Money

Money. The assets, property, and resources owned by someone or something; wealth.

Does money make the world go round? Does it provide happiness? Is it necessary? Is it wanted? In The Great Gatsby, values such as power, greed, social hierarchy are displayed as influential elements within society. Each of these values are stimulated by the want for money. Jay, not only needed, but wanted enough money to mold himself into one of the wealthy. The power of money and the greed for more led Jay to the impression that money has the possibility to do anything.  On his path to power, the new, reformed Gatsby realizes that money is a bleak thing in comparison to time. When he tries to win back Daisy, he feels awkwardness and difficulty coping with the changes in Daisy’s life. Shocked by the fact she has moved on with Tom and given birth to a child, Gatsby feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. Although he has not come to the terms of Daisy’s betrayal or dead love, any reader may foreshadow the fact that Gatsby will be faced with the truth. On a similar trail, Daisy is a character that brought her social status higher by marrying advantageously; “as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society” (17). Despite knowing of her husband’s heinous actions, she chooses to turn a blind eye since she has nowhere to go. Although she is in a ‘relationship,’ she is swayed by the new money Gatsby possesses. Now intrigued by the wealth of Gatsby, she spends time with Gatsby. Blinded by money, Daisy is a character that is the definition of instability and greed.

Propaganda

Propaganda. Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Adolf Hitler and Nazi propagandists played the largest role in bringing the German trademark of anti-Semitism to rise. In every poster, movie, and corner of Germany, Jews were portrayed as violent, manipulative, uncivilized, and parasitic. On top of that, Jews were considered the culprits for every possible problem: they were blamed for the inciting the Russian Revolution. In order to display these “traits and actions of the Jews,” The Eternal Jew was created and aired. Initiated by Nazi Germany’s Minister of Propaganda and directed by Fritz Hippler, The Eternal Jew was a part of molding majority’s opinion about Jews. Not only degrading Jews, the movie emphasized the Nazi agenda. The film, Der Ewige Jude, is one of the main instigators of every problem the Jew’s face.

"The Noose Tightens" is the start of a chapter in which Vladek feels the walls closing on his family and lesser options for escaping. In addition, the image of the chapter depicts Jews being stamped as prisoners symbolized by the star of each uniform. On top of that, to show the uniformity of the “horrible” race, each prisoner wears the same uniform.

With these photos, Spiegelman subverts the idea of the Jew’s oppressing others by showing that in reality the German are oppressing the Jews.  While the Nazi’s represented the Jews as the controlling/evil cats, Art reveals the Jews to actually be innocent mice. Art’s drawings represent the pain of the Jews and reality of the time. Both attempt to reveal the truth of their perspectives. Each play a cause and effect relationship in the sense that the piece of propaganda in Hitler’s reign is the origin of the noose tightening. Together, the pictures have a serious tone, which enhances the message of what should never occur again. 

Hope

Hope. A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

 Hope is represented through a divine intervention in Vladek’s dream in the story, Maus. Vladek’s dream is a conversation with his grandfather, who tells him that he will be free on the day of Parshas Truma. Parshas Truma is one Saturday of one week in the entire year, which for Vladek was due in 3 months. Through these three months, Parshas Truma served as hope and the reason for survival for Vladek. This is the day that Vladek dreams to be with his family and “be treated like a human being”(54). Three months later, Parshas Truma arrives and the prisoners line up in the courtyard. Vladek signs a release form, and his dream Is fulfilled. This symbolizes the will to survive and hope that freedom is in grasp.

The whole drive of Vladek’s story was the idea of survival. For Vladek, his hope that he will come out the holocaust alive serves as a driving force through his horrible experiences. Good or bad, he needed to keep his family and himself safe. Every time, he remembered the idea that god was with him and his fellow comrades, the hope reignited. “Every day I bathed and did gymnastics to keep strong… and every day we prayed” (54).  The idea that praying was equal and regular to him as bathing portrays his faith. In addition, the quote mentions the strength he got from gymnastics. That very strength and faith pushed him to the finish line.

Fault

Universe. The universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies; it has been expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago.

1.     I’m not the center of the universe.

David Foster Wallace, in the speech “This is Water,” emphasizes the importance of being alert, active, and sharp amongst one’s surroundings. From examples about grocery shopping to traffic jams, Foster underlines the idea that without seeing the world in different perspectives, an individual is oblivious to other people. Other’s situations, other’s lives, other’s feelings… There is another person in the world that sees what you are 100 percent sure about differently. Each and every one of us should be able to admit that neither our point of views not our opinions are not the center of the universe.  That’s the truth.

Default.  To default is to revert automatically to (a preselected option).

2.     I live life by default.

Wake up. School. Sleep. Repeat. I do the same thing everyday. Am I really living each day like it my last? Or am I living in my default setting? I’ve always done what I was told.  I’ve followed all the guidelines so far. However, as I read the speech and heard Wallace’s voice, I realized that I WANTED to be unique. But I wasn’t. I was just like everyone else. I did what everyone else did. I rarely gave my TRUE opinion intentionally because I knew that it would be deemed useless. Instead, I just agreed with everyone. I did everything by the book. I lived today like I did yesterday. That's the truth. 

Sacrifice. To sacrifice is to give up (something important or valued) for the sake of other considerations.

3.     I have to sacrifice to gain.

“You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work for it” said Lionel Messi. The soccer player. He sacrificed to get where he is today. “The real kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able to care about other people and to sacrifice for them and over and over…” (237). I believe that this quote is a representation of the idea that if freedom is happiness, then happiness requires sacrifice. Those sacrifices will you take you forward. That's the truth.