Progress?

I see a man sleeping on a bench; a building covered in graffiti, and a poster of President Obama with the word ‘progress’ on it. I think it is a symbol of America trying to progress by eliminating poverty with the help and change of Obama, although it shows a lack of progress because many Americans are still living in poverty today. Poverty has always been a problem in the US and I wonder if Obama can stop the cycle and eliminate poverty? This area is similar to the description of the valley of ashes in the Great Gatsby.

Great Gatsby

This past week in American Studies class we have been talking about the Great Gatsby. We have been focusing on certain ideas that have come up frequently while reading the book. My group was assigned eyes. The ideas of eyes are everywhere in Fitzgerald’s book. First, we noticed that mostly the eyes were used the cover or blind a character from someone or something. We also found that sometimes eyes were used to value material possessions and to prevent someone from seeing, like blinds. Not only were eyes used to blind characters, but also the eyes of doctor T.J. Eckelburg look down upon and protect the ashen valley in New York. The concept of eyes is very interesting in the Great Gatsby.

Marker Of Class

Yesterday in American Studies class we discussed markers of class while looking at different train stations on the west line for the Metra. Mr. O’Connor also brought up a great point about the bulletin board in our second floor rotunda by all of the administrative offices. This board talks about NT alum although only those who are famous and celebrities. This is definitely a marker of class because of its location. It is right by where all the parents come in to register and speak with administrators so they will walk past the board and see all of the famous people who have graduated from NT and how maybe their child will become famous someday, too. This board communicates the schools values as well. Instead of choosing to talk about a college professor or author who has graduated from NT they are choosing celebrities. This board is a marker of class and how NT view’s their graduates.

American Flag

The past couple days in class we have discussed the American flag. After asking my parents what the flag means to them, they responded by saying that the flag represents the pride and accomplishments of this country. I agree with this statement, however now that I have been looking around for flags, I have noticed many things. I have been noticing where flags are placed and on which houses. My house does not currently have a flag up however, it is not that my family isn’t patriotic, but we just don’t have a flag up. I decided to walk around my neighborhood and try to find an idea for which houses or schools have flags up and why. First I drove down the street to Faith, Hope and Charity church/school and found no flag insight, however when I continued to drive to North Shore Country Day School, they had three flags up, two school flags flying underneath the American Flag. Since both of these schools are private teaching institutions, I think that there is a religious component showed here. As I continued to drive along the back streets of Winnetka, I found many houses with and with out flags. I noticed on the more secluded, one-way streets almost no houses had flags, however on busy, cross town streets almost every other house had a flag. I think that houses on busy streets are viewed more often so homeowners feel a need to display their pride in their country through the flag and to be socially acceptable. Flags are not only used for houses, I have seen flags everywhere this week from trophies and billboards to plates and clothing.

This flag is front and center on this house on a busy street. It is larger than most other flags on the street.
This flag is the first thing that you see in this picture. It draws you in to look more deeply at the house.
This house has old-American architecture and shows the flag front and center.

This flag is right by the front door. This shows how the family wants freinds and others to view them as patriotic.

This house represents American values with the white picket fence and flag in the front of the house.

This house has the white-wash, blue shutters look along with flowering plants in the front year that goes with the American pride from the flag. This house could maybe be on a poster for how 'perfect' America is.

Final Junior Theme

The dreaded Junior Theme is coming to a close! Thank goodness! After many weeks of researching and writing I have finally finished my Junior Theme. I have written and re-written many aspects of my paper and I am finally happy with what I have. I will be editing the last part of my paper this weekend and then turning it in. I am so happy that we are finished and I am completely thrilled to be done with this assignment.

Junior Theme #4: Intro

This is my current Introduction.

“In many ways, today is the best time in history to be a girl,” concludes Dr. Stephen Hinshaw in his 2009 book, The Triple Bind. From a historical perspective, it is hard to imagine a time of greater freedom and opportunity for American girls than at the close of the twentieth century. By 2005, 57% of the bachelor’s degrees were earned by women. (TTB 14) High school girls could qualify for athletic scholarships and aspire to play professional sports. (14) Record numbers of women worked in professional jobs in science, medicine, law, business, journalism, communications, entertainment, academia and politics. (15) Young girls saw women featured in the media as writers, editors, news anchors and political commentators not just as actresses and models. In two income households, 25% of wives now earned more than their husbands. (TTB pgs. 14-15) At a time in history when teenage girls should be excited about their many new opportunities, too many 21st century adolescents find themselves in a crisis of confidence and overwhelmed by the emotional fall-out from the new economic and social changes of the last century: widespread consumerism, loss of community and the growing influence of the media. Dr. Hinshaw makes a convincing argument that our girls’ mental and physical health is in real jeopardy. (TTB) He reports that now “at least one-fourth of all U. S. teenage girls are suffering from self-mutilation, eating disorders, significant depression, or serious consideration of suicide-or are perpetrating acts of physical violence”, and that many of the rest are struggling undiagnosed with “hatred of their bodies, obsessive dieting, sexual confusion, and the persistent sense that they are not good enough”.(TTB pg. 5) The pressures coming from our popular culture make living in a girl’s body today much more complicated and stressful than it was a century ago even though her body has not changed. Ms. Robyn Wiegman, a professor of Women’s Studies at Duke University believes that we must “historicize” and study “capitalism and consumerism” in order to understand why modern girls are so obsessed with being unnaturally thin. Our consumer culture is fueled by harmful advertising messages that exploit our girl’s social anxieties, need for approval and independence. This leads girls to treat their bodies as objects, their relationships as trivial and consumer products as their only real source of happiness. It is no wonder that today’s teens are at a greater risk for a negative self-image, unfulfilling relationships and low self-esteem which make it harder to grow into a happy, healthy and successful adult.

Please let me know what I did well and what I should work on!

Junior Theme #3

We are currently in the library for the double period today working on our Junior Themes. I have read all of my sources and cited them in noodle-bib; however I am still a little unclear on what my thesis will be. I have sent out emails and will email my interview questions to my interviewees later today. I am hoping that the questions I send to my interviewees will help me formulate a thesis. Currently I am planning on talking about how culture and society affect how a girl views her body image depending on the time period she grows up in. My focus will be on the 21st century where the body image is unobtainable thin. Does anyone have any ideas for a possible thesis statement?