Your Weekly Dose of Sawyer

Naturalization —used by whites to explain segregation as "natural" . Our society today is engulfed in racism but we tend to be blind to it because it is extremely normalized. Racist actions within our society are described as “just the way things are” or “just part of life”. By doing this, we are continually discriminating and pushing down one race as we make one race dominant over all the others. While our racist tendencies are not as clear-cut as they were in the days of slavery, our actions are still deeply affecting the recipients of the racism. Slurs, slangs, stereotypes—these are only a few examples of commonly used racism in our present day society. In our lives today, we are so accustomed to our routine lifestyles that we fail to see the reality that is going on outside of our own lives. Today, there are still activists and small movements for the recipients of this hurtful racism. We fail to see this reality because we are blind to it, as our society hides it so well...

The novel, "The Great Gatsby", offers many different lenses, or perspectives, for its readers. A powerful and prominent perspective in the novel is the psychoanalytic lens. Through this perspective, the reality of the characters emotions and feelings is revealed. Most of, if not all, the characters in the novel are in some kind of romantic relationship. There's Gatsby with Daisy, Daisy with both Gatsby and Tom, Tom with Daisy and Myrtle, Myrtle with Wilson, Nick with Jordan, and so on. However, these relationships are not for love, but instead, are for concealment and status. The characters use their romantic relationships to facilitate the repression of psychological wounds. The novel's characters all share the common trait of the fear of intimacy. A compelling example of this fear, is shown in the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. In the analysis article, the author says "she married Tom to keep herself from loving Gatsby, to whom she had gotte...

While only a few chapters into, "The Great Gatsby", a distinct symbol that has been presented multiple times, is the green light. At the end of chapter 1, we saw the green light as Nick spotted Gatsby, and later on, we see it again. "Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock" (Fitzgerald 21). This quote signifies how the green light has multiple meanings behind it. The green light represents Gatsby's undying love for daisy, the American dream, and wealth. Since the quote explains that the green light is on a dock, us readers can infer that this dock is daisy's house and with Gatsby staring at it, it shows his strong love for her. The green light also represents the American dream and wealth. This green light is not exactly tangible for Gatsby. Although Gatsby has seemed to achieved the American dream through his wealth, he did not do it the right way....

Throughout the "Song of Soloman", the topic of wealth, status, and power are extremely evident. Many of the characters struggle with their state of wealth and strive to increase their status, sometimes, at no matter the cost. In the novel, the characters of color are suppressed by their social status and are constantly seen as below any white body. The lack of respect for the people of color is quite apparent and causes hungriness for power and wealth among the black community. When presented with the question of, "How does poorness influence participation in the Seven Days?", I believe from Milkman's perspective, his answer would be something along these lines.  The Seven Days is a group of wealth-driven people who put their wants above their morals as they can perform unjust actions. As they murder innocent whites, they are blinded by their jealously and hungriness for power. The members in the Seven Days are almost all poor and are driven by their mon...