"Politics and sentiment do not mix"
It's difficult for me to agree with this as the memoir is written with the mix, but I can understand the concept. Politics is, in a way, derived from sentiment: how we need to control ourselves and others for the safety of us and our children. Politics and sentiment always walk alongside each other and are pulled apart and put together in many ways.
I think what Satrapi's father means is that they don't mix in the way oil and water don't. There will never be some kind of utopian regime where every sentiment and opinion is shared so that society will be governed accordingly. There will always be a struggle despite any sentiments. The empowerment of one's beliefs and opinions may fuel one's desire to overcome struggle but they don't really make peace with eachother.
In a way as well saying the two do not mix could imply that in order to be a politician, you should not have any sentiment. You should not my sympathetic to your constituency. As absurd as that sounds, that really is what is happening. Their government does not care that people have lives, children, aspirations, and desire to progress as a society. Their government follows a more inhumane doctrine. This could be a sarcastic remark towards their oppressive government.
I think that it might be a bitter truth that one has to come to terms with, especially in that situation. Even though Satrapi's mother and grandmother fought actively for what they believe in, their voices were cast out and ignored.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Better Off Dead: Nick's Resolution
In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway introduces himself and considers himself not judgemental in any way and, even when the actions and opinions of others lean towards the nefarious, he reserves his qualms and remains optimistic about their character. He forshadows that "Gatsby turned out alright at the end" but leaves little reasoning behind how he considers being murdered in a pool to be alright.
At the end of the novel, Gatsby dies in one of the most undignified ways- Wilson shoots him and he falls into the pool and dies, floating as a horrific image for all of his neighbors to attempt to forget later. With him, Nick's confusing and invigorating ride stops. The excitement in life, the wealth, the glamor, the curiosity- it all comes to a screeching halt and subsequently takes away Nick's wonderlust.
Nick's friendship with Gatsby is not so much of a friendship but rather an infatuation. He is bedazzled by his house and his very existance, refraining whatever judgement he could pass about Gatsby's shady dealings and affairs, and still captured by the "eternal reassurance" he sees in Gatsby's eyes. He ignores allegations about Gatsby, how he might have killed a man and how he made his money bootlegging. Despite the fact that he has not learned much about him through six meetings in the course of a month, Nick becomes more intrigued. Even at the end of the novel when he finds out Gatsby lied to him about his family, Nick remains subtley distraughtover his death. He loves Gatsby (platonically, for the sake of argument) and wants to be a part of his life and to be as close to him as possible.
Gatsby's death affects Nick terribly. The man he shared property, drinks, and a friendship with is killed and he is the only one who deals with it directly. Anyone else affiliated with Gatsby decides to flee or lay low, leaving his funeral with a disturbingly low attendance. We realize that Gatsby's associates were just that; they did not consider Gatsby a real friend, just a man with an unabashed display of wealth, an extravagent lifestyle, and a penchant for doting on his guests almost as if he were trying to buy love and approval. Nick is so heartbroken over his death that he strives to do anything to put his friend to rest honorably, even returning to the body to reassure his spirit. Nick makes phone calls to all the people who knew Gatsby and is given petty excuses as to why these people won't come. He becomes frustrated through each of these interrogations, almost trying to reassure himself that Gatsby was a respectable man who everyone loved and an admirable man.
But every excuse, every decline, and even the one late attendant seem to smack Nick in the face trying to give him a hint. Even Owl Eyes calls Gatsby a "poor son of a bitch."
Afterwards, Nick leaves New York to go back West, definitely jostled and affected by this entire event. It's as if the entire story serves as a frightening memoir he uses for coping with his losses. He learns that his cousin and her husband are awfully shallow and selfish people and that the man he thought was his friend really wasn't anybody's.
Perhaps how Nick determines Gatsby ends up alright is that he is dead- he doesn't have to discover that all his colleagues detested him, fess up to accusations, deal with the press. Nick has to crawl through this mess. He watches people get murdered out of vengeace and not in a war-like atmosphere. And through Gatsby's murder, Nick is stripped of all of his associations with all the people he met when he moved to New York.
In short, Nick does not turn out "all right at the end." He is obviously scarred and this does not seem like it can be overcome without psychiatric help.
At the end of the novel, Gatsby dies in one of the most undignified ways- Wilson shoots him and he falls into the pool and dies, floating as a horrific image for all of his neighbors to attempt to forget later. With him, Nick's confusing and invigorating ride stops. The excitement in life, the wealth, the glamor, the curiosity- it all comes to a screeching halt and subsequently takes away Nick's wonderlust.
Nick's friendship with Gatsby is not so much of a friendship but rather an infatuation. He is bedazzled by his house and his very existance, refraining whatever judgement he could pass about Gatsby's shady dealings and affairs, and still captured by the "eternal reassurance" he sees in Gatsby's eyes. He ignores allegations about Gatsby, how he might have killed a man and how he made his money bootlegging. Despite the fact that he has not learned much about him through six meetings in the course of a month, Nick becomes more intrigued. Even at the end of the novel when he finds out Gatsby lied to him about his family, Nick remains subtley distraughtover his death. He loves Gatsby (platonically, for the sake of argument) and wants to be a part of his life and to be as close to him as possible.
Gatsby's death affects Nick terribly. The man he shared property, drinks, and a friendship with is killed and he is the only one who deals with it directly. Anyone else affiliated with Gatsby decides to flee or lay low, leaving his funeral with a disturbingly low attendance. We realize that Gatsby's associates were just that; they did not consider Gatsby a real friend, just a man with an unabashed display of wealth, an extravagent lifestyle, and a penchant for doting on his guests almost as if he were trying to buy love and approval. Nick is so heartbroken over his death that he strives to do anything to put his friend to rest honorably, even returning to the body to reassure his spirit. Nick makes phone calls to all the people who knew Gatsby and is given petty excuses as to why these people won't come. He becomes frustrated through each of these interrogations, almost trying to reassure himself that Gatsby was a respectable man who everyone loved and an admirable man.
But every excuse, every decline, and even the one late attendant seem to smack Nick in the face trying to give him a hint. Even Owl Eyes calls Gatsby a "poor son of a bitch."
Afterwards, Nick leaves New York to go back West, definitely jostled and affected by this entire event. It's as if the entire story serves as a frightening memoir he uses for coping with his losses. He learns that his cousin and her husband are awfully shallow and selfish people and that the man he thought was his friend really wasn't anybody's.
Perhaps how Nick determines Gatsby ends up alright is that he is dead- he doesn't have to discover that all his colleagues detested him, fess up to accusations, deal with the press. Nick has to crawl through this mess. He watches people get murdered out of vengeace and not in a war-like atmosphere. And through Gatsby's murder, Nick is stripped of all of his associations with all the people he met when he moved to New York.
In short, Nick does not turn out "all right at the end." He is obviously scarred and this does not seem like it can be overcome without psychiatric help.
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