poverty that exists within our country, inner city students and kids have to succeed within our nation or children who have grown up in very poor areas of the country are parallel with Maggie because of their lack of resources and chance to succeed. Although there are few rare cases about the "child who broke free from the projects, got an education, and became the CEO of a well known company," the reality is that the majority of children and people living in poverty stay their for the entirety of their lives. Citizens that live below the poverty line lack the same things that Maggie lacked within "Maggie." There is no education, economic and employment opportunities are almost non existent, a stable family life is rare, and they grow up in areas where crime rates are high and people are just trying to get by. Without any of these resources, it is evident that just "working hard" won't allow most poor people to find any sort of redemption or freedom from their struggles. The picture below is of the projects in Camden, NJ-20 minutes outside of where I grew up. If you can't tell, there are people sleeping in cardboard boxes beside the run down houses. Looking at this picture, and after reading Maggie, I feel as though luck and a lot of chance plays into the ability for those suffering from extreme poverty to thrive. How can we expect anyone living under these condition, and suffering from the same things that Maggie lacked, to avoid the same sort of demise that Maggie did?

"Maggie" Blog Post Three

I found that one of the most interesting elements within "Maggie," was the dysfunction that Maggie's alcoholic mother creates. Besides the fact that Maggie's family is poor, I couldn't help but wonder about her mother, Mary, and the household that Mary herself was raised in. In many novels, it is rare to see such an aggressive mother, as it is more the father figure that takes the role of abusive alcoholic. In "Maggie," however, we see Mary tear apart the house, destroy any sort of semblance of home that Maggie tries to create and abuse her children and husband throughout the entirety of the novella. We also see her sobbing over her daughter's death at the end of the novel as if she cared about Maggie. It seems as though Mary also grew up in the slums and was subjected to the same sort of domestic violence that she now inflicts on her family. Would Maggie suffer from the same terrible fate if she had had a stable mother or a stronger familial bond? I asked myself this question at the end of the novella, and while I do believe that Maggie may have avoided death and the destruction of her dignity, I think that she still would have taken even worse path's in order to try and create a better life for herself. Regardless of Maggie's home life, and Mary's childhood, the lack of money and resources seem to be the root to all of their problems. Alcohol abuse, domestic violence, or not Maggie was in search of something better. I think that a story with a functional family life, but one that still suffered from extreme poverty would be an interesting case study to look at and compare to "Maggie."


In the Oscar nominated movie Precious, actress Monique plays an alcoholic, abusive mother.

"The 30000 Bequest" Blog Post Two

After reading "The 30000 Bequest" I couldn't help but be reminded of a summer camp that I've worked at for many many summers. Twain focuses on the destruction of his characters because of wealth, and many of my campers suffer from this same predicament. I feel like it is a common misconception to think that only poor people suffer from issues surrounding money and a lack of basic life necessities. However, after a summer at camp, I found that children who have grown up with extreme amounts of wealth can also suffer from this same plight. Although I only had eight, 16 year old girls in my "camper section," I worked directly with campers ranging from ages 10 to 18. Most of the campers come from EXTREMELY wealthy backgrounds and were all suffering because of their lack of family life and guidance. Many of my girls we're dealing with parents who have shipped them to camp after camp as well as boarding school and were raised by nannies who have done everything from bottle feeding them to cleaning their rooms for their entire lives. Many of my campers have never had someone tell them that they loved them and I found that most of the kids were just living a very disconnected life. This is not to say that money is the root of all evil, or that there were some campers who had thrived off of living such a luxurious life; however, I found it so interesting that even though the families of the campers literally could have everything they've ever wanted they lacked any moral compass and most of the campers suffered from a desperate need for attention. Many of the younger girls have never even been taught how to pick out their own clothes because they have had someone do it for them, and many of the campers were unable to even make a bed or take a proper shower. In relation the "The 30000 Bequest" I found working at this camp not only extremely fascinating, but also devastating. Like the Foster family, many of the families that ship their kids off to the camp that I work at also are unable to grasp some of the basic necessities of life and live far from reality.

**Please notice this kids shirt...

"The 30000 Bequest" Blog Post One

Twain's "The 30000 Bequest" constructs the notion of wealth as a corrupt system that overpowers the two main characters, Aleck and Sally. Twain switches between gender roles between the husband and wife in "The 30000 Bequest" to create a comedic air while also and to playing up the idea of money and social status as destructive figures. I found that Twain's use of irony throughout the course of the story also creates an air of humor that is present from beginning to end. When the story open's, Twain describes The Foster's life as very prosperous and happy. Sally is a man earning a handsome salary and his wife Aleck is happy in her husband, and her children. Their life seems almost picturesque. Once the money is introduced, it is then that everything seems to go awry. First, Sally and Alecks' daughters are never mentioned again except for in relation to the elaborate marriage plans that the couple creates for their children. The Foster family life becomes a thing of the path, and it is soon the money that becomes all consuming. With the disappearance of the familial structure, Aleck and Sally also begin to lose their marriage, their friends, and even their sanity. The delusions that they create about the large non-existent sum of money end up destroying everything that they had before they knew about the money as well as the dreams they create surrounding the money. Even though Aleck and Sally are not suffering financially, and are convinced that they will soon be the recipients of a significant financial gain, they still fall to some of the same things that people who live below the poverty line suffer from. The Foster's not only watch their family break apart, but they also have a physical and moral decay. Their obsession with material possession is reminiscent of those who suffer from a lack of money and resources. Twain uses the Fosters as a parallel to the lives of poverty stricken people and creates irony within their lifestyle to show that money can tear apart lives if not dealt with carefully no matter what social status or class.