Why Are Women Seen As Low?

While reading Catch-22 I have realized that women are portrayed very baldy. Why is that? Why are women seen as low in the novel? They are constantly seen like this in old novels, but it shows even more in this novel.  The women in the soldiers' lives are either prostitutes or nurses.  This is definitely not something good.  Could this image be portrayed in these novels because women had no rights during this time? Were these authors against women gaining their independence? These are questions that only the author will be able to answer directly.  I do not believe that it is something that will be found in the novel, but there is always a possibility.  This is a question that has been constantly raised while reading and in the reading groups we have in class.  The answer so far has been unknown, but I believe that it is important since the ideas in novels are affected by the situations or environments in which they are written.

Catch-22 and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Society Sees What We Choose To Show

Outward conformity and inward questioning is seen in many novels through the main protagonist.  Yossarian's personality is very similar to Chief Bromden's in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. They both are seen one way by the outside world, yet feel very different on the inside.  They show what the people want to see and then question themselves about it. They know what they want but the judgement of their own society is holding them back from achieving it.

All Yossarian wants to do is get back home alive.  He is doing everything possible to leave the war early or stay grounded for as long as he can.  On this journey, he finds himself with an internal conflict. He is not sure whether he is crazy or not.  He told the doctor he was crazy in order to stay grounded and the doctor told him he already knew he was crazy.  He said that because he realized he was crazy, he was no longer crazy.  Many times through out the novel the reader will find Yossarian asking himself the types of questions that focus on craziness.  To society, he is seen as a crazy man who does what he wants.  Everyone knows how deceitful and cunning he is.  People say he is crazy because he will go to any length just to get home alive.  No one is aware of what he is going through since he puts on a show in order to satisfy the thoughts people have of him.  He will verbally attack anyone who crosses him and acts the way the other soldiers do.

Chief Bromden is very similar to Yossarian since he does the same thing.  He wants to escape the mental ward he is captured in, but he isn't exactly sure how to do it.  This is until McMurphy arrives and gives him an idea of how to escape the ward.  From then on he begins to confide in McMurphy and begins to believe in himself.  Although he is very intelligent, the rest of the ward sees him as a retarded indian who is mute and deaf.  He continues to play that role since it hides his true side.  It gives him the advantage of being seen another way, a way in which he wants people to see him. It benefits him since it allows him to carry out his plan and escape the ward successfully.

Both of these characters have to different lives but act in the same way.  They hide who they really are along with all of the internal conflicts they face.  They act in a specific way so that society will see them the way they think they should be seen.  They try to satisfy their environments while trying to achieve their desires.  I'm not sure if this is seen as something correct or something negative.  Sometimes acting in a certain way allows us to gain what we need.  The form in which society sees us does not affect who we really are since society sees what we choose to show them.

Lord, I Turn To You When I Find It Convenient

Religion and faith, the two things that can make a person better or destroy a whole empire.  Regardless if a person is Catholic, Jewish, or Buddhist, they believe in a God.  They are taught right from wrong and are told to practice their beliefs. Most importantly, they are taught to constantly worship their God and pray to him daily.  Many people forget to do so and only think and pray to their God when they need his help.  They turn to him when it is convenient for them.  This is one of the biggest sins committed today in most religions.

This sin is seen in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Most of the characters commit this sin by killing their enemies.  All of the characters are pilots who have to fly a specific amount of missions in order to be able to go home.  During these missions they must bomb their enemies without hesitating, which is considered a sin.  Another sin they commit is sleeping with prostitutes while their loved ones are at home.  A big sin is committing adultery especially in the Jewish, Catholic, and Christian religion.  All of the characters are aware of their sins since they always tell the Chaplain that they do not want him near them.  The chaplain is the one who represents God in the war.  Ironically, they pray to the lord every time they are about to fly into the air.  They beg him to spare their lives on that mission.

Although I have never fought in a war, I have turned away from God unless it was convenient for me.  It is something I still do today, but I am trying to change that.  I do not pray to God every day, and I go to mass every Sunday because my mother forces me to go. The last time I actually prayed to the Lord was when a friend of mine was about to die and then died of cancer a week later.  It was sad and I didn't stop praying for his arrival into heaven.  Once I got over the stage of grief, I stopped.  It didn't interest me to pray and I stopped wanting to go to mass on Sundays.  I am one of many who can say honestly, "Lord, I turn to you when I find it convenient."  This is exactly what happens in my life, in the novel, and in the life of others.

"Procrastination Is The Student's Curse"

"Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday."

 "Procrastination is the student's curse..." This is the definition of procrastination for the author of Viewpoint: Why do we procrastinate so much?.  In this article, the author defines procrastination and tells how it affects society.  He also uses Hamlet as the perfect example for College students to relate to since he is the prince of procrastination.

T.S. Eliot was known to believe that no one could share Hamlet's emotions due to the amount of procrastination he practiced.  The author of this article disagrees.  He believes that students can perfectly relate to Hamlet since they do the exact same thing he did.  Students always experience procrastination, which makes Hamlet the perfect example.  An extensive research shows that 95% of people around the world procrastinate at some point and 20% of the world are chronic procrastinators.  It complicates people's lives just like it did Hamlet's.  They tend to be less wealthy, less healthy, and less happy according to the author.  Additionally, work that is done at the last minute apparently has more mistakes than work that is done on time.

I find it amusing the way the author mocks Hamlet and society.  I love the comment he made about twitter and Facebook in terms of Hamlet. It says, "Nowadays Hamlet's prevarications would be even more prolonged as he'd have to tweet his fears and try them out on Facebook friends." It made me laugh and it is definitely true.  The amount of procrastination that occurs today is thanks to technology.  We have become so used to technology doing things for us that now we are too lazy to do it ourselves. Additionally, now we have websites that distract us and take up much of our time.  I also agree with his comment about procrastination complicating our lives.  It made me think of Hamlet and all of the complicated issues he went through.  The final things I absolutely agree with is the fact that those who do not procrastinate are happier, healthier, and wealthier.  They got off of their butts and did what was needed to be done. That is exactly how people become successful in life.  The people who get to enjoy the materialistic things, as well as the non-materialistic things, are those who tried their hardest and did what needed to be done.

Do Different Situations Affect Interpretation?

Many questions came to mind while listening to the podcast.  They ranged from life as a prisoner to how they relate to Hamlet.  Out of the various questions, an important one caught my attention.  We have discussed it a couple times during class, but this podcast made it seem much more important.  Do different situations affect our interpretation of a novel or play?

While listening to the podcast, I kept changing my answer.  My final answer was yes.  The situation in which we are in can affect the way we see or interpret something.  Any situation can create an emotion.  Emotions affect the way we think.  The inmates each have their own background story on why they are in prison.  They have all committed a crime, whether they are the same or different ones.  

They would each have a different response as they read Hamlet.  Each prisoner was affected differently and I noticed that each character would bring back a specific memory for them.  Each prisoner was assigned a character in order to act out the play.  They found, in their own way, a way to relate to their character.  For example, one man said:

"I am Laertes. I am."

In the podcast, the man said that Laertes inspired him to be better.   He made him want to be better.  So yes.  I do believe that the different situations in people's lives make them interpret things differently.

Hamlet vs. Pufrock

Prince Hamlet and J.Alfred Prufrock are very similar but yet very different.  Their similarities are found in their thoughts.  Their differences are established by how they speak and the time difference.

Young Prince Hamlet lives in Denmark during Shakespeare's time and is forced to make a difficult decision.  This decision is whether he should avenge his father's death by killing his uncle or by just letting things remain as they are.  He speaks of both choices with his close friend Horatio and for most of the play, he cannot make a decision. Throughout the play he faces this internal conflict.  Only in the end does he finally take action.  He kills his uncle after setting it off for months.

J. Alfred Prufrock is a man who falls in love with a girl.  He debates whether he should tell her of his dying love or if he should keep it to himself. His life passes by and he dies without taking action.  He is similar to Hamlet in terms of setting things off.  He lives his life without being able to make a decision.  This is the same situation as Hamlet's.  Hamlet never took action because he knew he was correct.  He took action when he knew he was about to die.  Additionally, Hamlet also has a trouble with the love of his life, Ophelia.

Although the base of the problem may be the same, the circumstances are very different.  Hamlet faces a life or death problem. Prufrock faces a love problem that can easily be solved.  Another difference is the way in which they speak. Hamlet is a phenomenal speaker while Prufrock has trouble expressing his feelings.  Prufrock admits it himself in the poem:

"No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
  Am an attendant lord, one that will do
  To swell a progress, start a scene or two
  Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
  Deferential, glad to be of use,
  Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
  Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
  At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-
  Almost, at times, the Fool."

Every Idea Comes From Experience

In Part 2 of HOD, the reader gets a better insight of Marlow's experience.  He meets new characters and encounters some conflicts and the reader receives a better view of the natives.  Whether or not the natives are liked by Marlow is unknown.  Are they evil or just like the white men? Various sentences from the book make the answer unclear.

I believe that everyone has their own idea of what evil is.  Society makes us see things in a certain way.  This creates fear.  Evil arises from fear which arises from ignorance.  Each society is ignorant of another society.  Although I have never conquered a new land, I can relate to Marlow's situation.  In the summer of 2011 I went on a family trip to Turkey.  The cultural was new to me and I was definitely ignorant.  The way women dressed surprised me and I felt very uncomfortable.  I thought it was bazar that the women would completely be covered up in such a hot climate.  When I asked my parents, they said that it was because of the men.  In their view women were not important.  They were lower in social status and they did not need to be respected.

I found this cultural idea insulting.  I could not believe that the women allowed themselves to be treated like trash.  I would think of the men as evil demons.  Looking back on it now, I realize that I was just being ignorant.  Our society finds theirs as evil because they lack women's rights.  They find it to be something normal because they have never had it.  I am sure that many of the women there think that the men from our society are evil.  Many of us just don't realize that the other society is just different.

The women of our society have the fear of being mistreated.  That is why we think that Turkish men are evil.  We are threatened by them.  In my opinion, evil doesn't exist.  There is right and wrong.  The things that we believe to be evil are just things that we fear.  We fear the unknown.  We fear things and people that are different then what we are accustomed to.  The question that comes out of this is:

Do evil things really exist or is it just fear of different ideas?