Mad Men

This winter break, my sister and I watched many episodes of one of our favorite TV shows, Mad Men.  Caught up in the vivid and dramatic lives of the sharp characters, I slowly realized the insanity of their lives.  Set in the sixties at an advertising firm in New York City, the characters' lives are full of lying and cheating.  The very first episode opens with: "MAD MEN A term coined in the late 1950's to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue."  Although the title of the program fits well with the glamourous lives and setting in the show, the double connotation of the title, as "mad" men, or insane men, seems obvious with the crazy lives the characters live.  Watching so many episodes of the program allowed me to realize how, as seen in Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest that society exiles psychiatric patients in the sixties, the average person in the sixties seemed insane as well.  Overall, this break I realized the almost hypocritical characteristics of society in the sixties.  

Above: Mad Men

Right: The characters of Mad Men

5, 10, 15, 20

I read a few of my classmates blogs who wrote about their seemingly insane actions, and I thought to myself that I do not perform any similar actions myself.  When I told my mom about this discovery, she laughed as she told me about my obviously insane daily action.  Starting from a very young age, every time we sit in the car and listen to the radio, I need the volume to be in an increment of five.  It seems very strange, as this is the only OCD type habit I have, but I cannot help the need to turn the volume every time I see it does not end in a zero or a five.  I clearly remember when I was eleven years old and my sister and I were in a fight.  She had the advantage as she sat in the passenger seat and she turned the volume to twenty-three, just to upset me.  I could not stop kicking her seat and screaming so my mom had to turn it to twenty-five so I would calm down.  I do not know why I feel the need for the volume to be in an increment of five, but for some reason it extremely bothers me when it is not.  Overall, this habit of mine seems to remind me of the insane characters from Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

English Discussion

Today, I looked forward to English, as I knew that due to the band and strings concert, more than half of the class would be gone.  I felt confident as I walked into the room because I was sure that I would talk a lot more than usual, and I knew I would get a good discussion grade this week.  Much like some other blogs I have read, I struggle with class participation points and force myself to talk in class.  But today, I felt that with such a small number of students, I would get the opportunity to speak multiple times.  However, contrary to my anger second semester last year from being a member of the largest class, I believe that such a small group made it more difficult for me.  I do appreciate the days when the room is split in half and the discussions are smaller, but then again, the loud buzzing from the other group makes me feel like there is less attention put on me when I talk.  However, today the room seemed empty as I stared at more than half of the unoccupied desks.  I believe that if the class was usually this small, I would be more comfortable talking, but it seemed so unfamiliar to talk with a small group.  Overall, shocking as it sounds, I feel more comfortable talking with a large class than a small one.  

Families of the Insane

During the extended weekend, I spent a lot of time reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  I found the part where Harding's wife Vera comes to visit the ward particularly interesting.  It made me think about whether I should pity Harding, the insane patient, or his lonely wife more, and furthermore made me contemplate the families of psychopathic patients.  I still seem indecisive but I thought a lot about both options.  Although married, their visit seems awkward and strained: "He and his wife haven't moved toward each other yet" (183).  Kesey's use of negative diction such as "haven't" creates an uncomfortable tone, and he also uses pathos to evoke sympathy from lonely family members of the mentally ill.  The stiff tone and pathos emphasize the stress families must deal with when a member lives in an insane asylum, especially during the 50s and 60s when society outcast the mentally ill.  After Vera asks her husband for a cigarette and he reaches in an empty pocket, she says, "'Oh Dale, you never do have enough, do you?'" (184).  Kesey's rhetorical question indirectly characterizes Vera as upset because of her obvious unsatisfaction in her marriage, as well as utilizing pathos to evoke sympathy from wives of the mentally ill.  The double connotation of her comment, and the pathos and indirect characterization enhance her loyalty for remaining in a difficult marriage.  Overall, I pity both Harding, for his suffering a mental illness, as well as his wife, for her apparent loneliness in the unhappy marriage.  

The Cover's Importance

As we delve further into Kesey's unique novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I keep wondering when the cover of the book will become significant in the story.  When we first got the books, I looked at the cover and tried to predict some important plot line.  I guessed that the man standing on the roof a house may foreshadow someone committing suicide later in the book.  Also, the cover's picture paired with the title also makes me think of "flying" as an act of liberation, which seems quite significant with the story thus far.  Every time I pick up the book, I notice the blurry outlines of the drawing, which seem to reflect the "blurry" and confused minds of the patients in the ward, especially Bromden and his difficulty distinguishing between imagination and reality.  Also, the burnt orange and yellowish color scheme seems to represent a feeling of excitement and rebellion, much like the feelings McMurphy brings into the ward.  Contrastingly, the dark grey and black colors of the man exemplifies a gloomy tone which illustrates the sadness of the patients in the ward.  Overall, the seemingly plain cover actually foreshadows important aspects of Kesey's novel and will most likely play a large role in what happens next in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Law and Order

After I woke up on Monday morning and discovered we had a snow day (!!!) I could not fall back asleep.  I stumbled into the living room and turned on the TV.  Floored by the tough decision to choose between Dora the Explorer, The 700 Club or Law and Order: Criminal Intent, I automatically turned to the legal drama and relaxed as I became intrigued in the show's dramatic plot.  The episode tells the story of a man who graduated at the top of his class from Brown Medical School, but performs illegal surgeries on mentally ill patients.  An opthamologist who believes mental illness is caused by physical aspects, such as eyes, conducts inhumane treatments on his patients.  However, he himself suffers with schizophrenia, but his denial that his genius brain could betray him in such a way leads to his awful and illegal needle-through-eye treatments.  He also uses his patient's illnesses to his advantage, as he knows that their label as insane will prevent their family and friends from believing their complaints of inhumane treatments from their doctor.  Thankfully, detectives Goren and Earnes arrest the law breaker, but after the episode ended, I thought about it's similarities to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Bromden lives in the mid-20th century when treatments for the insane were obviously inhumane and society treated the mentally ill in an ignorant and repulsed manner.  In this episode of Law and Order, the victimized patients are also treated like children when they complain, and the ill doctor seems blinded due to his own illness.  Overall, after I watched this dramatic episode, I could not wait to continue reading Kesey's novel.  

Lobotomy Schmotony

During Thanksgiving break, my sister studied hard for a test on Neuroscience.  Coincidentally, I quizzed her on some notes discussing the structure of the brain when she taught me about some of the scientific aspects of lobotomies.  I quickly forgot about what she told me, but researching mental health of the 50s and 60s and starting Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest sparked my memory of the peculiar treatment.  The frontal lobe of the brain controls an individual's personality.  The story of Phineas Gage depicts the significance of the frontal lobe.  Once an upstanding citizen, the rail road worker had a great personality.  However, a frightful accident at work lead to a large metal rod going through his forehead, straight through his frontal lobe.  Astonishingly, he survived, but forever lived a grouchy, lazy alcoholic.  Lobotomies strove to use medical equipment to mix up the frontal lobe of the brain in order to cure the mental instabilities of psychopathic patients.  However, lobotomies often led to drastic personality changes, such as rude, mean, and childlike actions from adults.  Bromden's seemingly childlike personality matches the common effect of lobotomies and I cannot help but wonder what other references to lobotomies I will read about in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  

What's a Cuckoo?

After reading the beginning chapters of Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I decided to research the unfamiliar bird of the title.  Not that I really do know that much about birds, but I'd have to say that the cuckoo is a bird I know nothing about.  After some research, I learned that cuckoos are medium-sized birds with soft feathers. They live on every continent except Antarctica and are said to be extremely secretive.   Also, they are known for their numerous unique calls, which they use to attract a mate and define their territory.  An interesting aspect of the cuckoo bird is that they are brood parasites, or birds that lay their eggs in other bird's nests.  The female bird chooses a nest of a familiar species, often similar to the birds who raised her.  Also, their eggs resemble the eggs of the nest they use, as to throw off predators.  After much research, I wonder if any of what I learned will be significant in the rest of Kesey's novel.

Refuse Thy Name?

The other night while I was watching Friends, Monica declares she will not take the last name Bing because it is "weird."  The casual diction "weird" creates a remote tone, which emphasizes the nonchalance both Monica and her fiancee Chandler feel at her name change.  The topic is easily forgotten without any problems, and their close relationship does not suffer because of her choice.  As I thought about this, my dad coincidentally brought up the fact that in the Middle East, a wife never changes her last name when she gets married.  Muslim women do not change their last name because Islam states that this may illustrate a transfer of property ownership.  This sparked more interest as I thought extensively about the name changing process.  Although Gogol and Moushumi do not practice Islam, I find their issues over her name change unnecessary.  I do believe her resistance to his name seems juvenile and ignorant, but I feel like they should not let something as trivial as a name affect their relationship.  Name changing traditions around the world vary; In Spanish-speaking countries, the wife has two last names and in Germany the wife or the husband may inherit their spouse's name.  Overall, the different customs of changing a name after marriage serve as a tradition, rather than a significant aspect of a relationship.

"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!"

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching and Christmas music blasting throughout the mall, I excitedly prepare for the holiday season.  I can hardly wait for Christmas cookies, snow, and decorating the tree.  A couple days ago in class discussion, the conversation turned to Christmas: American or religious?  I feel the answer to that question depends on the way the holiday is celebrated.  In The Namesake, the Ganguli's celebrate the holiday despite their religion by decorating a tree and throwing parties.  They partake in some festive activities, but they do not set up a nativity scene in their front yard or buy an Advent calendar.  Although my family is not Christian, we too celebrate Christmas, with cookies, music and a tree, without the religious aspects of the holiday.  I feel the media plays a large role in making Christmas more of an American holiday than a religious one.    

Similar Differences

I particularly enjoyed The Namesake and feel like I can relate to the characters in many ways.  My father immigrated to the United States from Syria and brought with him enriching culture.  Although my mother is not an immigrant, I still feel like I can relate well to Gogol and Sonia, born in America with immigrant parents.  My similarities make me feel extensive anger towards Gogol and his childish rebellion of culture, language, and parents, but I also understand some of his angst.  As a child, my father taught my sisters and I Arabic phrases and told us interesting stories about his homeland, but I was never pressured to take culture classes or speak the language, like Gogol.  I think my parent's ease with my interest in our heritage, unlike Ashoke and Ashima's pressure, made me embrace my culture more.  In intermediate and middle school, I felt discomfort due to the differences of my classmates' backgrounds and my own, but as I matured, I became more interested with my background.  I feel like if Ashoke and Ashima, although difficult, did not force their Bengali culture on their children, life would be happier for the Ganguli family.

Maxine

The other day while working on my data sheet, I thought back to Gogol's life with Maxine.  While I read those chapters, I honestly did not particularly hate Maxine as much as I hate Moushumi, but looking back, I wonder why she did not bother me as much.  At the beginning of their relationship, she seems great: "Maxine has a way of focusing her attention on him completely" (129).  The attentive indirect characterization of Maxine enhances Gogol's feeling of acceptance and I felt relived as it seemed like Gogol finally felt happy.  The fascinated diction such as "focusing" and "completely" creates an immersed tone, which also emphasizes the joy Gogol feels at the beginning of their relationship.  After Gogol and Maxine date for a while, Gogol learns that "[she] is open about her past" (137).  Maxine's direct characterization as "open" foreshadows the controlling nature she will soon employ in their relationship.  Things turn south when, after Ashoke's death, Maxine tells Gogol, "'You guys can't stay with your mother forever'" (182).  The didactic diction such as "can't" creates a controlling tone, which indirectly characterizes her as inconsiderate.  She, a grown woman, lives with her parents, and her obnoxious and hypocritical direction to Gogol bothers me so much.  Why can't Gogol find happiness?     

Moushumi

Today in class, we discussed Moushumi's role in chapter 10.  We talked about Lahiri's main characterization of her as well as the reason why chapter 10 focused solely on Moushumi.  After I finished chapter 9, Moushumi made me so angry.  I hated her, and as I dove into chapter 10 I felt prepared to hate her even more.  However, at their anniversary dinner, Moushumi seems highly uncomfortable: "She feels a lump form in her throat, tears filming her eyes" (252).  I agree that both Gogol and Moushumi seem at fault for their unhappy marriage, and I do dislike Moushumi more than Gogol, but I cannot help but notice how often she focuses on small details or cries over trivial reasons in this chapter.  One morning before work, Moushumi wakes up early: "Being out at this hour already feels like an accomplishment" (254).  Again, her feeling of fulfillment at completing such a simple task worries me and enhances my belief of her clinical depression.  Early one morning, she wakes up and notices rain puddles in the apartment: "The sight of it makes her weep" (266).  She seems overly emotional and although I hate her affair with Dimitri, I think her depression leads to some of her awful actions.  Her suspected depression makes me hate her less and even though I still sympathize with Gogol, I think he should notice that his wife seems unhappy and take more actions to help the suffering Moushumi.