"Do the Right Thing"

Similarities/Differences between "Do the Right Thing" and "How Bigger was Born."

One similarity between the two was that nobody could completely trust each other. Pino had told his brother to not trust Mookie because he was black and was only trying to help himself. The author of Native Son said he felt Bigger would say, "I ain't going to trust nobody. Everything is a racket and everybody is out to get what he can for himself" (page 445). Both show us that there was an issue of trust between different communities. Pino worked with Mookie but he did not trust him because of the color of his skin. Bigger was not able to trust anybody no matter what the color of their skin. The idea of Bigger not trusting people helped emphasize the problem of trust in society during this time. "Do the Right Thing" also helps portray this because Pino and Mookie work together and know each other, but they did not trust each other. They knew each other and both knew that they were good people but they were not able to trust each other. "
"How Bigger Was Born" also explained how there are different "Biggers" in society. There was a Bigger who was violent, arrested, killed, who was sent to an insane asylum, and who disobeyed the Jim Crow laws. There was a different "Bigger" represented in different characters throughout "Do the Right Thing" The Violent Bigger was the group of people who would get in fights. They would go around the neighborhood and try to cause problems. Buggin' Out was the Bigger who was arrested, and Radio Raheem was the Bigger who was killed. Then there is Smiley who had a mental disability could be looked at as the Bigger who would be sent to an asylum. No matter what type of "Bigger" a person was portrayed as they were Bigger. There are many different Biggers throughout each society and neighborhood.

Personal Response

As much as I want to believe that Mookie threw the garbage can in the window to try to distract the crowd from Sal, Pino, and Vito, I do not think this was the case. I feel like Mookie stabbed Sal in the back. Sal had always been good to Mookie and gave him a job. At one point Sal even said he thought of Mookie as a son. When Mookie throws the garbage can I take it as a sign of weakness. He can see that the crowd is getting restless and that right now he is looked at as a bad guy because he is standing with the hated group. Mookie did not want to be the one to be hated. He joined the group and threw the garbage can to show that. He did not stand by Sal eventhough Sal had done a lot for him. Mookie stabbed him in the back.
I feel like Da Mayor is the only one that realizes that people should not be violent with their actions. He may be the neighborhood drunk but he has an idea about what is happening. He tries to tell people to back off when the fight is taking place. He does not want to cause trouble. He is just trying to do the right thing. He tries to help everyone and not just himself or his own people. He tries to help all of the groups in  the neighborhood. I feel like Da Mayor is the only one that does the right thing. He is not perfect but he has an idea of what the right thing to do is.

Two Societies: Seperate and Unequal

There had been riots breaking out in Detroit and across the country. Many people were hurt and in response to this the commission submitted a final report. They said that the country "is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal."This is true. Many people were hurt. They had to figure out what was happening and why it was happening. They blamed the white society for this division. They said, "What white Americans have never fully understood but what the Negro can never forget—is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it." The White society created and built the black society to what it was. The riots started because of unequal treatment  and they only get worse because people are upset about the way that they are treated. The Country was starting to divide and needed to be put back together.

On To Cicero

Many of the racial problems that occured in the South were also taking place in Chicago. People were tired of this happening and they decided to march. They marched from Chicago through Cicero. Cicero was an all white area at the time. Even Dr. King was involved in this march for part of the time. However, at one point Dr. King called off the march. But, the march still happened and people did not listen to Dr. King. For Dr. King to come to Chicago was a big deal. It was very different in Chicago. In the South many people would go to the Church to try and find an answer to segregation. However, in Chicago not everybody was dedicated to their religion. It was difficult to have somebody come in to Chicago and tell everyone to come to the Church to listen to Dr. King speak. The groups in Chicago were diverse. Linda Bryant Hall said, "In Chicago—as I said—there are people who are very diversified. And some people in Chicago didn’t even [Martin Luther King, Jr.] to come in now and ask them to come into the church and follow his movement through that mechanism, it didn’t wash so well with a lot of people" They had to use different tactics to try and bring everybody together. Even though there was racial inequality all over the country. The way that it was dealt with is different for every part of the country.

Beloved Chapter 9 Memory

Memories play a huge role in Sethe's life. Throughout the entire book we are constantly hearing of flashbacks from Sethe's past. There are part of her life that help us understand her life in the present. The memories that she has are not always pleasant memories. There are memories of not seeing Halle ever again. There are memories of being beaten. When Paul D. comes it brings up a lot of old memories for Sethe. She says, "new pictures and old rememories that broke her heart." (page112). Paul D. constantly brought back memories for Sethe. He was one of the Sweet Home men and Sweet Home was a huge part of her life. Memories are extremely painful for Sethe. Sweet Home was not always a happy time. I feel that memories can be good if they make you happy. But often they can be painful. In a memory the hurt never goes away. It is still as painful as the time that the even occurred. Sethe feels this and struggles with remembering times from her past.

Emerson and Society

Emerson felt that society takes away from the individual qualities of a person. He says, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs." He feels like society is about being part of a group of people and not about being your own person. He does not like this. He feels like we should not depend on others and that we should all think for ourselves and be our own person. I partially agree with him. I think that we all need to be our own person and follow our own ideas. However, I feel that just because society offers conformity and certain ideas doesn't mean that we shouldn't be a part of it. Society offers us a sense of belonging and responsibility. These things are needed, along with non-conformity, to help a person grow and be happy.

Quran Burning on again, off again

Reverend Terry Jones wants to burn copies of the Quran on September 11th if he does not get a meeting with one of the founders of the Mosque that is being placed near ground zero. This raises the issue of having freedom of religion. In the United States everybody has the freedom to practice the religion that they wish. They are allowed to have a Mosque. There is nothing that says that they cannot practice the religion that they want to. I think that Rev. Jones should not be burning the Qurans. The people that would be worshiping at the mosque did nothing wrong. They did nothing wrong in the terms that they have the freedom of religion and that they had nothing to do with the planes hitting the World Trade Centers on 9/11. The people that flew the planes into the World Trade Centers were Muslim, were the ones that are to blame for the tragedy. However, the rest of the people who practice the Muslim religion had nothing to do with it. We cannot blame an entire religion for the tragedy that was caused by a certain group. It is not fair that we target other people just because they practice the same religion. We cannot stereotype.
I hardly remember the day that the World Trade Centers were hit. I was young and I really did not understand what was going on. As I started to grow up I was able to understand this tragedy and what had happened. However, I still believe that just because a certain group of people hit the buildings we cannot group everybody that is Muslim into that group. It is not fair to the amazing people that are Muslim that had nothing to do with it.

The American Crisis- Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine is calling the people together to fight for their rights. He wants people to take action, instead of just wanting there to be a change. Thomas Paine writes, "I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it" (The American Reader, page 52). The American people should come to fight for their country. Taking action is something that they needed to do. They needed to stand up for what they believed in. In order for the fight to be successful they need everybody to set aside their fears and stand up for what is right. Thomas Paine talks about how people need to be brave. What they were going to face would not be easy but it was something that needed to be done. However, a man that is a coward could not do this. Thomas Paine wrote, "The heart that fees not now, is dead: the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength  from distress, and grow brave by reflection" (The American Reader, page 53). It takes a lot of courage to be able to take action. Thomas Paine is right when he says he loves a man who can put a smile on his face in a time of trouble. Everybody coming together to fight for America was an important part of why we have the freedoms we have today.