Do We Fail Ourselves or Does Society Fail Us?

I believe yes society can fail people, but it is really up to you if you fail yourself or not. You are fully responsible for what you do with your life and what you make of yourself. Where you grow up and the community you are surrounded by may have some effects on your life yes, but you are fully capable of turning that around. It is not anybody else’s fault if I fail a test for example or burn my mac and cheese, it is me failing myself. Sure society has let me and other people down plenty of times, and will let me down many more times. In the article about Mike Tyson he did grow up in a terrible community and didn’t have a great childhood, this was partially society’s fault. He didn’t have much choice on where he got to grow up, but it was his own decision to do the things that he did therefore failing himself. He did manage to get himself out of a bad community and make something of himself; he showed people what he is worth and what he could do. In Gray’s case his mother partially failed him by doing drugs when she was pregnant with him. But being born premature is no excuse for him being involved in drugs and having trouble with the law multiple times. He let himself down when he kept doing these things that got him in trouble, in the end it cost him his life. I am sure he was let down by society his fair share of times, like in the school system. He attended a poor school where he was not given a whole lot of opportunities; there is not much you can do when you are stuck in a poor community. I believe Gray is still being let down by society in how the convictions of the officers are going. He probably did deserve a better life and just needed some help to achieve the things he was capable of. I feel just because you grew up in a bad community doesn’t mean you can’t escape that and be successful. It is not society’s fault and it isn’t responsible for the actions that you make. In the end if you are disappointed with yourself or your life then you failed yourself, society didn’t fail you.

Racism

Is Racism a Western Idea?

In the first article (Is Racism a Western Idea?) it is about the origin of racism. The author believes that it indeed did not begin in the United States but was around way before the United States was even thought of. A quote that I find very true from this article is “Nationality, religion, shared traditions, and mere geographical proximity are much more common denominators for tribalism and ethnocentrism than is race.” People think that racism started when slavery became about, but that is just not true. Slavery was being practiced in more places than just the United States. People, who were slaves, were slaves to people of the same color, so color had nothing to do with it but social stature did. Racism started from somewhere, where that is we do not really know and can’t quite pinpoint. There are hints of racism in ancient times and Greek mythology. In this article he points out how racism is not whites against blacks, but it exists in all cultures with all people. He believes that racism originated in the Western culture and there must be an end to everything so that means there is going to be an end to racism.

How Racist Are We?

Right of the bat this article starts with saying we are all a little bit racist. In the author of this article’s mind set, they seem to put race into consideration when it comes to jobs and the United States. The author discusses white racism and the affects it has had on our society. Racism is amongst multiple other countries other than just the United States. The author seemed to have a harsh opinion about Evo Morales, the Brazilian President. She seems to believe that he is dividing and destroying the country. America has done studies showing racism has appeared to decrease throughout the past few years. Other races have come to “put up with” different races more. Some studies have shown that people would prefer to live in places with other races present, as long as their race is the dominant one. This article is more about whites and blacks than racism as a whole; in general she is more on the topic of how whites and blacks treat each other. When we as Americans form judgements of people race is almost always put into consideration. The social aspects that kids are seeming to pick up on is simply “whites do better than blacks”, they learn all these generalizations that we make.

Cultural Bias for Racism

Social media is a big contributor to racism in the United States. There are stereotypes on TV and in the world and not just with race. There are thoughts that what you think isn’t really what you think but what the world and society around you has developed your mind to think. “And that’s the question we wanted to answer: are you indeed a racist, or are you just an American?” this is a question a lot of people would like answered. This article describes how your gut reaction has to do with the culture that you are surrounded by. There were studies done that looked towards words and stereotyping. They put words that correlated together and words that did not and words that stereotypically fit together. People had quick reactions to the words that were geared more as stereotypical. They are “blaming” or saying these reactions are not because of racism but because of what culture is around you. So basically the United States and how we live is adding on to racism and how racist we may be. This article was not just about racism though, it was also about sexism and ageism and the stereotypes of that.

My Thoughts

I believe it is personal opinion on what you think racism is and where it comes from. I think personally it is everywhere in every culture, and that it can even be geared to your own race. So yes, in my opinion it is culturally universal. I believe that idea or concept of racism has always been around, just one day the idea of naming or pointing it out came about. I don’t believe media started it; it just enhances it and alters our thoughts on it. The media is a big part of today’s society and affects all those around it, so of course racism will be affected. In one of the articles the author believes racism had a begging so it indeed will have an end, hopefully that is true but I don’t see it happening any time soon. In America you mostly hear about Black Lives matter and whites against blacks, but that fact of the matter is every race is included when it comes to racism. It is all around us and is almost inevitable to avoid. I feel you may not think that you are racist but deep down we all are some way or another.

LOTF Sociology Questions

1.       I believe society can mentally tear down a man and kill him emotionally rather than just physically. For men they can tend to have a big ego and it is very important to them. You can mentally break someone to the point that they wish they were dead, or physically torture them. If you crush someone’s self-esteem it will greatly affect them. In Lord of the Flies when they take Piggy’s glasses, it kills him and he feels absolutely useless. We as human beings know how to hurt people and what can break a man. It is a sad thing to say but society is cruel and messed up.

2.       I think that our savage self will start to overcome our civilized self. It can consume us from the inside out until there is nothing left of our civilized self. It is almost easier to be a little savage and harsh to people. Sometimes people can really get on your nerves and you can’t take it anymore so you just explode and tell them how it really is. Being savage is somewhat of a release, letting out all that anger you have built up inside can help you to feel better. Sometimes people are just savage to get attention and laughs.

3.       A civilization is created by a group of people coming together. I believe people are controlled by society because we want to be accepted. People don’t want to be frowned upon and seen as different so they go with what society thinks is right. Everyone goes with the grain and not many dare to go against it. We have conformed to society and doing what it sees as normal. People are scared of being judged and looked at differently and they just blend in so they aren’t noticed. Our society is corrupt and I think people need to stop allowing it to run their lives.

The Lottery

1.       Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not, at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3? Conversely, how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town? 

a.       Yes; She says the boys are stacking up the rocks, people aren’t too excited about it and don’t seem to make a huge deal of it.

2.       Where does the story take place? In what way does the setting affect the story? Does it make you more or less likely to anticipate the ending?

a.       A village of about 300 people; It says it is a calm beautiful day, kids are playing and people are happy, so I am less likely to expect the ending.

3.       In what ways are the characters differentiated from one another? Looking back at the story, can you see why Tessie Hutchinson is singled out as the "winner"? 

a.       Some are young and old, and have experienced this for many years; She is happy to participate every year but she shows up late this year.

4.       What are some examples of irony in this story? For example, why might the title, "The Lottery," or the opening description in paragraph one, be considered ironic? 

a.       Normally everyone wants to win the lottery, but in this case that is the last thing you want to do. Winning the lottery in our experience brings you good things, but winning in their case is an awful thing.

5.       Jackson gives interesting names to a number of her characters. Explain the possible allusions, irony or symbolism of some of these: 

 Delacroix – religious corruption

 Graves – shows death

 Summers – the event takes place in the summer

 Bentham

 Hutchinson

 Warner – could be seen to show a warning that something bad will happen

 Martin

6.       Take a close look at Jackson's description of the black wooden box (paragraph 5) and of the black spot on the fatal slip of paper. What do these objects suggest to you? Why is the black box described as "battered"? Are there any other symbols in the story?

a.       Black is a bad thing. It is worn out and older than the oldest person in town, some of the original wood color is starting to show. The boys were stacking rocks.

7.        What do you understand to be the writer's own attitude toward the lottery and the stoning? Exactly what in the story makes her attitude clear to us?

a.       She is intrigued by it; she kept it intriguing and suspenseful, you didn’t really know what was happening till the end

8.       This story satirizes a number of social issues, including the reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions, ideas, rules, laws, and practices. What kinds of traditions, practices, laws, etc. might "The Lottery" represent? 

a.       Old fashioned laws, where stoning is seen as ok.

9.       This story was published in 1948, just after World War II. What other cultural or historical events, attitudes, institutions, or rituals might Jackson be satirizing in this story?

a.       The holocaust, they kill those with a black dot, just like they killed those who were Jewish.

In a minimum of 200 words answer the following:  What does "The Lottery" tell us about human nature?  What does it say to us about violence?

We believe that violence can solve our problems and is ok in our society. We have grown so used to it and seeing it all over the news, that it no longer takes us by surprise or comes as a shock to us. In our human nature we learn to follow tradition and not really question why we do things. People never seem to want to change their tradition and the things that they are used to doing. The people in this story I’m sure want to change the way things are done and stop the lottery, but they are too afraid to do something about it. In a way this story partially reminds me of the Hunger Games. This village thinks it is socially acceptable to just stone people if they draw the card. If these people can stone some innocent child without care then they must have no heart. This village is absolutely insane, at first they seem like nice wonderful people but then they turn out to be violent people. Who would ever think of coming up with this “lottery” and why? It is an awful thing to make everyone draw from a box and if they grab a marked card they must get stoned, so they will have a good crop, that is so messed up.