Interruptions of Daily Life

Blog 5: Interruptions of Daily Life

            As I sat at my event for my final blog of the semester, I just filled with excitement. Now hopefully, that did not come across the wrong way; I was not excited because this is my final blog but instead, because I had attended the perfect event for our class. On November 1^st, I attended ‘Writers at Work’ that is a newly initiated program at Loyola that gives students access to different writers and their insight on what goes on behind the scenes of writing. The speaker for this event was Eduardo Corral, who is currently a professor at North Carolina State, and came to share his book of poems, Slow Lightening. The lessons and insight he had to offer were messages that had been deeply rooted in our class conversations. Unfortunately, my excitement diminished a little when I realized our reading was not a poem this time, but instead a play. While for class we read Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, I will focus on how Eduardo Corral’s techniques and viewpoint of writing connected to the Jesuit tradition valued by our class and entire Loyola community.

            Eduardo Corral is the oldest of three Mexican immigrants. Because of his role as the son of two undocumented Hispanic parents, Eduardo assumed the new role of being a translator for this parents everywhere they went. Through this responsibility, Eduardo developed a heightened awareness of language. As a writer, he realized the need for silence between words and the need to listen to surroundings. This mirrors the Jesuit tradition of appreciating everything around you. In his poems, he uses his language as a way to view the world and as a result his works include English, Spanish, and song lyrics. He is not able to appreciate one more than the others because this is what is natural for him.

 Poetry was the last thing that Corral expected to do with his life. However, he, like many writers, was content in his own solitude. Prior to writing, Eduardo Corral was an outsider and thought he was destined for death; He was a gay man coming of age in the time of aids. Eduardo described his childhood as being blindfolded, unable to see what the rest of the world had to offer. He began to break through this barrier when he began to write through which he was able to project imagery and his imagination. What I felt was really keen to our class discussions was when Eduardo explained that his “Poems begin as interruptions of daily life.” He used triggers throughout his daily life and explored these connections. This is exactly what we have done throughout our class. To Eduardo, at the heart of writing is paying attention to the world because we are surrounded by information. He provided an example for this, by sharing with us a poem he had written which was inspired by a conversation he had eavesdropped on while riding the train. From “Mending Wall,” the very first poem we read, to “The Times They Are A-Changin,” the final poem we read- every poem told a story of an interruption of everyday life. In line with the Jesuit Tradition, poetry has enabled a way to immortalize the appreciation for our surroundings. The poems we have read have taken the smallest moment or smallest object and made it an object of discernment.

Now, with my luck, our reading for today was not a poem but a play- The Twelfth Night. The first two acts of the play depict the scene of a love triangle- or quite frankly, maybe even a different shape, with more characters. Orsino is in love with Olivia, who is in love with Cesario (actually Viola), and Viola is in love with Orsino. The play thus far has shared an explicit message about love and has used writing to convey it complexities. In this way, the play is similar to the poems we have read and the message Eduardo shares about the writing of poems.

This class has developed in myself and my classmates the value of everyday life and our surroundings just like the writing themselves do. Each class we dissect a different reading to discover the message it conveys about the environment, human beings, and our world. By attending the talk by Eduardo Corral, it is obvious that writers write with the intention of sharing their works for this purpose.

Blog 5: Love and Sin

Kristen Glass

Blog 5: Love and Sin

In Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare uses human behavior and love to depict humanity’s true identities. He achieves this message with witty dialogue which allows the reader to enjoyably analyze their own roles in society. Two weeks ago, I attended a theology lecture held by Professor Benjamin Sommer, who argued that the Bible can be interpreted in different ways depending upon one’s background and beliefs. Both Twelfth Night and the theology lecture analyze the hardships of love and how choices can define character.
Twelfth Night expands upon the idea that love has no boundaries. This shows that having a relationship is a desire of our society, and this desire is apart of its identity. Olivia chases after Cesario,  (Viola cross-dressed as a man) a servant of low class. Viola falls in love with Orsino under her disguise and painfully watches him fall for Olivia. Duke Orsino attempts to woo Olivia, though her brother recently died and she was in a time of mourning. Shakespeare writes, “Get you to your lord; I cannot love him: let him send no more; Unless, perchance, you come to me again, To tell me how he takes it” (16). Olivia is tired of Orsino’s advances and sends away Viola, whom she is secretly attracted to. The comical dialogue lightens the mood, but this play portrays the real life difficulties the audience may encounter with love. Love can change how one acts or thinks, which ultimately influences personality.  
At the lecture, Dr. Sommer discussed God’s love for humanity. Because of this message proposed at the theology lecture, the audience is influenced to make their relationship with God stronger through prayer and action.Though Adam and Eve disobeyed God (though perhaps they were unaware as Sommer argued), he justly exiled them from the Garden of Eden. God continued to provide for Adam and Eve by blessing them with food to harvest. He also gave them the ability to have children. The snake was cursed, but Adam and Eve were not. Dr. Sommer argued that sending Adam and Eve away was meant to be and that Genesis was not a story of a fall from grace, but a rising to knowledge. Now, they had the knowledge of good and evil and and could lead meaningful lives. This relationship between God and humans seems to be as confusing as the love of the characters in Twelfth Night, but that is not so. The lecture proposed that God loves everyone no matter their fault and sin. God will continue to provide as long as humans believe in him, but humans have a difficult time loving God because they cannot physically see him. A person’s faith identity can be influenced by their strong or weak faith in God.

Twelfth Night depicts human behavior that relates with the own actions of the audience. Besides the ample emotion of love throughout the play, many characters face sadness, greed, and mischief. The choices that the characters make in reaction to their feelings defines their true character and is a lesson to the audience about how to behave. For instance, Maria’s decision to dupe Malvolio because of her spite allows the reader to reflect on their own experience with anger and revenge. Shakespeare writes, “...observe him, for the love of mockery; for I know this letter will make a contemplative idiot of him” (29). This scene, though humorous, leads the reader to question their own past actions and morality. The self-righteous behavior of Malvolio throughout the play is also mocked so, the audience can conclude that his actions are wrong and not follow this example.

Harming others can negatively shape a person’s character and their perspective on the world. At the theology lecture, Dr. Sommer argued that Adam and Eve were not the first people to sin; Cain was the first to sin. Dr. Sommer agreed with the perspective of Michael Fishbane, another theologian. He believed that Adam and Eve did not know the difference between good and evil before they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge. After they ate from the tree, humans gained morality and consciousness of their actions. Cain was the first to truly sin because was able to make choices and decided to kill his brother. This connects with Twelfth Night in that both the characters and Bible characters knowingly made decisions that have consequences. For Adam and Eve, whether or not they knew that eating the fruit was forbidden, paid the price through their exile from Eden. Cain was cursed for killing Abel and had to be a fugitive for the rest his life. Maria and Malvolio have not faced consequences for their deeds however, they will surely be affected. The audience can relate their actions to that of Cain, Maria, and Malvolio alike and ponder whether they have wronged others.

Overall, Twelfth Night and the theology lecture both projected similar messages about choices and love. People make poor decisions, which will have consequences that affect others. Love is hard work, but is worth the sacrifices in the end. Both behavior and love ultimately shape humans’ identity and view of the world. A person who is kind and understands the greatness of love will have a different identity than one who is arrogant and unloving .

Mistaken Identity

As the semester is beginning to wind down, my service experience at Vanguard Collegiate Middle School with Soccer Without Borders is coming to a close. The experience has been everything I hoped for and much more. I have been able to help and teach the students, and in return I have learned a tremendous amount about myself. I look forward to going to service every week, and now consider it part of my identity. The students are very kind and are always striving to learn, which makes my job even more important. This has been an amazing experience and I hope to continue volunteering here in the future.

            The first half of the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare explores the theme of mistaken identity and disguise in order to promote chaos and comedy in his play. The first case of mistaken identity in this play is Viola, who disguises herself as a man named “Cesario” so she can serve in Duke Orsino’s household. Duke Orsino, who is the ruler of Illyria, the setting of the play, seeks to marry the beautiful noblewoman Olivia. To show his interest in marrying her, he sends “Cesario,” or Viola to profess his love for Olivia. However, while Viola is talking to her, Olivia falls in love with Viola, mistaking her identity for the man “Cesario.” To make matters even more confusing, Viola has fallen in love with Duke Orsino while serving him. This creates a love triangle between these three characters, as Duke Orsino loves Olivia, Olivia loves “Cesario,” or Viola, and Viola loves Duke Orsino. This is typical of Shakespeare, as he would often use mistaken identity to create confusion and complicated love triangles to express comedy in his place.

            The theme of mistaken identity and disguise does not always come about through physical appearance. In Act II of the play, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria play a cruel trick on Malvolio, who is the head servant in Olivia’s house. These three characters are closely connected with Olivia, and are not fond of Malvolio because he is very strict and often ruins their fun. The three of them trick Malvolio by writing him a letter pretending they are Olivia, confessing their love to Malvolio. This is a weakness of Malvolio, as he often believes everyone loves him. Since Maria and Olivia have very similar hand writing, the plan should work. Included at the end of the letter, Maria writes the things “Olivia” wants Malvolio to show he too is in love. However, these are things that Olivia actually hates, and will make Malvolio look a fool. As they predicted Malvolio falls for their trick, and is greatly excited by this confession from “Olivia.” This case of mistaken identity contributes to the comedy of the play because it will greatly embarrass Malvolio in front of his love, Olivia.

            The first half of the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare explores the theme of mistaken identity and disguise to promote chaos and comedy in his play. However, in applying mistaken identity to the real-life example of service learning, it is very different. As many of the students that I work with at Vanguard Collegiate Middle School are refugees, I feel they are the victims of negative mistaken identity by American society. Many Americans believe refugees are a burden on society, a potential threat, and that it is not our responsibility to help them. This cannot be farther from the truth. As we are all members of the human race, it is absolutely our duty to help those who are in need due to dangerous conditions in their home country. Secondly, 99.99% of these refugees are loving and caring people, who are desperate and in seek of a better life. I have first-hand experience with this, as the students I tutor are always happy and smiling, with a very warm and welcoming attitude. So if moving to the United States can help these people, it is our duty to allow this to happen. American society is falsely misidentifying refuges, as they are no different from the people currently in our country.

            

Sexuality and Justice Beyond Rhetoric

William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, pushes the limits on perceived gender roles that have been in place for centuries. Throughout the years, there have been ongoing discussions and debates regarding the topic of sexuality. On Thursday, November 9^th, I attended the 2017 Commitment to Justice Panel: Sexuality and Justice Beyond Rhetoric. During the panel, I was lucky to hear from four people who each bravely shared their personal journey with sexuality. Although these conversations are important to have, it is a hope that in the future they will be more organic and less uncomfortable.

A major theme in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is disguise and identity confusion. Orsino begins to see Cesario, who is actually Viola disguised as a man, in a romantic light. Also, Olivia begins to develop feelings for Cesario as well. As well as those relationships, Antonio finds himself caring deeply for Sebastian, in an almost romantic way. Shakespeare’s play defies stereotypical gender roles by having characters of the same gender falling for one another. Love cannot be controlled. People cannot choose who they love. The panelists that participated in the Sexuality and Justice Beyond Rhetoric panel, are all members of the LGBTQ+ community. It took the panelists a long time to be as comfortable as they are with their identity today, but it is a constant battle with other members of society.

The panelists have all been subjected to discrimination and phobia that other people have towards them. Kathleen Ball discussed the many misconceptions there are in regards to asexuality. Many people believe that being asexual is a result of trauma or that there is something wrong with the person. I was unpleasantly unsurprised to find out that in previous editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), being asexual was considered a mental disorder. This fact is based on years of prejudice and wrongful treatment. Megan Suder is pansexual and gender non-binary. Megan told the audience that a lot of their problems come from home. Megan’s family is traditional and religious and have a difficult time accepting Megan’s sexuality. They said that they are not yet comfortable to confront people directly so their family still uses she/her pronouns. They hope to one day be comfortable enough to correct people but it is still too difficult today.

The reality of life is that outward appearances shape our perceptions of people. When we look at people, we make split-second judgments about that person. It is part of our fight or flight instinct we are born with. We judge people based on their perceived gender. It was an honor to hear Shiva Subbaraman, Special Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs, speak at the Sexuality and Justice Beyond Rhetoric panel. She began with the quote by Father Gray, “God loves you, the Church is still learning to love you.” This quote speaks volumes about how the Catholic Church regards sexuality. She spoke about how belonging in America is a matter of knowing your size, constantly being sized up, and fitting in. If you do not fit into perfect boxes, you are an outcast and are discriminated against for being yourself. Shiva told the story of the time she was a young girl and decided she wanted to be a monk. A monk told her that, “being a monk means having intellectual prowess and women don’t have that.” “And that is how I became a feminist,” she said, which provoked a resounding applause from the audience.

During Shakespeare’s time, all of his plays were acted out by men, as women were not allowed to participate as actresses. We have come so far in women’s rights, but there are still miles to go before true equality is reached.

            Shiva told us that “we are the stories we tell.” The audience plays a crucial role in this. People need to listen, absorb, and spread the positive messages they hear. Keeping important information and life lessons to yourself has no benefit to society and the greater good. Personally, I know many people at Loyola that could have benefitted from attending the 2017 Commitment to Justice Panel. During my time at Loyola, I have overheard many homophobic, sexist, and racist comments. It is up to me and other people to speak up and defend those who are persecuted on a daily basis. We need to advocate and “leave this campus better than we found it.” Hopefully, one day we can reach a place where these conversations are simple and trivial. That does not mean unimportant, it means unnecessary because we’d already be living in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive society.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening

Samuel Williams

              On Friday, November 3 I went to see the school’s performance of Spring Awakening. The musical is about a German catholic school in the 1900s. The boys and girls are kept separate from a young age and only now are they starting to see each other again. This musical is about topics that were very antireligion, such as suicide, premarital sex and homosexuality, and how these things were repressed and shunned by their school. The purpose of the musical was to show how the Catholic schools, as well as society, at the time had very conservative views and how those views led to mistreatment of the students.

              The opening scenes showed just how competitive and vigorous the schooling was for the boys at the time. Learning consisted of route memorization and solely about performance. The one time that Melchior speaks up and contradicts an analysis on what they are memorizing, and instantly gets berated and told he was wrong. This kind of education can be effective in terms of knowing the material but it leads to no understanding of the concepts. Therefore, they would only be able to do things if presented in a certain problem set rather than apply concepts to new things.  Also, the way that the school was structured, in terms of only a set number of people can make it to the next level of education is harsh especially if one of the students, Moritz, did meet the necessary requirements. Then his expulsion from school leads to Moritz into a deep depression where he feels he has failed at life and has no purpose so he commits suicide. These two aspects of the education that these boys received are severe injustices to them, as their academic growth is stunted and their entire life hinges on one grade that their professors think they deserve. This will only lead to a sad life because eventually they will get a bad mark and as we learned true happiness cannot come from external factors, such as a passing mark.
              The other main topic of the play was focused around relationships. Obviously, a Catholic school at that time would preach abstinence until marriage, a marriage between man and woman. But rather than teaching them about sex to protect the young men and women from violating this belief, they are kept apart from one another and are not supposed to see each other alone while being told lies about how a baby is made. This results in poor judgment that ends with Wendla getting pregnant. If they were taught about sex and its implications, the possibility of Wendla getting pregnant would have decreased. A more minor relationship that occurred throughout the play was that two of the boys were homosexual and were in a relationship but no one ever really found out about them, so we all that can be assumed is that it was not allowed.

              After reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night I was astonished about how so much drama could be created in such a short period of time. He has managed to start a love triangle between Olivia, Viola/Cesario, and Orsino, without Olivia and Orsino even knowing that Cesario is not a man but Viola. On top of that, Malvolio is getting pranked into potentially losing his job. This all occurs in only two acts. When Viola reveals herself to Olivia and Orsino I have a feeling that she is going to get spurned by both of them, at the very lease Orsino. As a result of this spurning, I could see her doing some drastic measure that is very over the top and results in the death of someone. Also, I think that Malvolio is going to lose his job and find out it was all a joke played on him and get back at Maria and Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, as he already does not like them in the least.