The Frailty of Dreams in Of Mice and Men

You're still young, so we're sure you still have plenty of dreams. That's not to say that we, your elders (hey - some of us are barely thirty!) have lost the ability to dream or no longer have any good ones. It's just that, after you've lived a number of years out there in the real world, you're certain to experience a good deal of disappointment. Even if some of our dreams have come true, others have idled or fallen by the wayside.

In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shares the story of a couple of dreamers. George and Lennie start out with the highest hopes - they are on their way to find work and easy money in the land of opportunity (California, not Vegas - you're thinking of the land of opportunists). Although poor and just starting out, they haven't a care in the world and have not yet let the possibility of failure enter their minds. To be fair, Lennie doesn't let much of anything enter his mind.

Lennie is the epitome of hopefulness. For starters, he's a little, er, well... he's not at the top of his AP English Language class, we'll put it that way. Okay, so he's a little slow. But his dreams don't suffer for it. He has grand designs for a boatload full of puppies and rabbits, and for owning a ranch on which he can live and take care of all of them. George's dreams, on the other hand, revolve mostly around Lennie. Although he can sometimes act harshly toward him, all George really wants is to see his best bud happy. He is envious of his friend's childlike, boundless optimism, and it inspires him. George, too, longs for that ranch, but he almost wants it more for Lennie than he does for himself.

However, one thing after another goes wrong (like in that recurring dream you have in which you're taking the PSAT and you suddenly develop a case of bubble-filler's elbow, then pass out from heat exhaustion) and that ranch starts to seem further and further away.

Although they (well, George at least) start to realize that their dreams are steering dangerously off path, they stubbornly hold onto whatever thin sliver of hope they can muster. Even to the bitter end, Lennie is still looking off into the distance, envisioning all of his dreams coming true, even as an angry mob closes in on them.

So as you read this, O blissful dreamer, dream well and dream hard, but don't be afraid to let your dreams morph gradually into something different than what you initially expected as you go through your life. Because you don't want to be blindsided when your best friend fires a Luger into the back of your head.

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include Of Mice and Men, AP English Language, and PSAT. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.

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Deconstructing William Shakespeare's Heroines in Literature

The Bard was perhaps the most radical and experimenting writer of his age when he tried issues of homosexuality in the sonnets, but he was a conservative when it came to the "fairer sex". His heroines can be broadly classified under two categories - abiding and independent. I am using the term "heroine" strictly to denote the leading ladies, and not the supporting cast. As far as the leading female characters are concerned, most are the good girls with a natural abiding nature and hardly any ambition of their own. Those who have this spark fall under the category of 'independent' and are mostly termed as the "witch".

Let us start with the ladies of the negative category, so that we can slowly compare them with the heroines who followed the rules. The first name that comes to our mind is Lady Macbeth. If taken as a modern lady, she is ambitious, persuasive, and determined. Had she been the CEO of a company in these days, she would have given good competition to many male CEOs over the world. But she is a woman, known with the name of her husband. She cannot do anything actively, for she is the second sex. Even if she tried to gain the fate that she believed she and her husband deserved, the society - in the form of fate - abandons her and death becomes her ultimate fate.

The second lady whose portrayal we need to deconstruct is Katherina, from The Taming of the Shrew. She is the shrew, because she is intelligent. She has a mind of her own, and can make her own decisions, so she needs to be tamed. And the taming is such a harsh process that when we read or watch this play in these modern times, we feel that an almost inhuman cruelty was meted out to her. The pleasure in subduing a powerful woman is always there, and it was with the great Shakespeare as well.

The good girls, who got all the rewards, were no doubt the most abiding and naïve ones. When a Juliet loves with her whole innocence, she has to sacrifice her life to be accepted as a pure lady. She could not stand strong in the face of troubles or she would have been banned by fate as well. Similarly, ladies like Ophelia, Desdemona and Hermione had to sacrifice their lives or at least pretend to do so, in order to gain the status of a virtuous lady.

There are heroines like Rosalind, Viola and Portia who try to break free from the norm, but somehow fall short of being the powerful woman that they should have been. The common thing with these is that they all take the guise of a man, as if trying to go beyond their identity as a weak woman. But in the end, they do it for the sake of the common god, just as a good girl is expected to give up everything for the sake of the men in her life. Rosalind took the guise of Ganymede to save herself and her sister, Viola did it to save survive in the strange land of Illyria and Portia did it to save her husband's friend. The most daring deed was done by Portia, for she went ahead and challenged a group of men. But the temporary insult that she received in the hands of her own husband when Bassanio gave her their wedding ring for saving his friend Antonio's life is perhaps her punishment for challenging a men's world of law.

To conclude, I would like to bring up the example of the heroine of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. She also took the guise of a man, but for her own sake - for her own amusement. And we all remember her tragic fate. She was ambitious, spirited and independent. But her ignominious end came by drowning herself out of shame and frustration. So, it is not just Shakespeare, but women from all times in literature have been shown as the model of virtue so that men could triumph over her and boast of their strength.

Simantini Sinha is an avid reader on various topics, and her interests lie in books, music, food and more. her articles are published in magazines and dailies.

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BOOK REVIEW: THE PEARL by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) is one of America's greatest writers and is a Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1962. I must confess, though, that this is the first time I read a book by him, all thanks to a fellow book lover and book blogger who kept on raving about how wonderful a writer John Steinbeck is. I bought my copy of this book for only Php17.00 from Booksale, but certainly this book is worth a thousand more than its price.

I did a little bit of research about John Steinbeck and learned that this author is known for the social criticisms inherent in most of his works, and was even branded to be subversive. These social criticisms are likewise central in The Pearl, where Steinbeck tells the story of a pearl diver named Kino and how his life is affected after finding the greatest pearl of all time. Reading The Pearl gives out a feeling of reading a parable or a fable, though I must say that the story is more than just a fable. It is a social commentary on the great chasm that divides the rich from the poor and the evils of greed. It portrays a touching story of how riches can change a man and how it can give and destroy peace. It tells about the true value of riches and where they can be found.

Kino, a pearl diver, is in constant search for that great pearl that can bring him, his wife and his little child the wealth that can save them from abject poverty. This great search was even more fired when Kino's baby who was bit by a scorpion was refused medical aid by known healers because they cannot pay the medical fees. When Kino finally found the Pearl, his life changed drastically and it seems that wealth and comfort are now within his reach. However, his life was also caught in line because more and more people have become interested in acquiring for themselves the Pearl. Add to that the very low valuation given by money changers on the pearl, because they wanted to short change and trick the seemingly naive young pearl diver. Kino and his family are then forced by circumstances to escape their place and go to the hinterlands in order to look for the best price for the Pearl.

What I love most about The Pearl are the various symbolisms and interpretations it connotes. It is a story worth discussing. The ending may not have surprised me that much, but I love how such conclusion affected the whole direction of the story. I love how The Pearl has made me think. After all, this is what good literature is all about - to make you think.

4 stars.

http://www.lynaireads.luigiandlynai.net

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Da Vinci Code Revisited, Part 2: The Espouse of Jesus

For Dan Brown, who caused the millions of those who read his novel Da Vinci Code, to raise eyebrows or chuckle, or pull the book closer for a better view, Jesus' espouse was Mary Magdalene.

For me, Jesus having a espouse was a potential possibility - He couldn't marry and He didn't marry. However, had He been given a chance to live longer beyond his age of 33, He could have married and had children.

For most traditional Christians, the mere thought of a espouse for Jesus is a heresy. How great it is that we don't live in Joan of Arc's bygone era of inquisitions anymore, where they used to burn heretics at stake.

That was in a certain past.

Could Jesus have married?

Well, you can raise some more eyebrows, chuckle, or better still, lean forward and perk up reading.

Today's generation is more open to possibilities.

Let's examine Jesus' Marriage, or, more correctly, the potential for it.

Jesus spoke of it in the Parable of the Marriage Feast: Everyone from the Master's choice of guests was invited, but refused to come; They were too busy. Somebody just bought a cow and somebody's getting married, too. Then, out of the master's frustration, he invited even the poor, the blind and the lame...they came, but those who came improperly dressed for the occasion were thrown out to the darkness outside - where there were gnashing of teeth.

Of course, you are very much familiar with this parable.

You're right about whom Jesus referred to as the Master who was getting married - Himself.

That's the Master getting married - Jesus getting married in his own story.

Yes, of course, a parable...

Here's another marriage instance in the scriptures where we can find the Lamb getting married, and who it is obviously referred to: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (Rev 19:7)

Well meaning Christians know what or who the Lamb refers to. Behold the lamb who takes away the sins of the world - Jesus.

Sounds familiar?

It was spoken from the mouth of John the Baptist, referring to Jesus. For Catholics, it is part of a hymn, "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on your people..."

We don't know to whom the "wife of the Lamb who has made herself ready" refers to - could be anyone's guess, hypothetically.

If one is after the moral lesson, which is what the parables are supposed to teach us so as to be practically meaningful, you're right again - we'd better be prepared for the coming of the Lord for He comes when it's least expected... a good point to understand. But if we just focus on this point, we neglect another important one - the Lamb of God is getting married upon His Return.

Are there other instances in the Gospel that Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom?

Check these out.... Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. (Matt. 9:15, Mark 2:19, Luke 5:34)

In The Parable of the Ten Virgins, (Matt 51-10) Jesus is the most awaited Bridegroom.

There are more than enough scriptural references for us to relax our raised eyebrows, and understand that the term "Bridegroom" as used in the Bible - is in reference to Jesus.

I don't agree with the idea in the novel that Jesus had an offspring - more so of one that survives today; but that there was that potential had the Lamb had the chance to marry.

Er Nuylan
http://www.thefirstchristmas.info

Er Nuylan is a teacher with varied interests - from simply walking a dog to History and Literature, Sciences, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, but claims expertise to none - the average Joe in the average neighborhood.

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