English 110: Augmentum

Ronan Fowler

Journal II

English 110

October 1, 2015

Professor Mcclung

Augmentum

“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.”

- Viktor E. Frankl [1]

Every day we are faced with challenges and obstacles that force us to make decisions; whether bad or good, ultimately lead to a constant evolution of our psyche. With our world rapidly changing faster than ever before; the malleability of our minds enables us to keep moving forward.

Although the circumstances of everyday life are dramatically different today in comparison to a century ago; we inevitably face much of the same issues as our ancestors. Often times the most valuable experiences we can learn from are the anomalies that we have no control over. Frequently, we feel as if we wish we could start over and do things differently, but instead we are forced to adapt. In every story compiled in A Pocket Anthology we can see the characters develop as they progress through the narrative. Each story has a different lesson we can learn from- providing an insight into coming-of-age, tradition vs. change, and love. Ultimately becoming the person you hope to be almost always comes at a cost and leads you down roads you never thought you would take.

Several of the stories from this past month’s reading divulge into the world of becoming an adult and the power struggle, as one looks to define who they are. In Two Kinds by Amy Tan- the daughter of Suyuan Woo is attempting to mold her daughter in her own idolized vision of her. However, holding Jing-Mei to be nothing less than perfect completely backfires and leaves her daughter feeling almost worthless when she is unable to reach the unattainable perfection that they had devised. “I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect” [233] Jing-Mei dictates to herself, but her consciousness rebuttals her with a strong sense of doubt. “’If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here. I’m disappearing for good,’ it warned ‘And then you’ll always be nothing.’” [233] With our rapidly growing media networks, who glorify the great, we can often forget that who we are seeing is real. Suyuan Woo’s fascination of Shirley Temple as an almost god like figure leads to her having unrealistic expectations of her daughter. When the media glorifies people- we rarely see their shortcomings and that these people are in fact human themselves. Today every person now has the ability to portray themselves through social media in their idolized forms, which is slowly breaking our relationship of being human and shattering strong communities once found in the past. People make mistakes and it should not be frowned upon, but rather an offer of support from our peers. When Jing-Mei is convinced to play in a talent show her unconscious picks a song that dictates her true feelings; titled Pleading Child. When we hold ourselves to unattainably high standards it will always leave you feeling unsatisfactory. The turning point in Tan’s story is when Jing-Mei realizes that she is in control of her own life, and her mother must accept who she is.

When we strive to become who we want to be and pursue our dreams, and achieve them, it may not play out how we hoped it would. In The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich, two brothers attempt to find their place within society. When Lyman’s brother Henry wants to be a warrior like his forefathers- he goes to war and leaves feeling as if the war never ended. “By then, I guess the whole war was solved in the government’s mind, but for him it would keep on going.” [244] Henry tries to grapple reality, as he was on a crash course of reality when he becomes drafted. Upon returning to be with his brother they struggle to retain a normal relationship, but the mental scars left from war leave him fleeting from feeling a connection with the people dearest to him. Lyman also tried to grapple with the ability to communicate with his brother, whom the two shared a very close relationship before the war. Once Lyman feels he finally has gotten through to Henry- his brother subtly takes his own life. This story depicts the reality of the dramatic effects that war has on our youth. Despite the hardiness and warrior-like qualities of Henry he is ultimately left completely broken and fringing on reality. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has a devastating effect on victims of war leaving them changed eternally. Negative situations, like hurting another being, leave us changed in the most profound ways.