History Always Repeats Itself

The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare in 1610-11, basically tells the story of the Europeans when they colonized the Americas.  It may not seem so at first, but the resemblance between colonization and the context of The Tempest is seen once the reader looks into the content of the play. What is ironic, however, is the time in which Shakespeare was written, the time colonization occurred, and how we, Colombians, question our true identity today.  Shakespeare wrote his play in the 1600's, colonization occurred during the 1700's, and in 2014 we are still questioning who we are and how we precisely came to be as a country and society.  Retamar expresses this in his article.

The slavery of Caliban and Ariel is the same slavery seen during the colonizations.  They are influenced by outsiders and are forced to learn their language and cultural aspects.  The same thing happened to the natives living in what is now Colombia during the 1700s.  Like Caliban and Ariel, they were forced to learn the language since that is the base of any culture/society.  In The Tempest, Prospero teaches his slaves english.  The slaves have a thick accent when they speak it and constantly curse since they did not learn it properly.  The same thing happened when the Spanish came and conquered "Colombia".   The natives began to constantly hear the spanish language being spoken, so they had to learn it.  They did not learn it how the spanish did causing them to also have an accent and speak it informally.  However, eventually their children begin to learn the language as the spanish children do since that is the only language they hear the people speak.  This causes a new form of spanish to be created.  The accents change as well as the wording.  Today, Colombians and Venezuelans use different syntax to express the same idea and have different accents.  Retamar stresses that Latin America has an identity like all of the continents that were conquered.  This is true since Colombia began the same way any other country did, but they began to mold their own version of the spanish language and mesh their cultural ideas with the Spanish's cultural ideas.  

The direct relationship that can be seen between The Tempest is Caliban and the Colombian natives during the 1700's.  They were both enslaved and FORCED to drop their own cultural and pick up a new one.  They had to learn a new language, dress differently, eat different foods, grow different crops, use new techniques and material to work the land, etc.  The same relationship, but in a higher social status, is seen between the Spanish and Prospero.  Both are able to control their slaves however they please.  They have a dictatorship over the people and have strong influences on them, both negative and positive.  

Retamar eventually opens up a debate by dropping an idea on his readers, which forces Latin Americans to reflect upon their true identities.  One begins to compare their own country, like Colombia, with others to see if they truly have their own identity since they were all explored and conquered in the same form. As barbaric it may have been, they all received the same treatment which allowed them to form into different societies, therefore creating their own identity as a country.  Due to all of the relations between Caliban and Latin America, it is impossible to not compare the two and begin to question one's own heritage. 

Oh… My Bad…

… Those "three black dots" appear everywhere! Any place you can possibly type or write something, you will most likely see them appear! It seems as if everyone and their mother are using them in absolutely everything.  They are in style at the present time.  They seem to be replacing other punctuation marks that we should be using on a daily bases.  The author acknowledges that they are "replacing commas, question marks, and even periods".  They are being used incorrectly and no one has seemed to notice.  Ellipses are actually meant "to show omissions from within a piece of text". In other words, they are used to symbolize that there is more information, but it is being withheld from the paper.  He makes a funny comment about something he wrote in an email.  He says:

All Star Game………….” Who knows what I meant by that one. At no point did anyone reply with, “What the hell are you talking about?” or “Could you please give me a bit more information here?” And of course none of those folks mentioned anything about the ellipses.

This is so true! Even I do it all of the time.  I actually did this in a conversation I had the other day with Natalia Ordoñez (fellow student in the same section).  I wrote to her, "pero oh well, ya paso…" That is obviously not the correct way to use the ellipses.  I am not going to give her more information or anything.  However, I also notice that I put the ellipses when I have sent an incredibly long text but am not still done with my news.  This is obviously a bad habit.  Natalia mentions this in her blog post, … (yes, that is the title).  I could not agree with her more.  We really do use them in our "emails, letters, text messages, and formal papers." EVEN FORMAL PAPERS! Have we gone nuts?! For some reason, we really do believe they can be used to create "emotions" in our messages.  This habit is like cracking your knuckles or biting your nails.  It's a terrible habit that NEEDS to be STOPPED.  This goes for everyone and their mother.  Calm down on the freakin ellipses.

Comman, We Don't Need Commas

In the the article, Will We Use Commas In the Future?, commas are not absolutely necessary in the english language.  They are like Louis Vuitton purses or expensive cars.  We don't need them, but they are stylish.  For example, I would have not needed to put the comma in the previous sentence.  I could have written: "We don't need them." They are stylish. Of course, we would need them if we were writing a super duper long sentence but seriously?! Who writes an eternal sentence?! Especially now a days?! (See? I could have used a comma there. I chose not to.) People now write short sentences.  They get straight to the point.

Commas aren't the easiest punctuation to use.  They can be used to separate two independent clauses, to create a pause, etc. Even the author makes it clear in his article how difficult it can be to use commas.  He says that they are "tough to master and easy to mess up." To make it even more complicated, there isn't a specific set of rules for them.  It all depends on your "style guide" and whether or not you are confident in using them.  Commas are like clothes.  You can't use something that doesn't feel right.  That is the problem most people face in writing papers or even sentences.  They try to use commas to seem more intellectual.  Well I have some shocking news for them! People can still sound intelligent without commas.  All they need to do is write the sentences in the correct format.

I honestly don't think it would be a big deal if we stopped using commas.  They make writing more complicated for most people.  I believe that people would even feel more confident about their work without commas.  Additionally, since writing is linked with speech, couldn't we just write the way we speak? We basically do that anyways.  We don't use commas when we speak.  We just say what we need to say in order to have a conversation.  Commas are just a waste of time.  Like I said before, they're like a purse or car.  They aren't necessary, but they sure are stylish.

Don't Stick With the Status Quo

One should never stick to the status quo.  High School Musical taught us this in their first film because they showed that everyone has similarities with the people they would have never expected.  They would have never realized this had they not broken the status quo.  They taught us that things change, even if we do not support the change that is occurring.  It's time prescriptivists realized and accepted this idea.  Although they don't focus directly on the changes going on in life, they need to accept that things are constantly changing, even in grammar.  

Bryan A. Garner is a prescriptivist and Robert Lane Greene is a descriptivist.  They are in a heated debate about one literary rule: " "Which" must introduce a "nonrestrictive" relative clause (a mere extra bit of information). Only "that" can introduce a "restrictive" clause (a crucial bit of definition)." (6th paragraph).  Garner believes writers should still follow that rule, while Greene believes that people should ignore it since it doesn't always apply to what the writer is writing.  I, for one, completely agree with Greene.  

Greene tells Garner that the world of language is constantly changing.  We basically write in the form in which we speak.  This includes the "real-world mess of dialects and slang" (3rd paragraph). Therefore, it's a rule that isn't a "part of standard English".  He even uses various examples to support the idea that changes in life affect the changes in grammar.  When I say changes in life, I am referring to the changes in eras, slang, ideas, etc.  it all ends up having a direct affect on grammar, since new ideas are born.  One example he uses is the Bible.  He states that Garner's interpretation of the Our Father is incorrect.  He says that the Our Father should actually be, "Our Father (which art in heaven), hallowed be thy name." Greene disagrees because Matthew was "obsessed with the opposition between heaven and earth" (26th paragraph).  He also directly mentions the form in which African Americans write, and the fact that many people do not have the best education.  

In the end, he comes up with a "meta-rule" for the English la guage, in terms of writing.  His rule is: 

"When a proposed rule and actual usage conflict, the proposed rule is false, and actual usage should be our guide." 

In other words, when one rule is rarely used, it should not be a rule.  However, when a rule is constantly seen, it should be considered an actual rule in grammar.  This defends the idea that things change.   If writers, like prescriptivists, didn't acknowledge this, we would continue to use rules that were invented 50 years ago.

I think his new rule should be considered in all languages, in terms of their grammar.  Things around us are constantly changing! Our slang has gone from "that's so rad" to "that's sick".  Imagine if we were still using rules that were invented 50 years ago! Where would the English language be? Would we still be using phrases like "art thou" ? Writing and speech are directly connected with each other.  If there were more prescriptivists in the world, instead of descriptivists, our language would be very different.  Things would never change.  In conclusion, change is GOOD!

You Can Always Count On Your Parents

Something I realized is that you can always count on your parents.  It doesn't matter how hard life gets or how awkward. Whenever you need someone to lean on, they're there. Ali makes that very clear in the ending of her novel.  Her last words were, "he was there to catch me wen I leapt. (232)" Thats exactly how I feel about my dad.  That's what got me thinking about children's relationships with their parents.  It doesn't matter what negative things happen. At the end of the day your parents are still your family.

As mentioned in my previous blogs, Ali as a very complicated life.  Many things happen that no one can even try to comprehend.  Her dad dies, she finds out all of his secrets, realizes she is more like him then she could have ever imagined, etc. It must have not been easy, but she learned to deal with it and move on.  However, in the beginning she does share her frustration with her dad, but in the end she expresses her appreciation and understandment.  This graphic novel made me think of a mexican comedy, Nosotros Los Nobles.

The movie is about a rich family. A man owns a very successful company and has tree kids, two sons and a daughter.  Unfortunately, his wife died while his children were very young.  This caused the father to give them whatever they wanted.  That made them turn into spoiled brats who knew nothing about the meaning of life.  So, to get teach them a lesson, he forms a scandal and tells his children that the government is after them.  They are forced to move into their grandparent's old repulsive home and are told that they need to find a job.  In the end, the children find out about their father's lie and decide that they want nothing to do with him.  The three children move into their grandfather's home, fix it, continue working, and end up becoming successful (obviously not like their father).  However, in the end he shows up for his son's birthday and apologizes.  The children realize he only had their best interests at heart and welcome him back with open arms.

Although the plot is very different from the graphic novel, it has the same conclusion. Ali ended up realizing that her dad really wasn't a bad guy.  He just had many mistakes and didn't realize how much he was hurting his kids.  In the last pages, Ali explains that she still loves her father and that he cared about her very much.  Yes, he made many mistakes, but he was still there for her.  The same goes for German Noble (the father).  He messed up by working too hard, almost like Ali's father, but he never stopped caring about them.

The lesson taught by the graphic novel and movie is to never give up on family.  They really do care about you, especially your parents.  They makes mistakes just like we do.  They are not perfect.  We just have to be patient and realize that they have our best interests at heart.  They love us and would practically do anything to make us happy, even when that doesn't seem to be the case.  They will always be there to catch us when we leap.

There's More To Flowers Than Meets the Eye

Flowers play a crucial role in this graphic novel.  

They come off as any other object, but they actually contain a lot more meaning than meets the eye.  At first, they introduce flowers as Ali's father's obsession.  His "favorite flower was the lilac" (92), and he even had a book on them! You know the "unhealthy obsessions" some girls have with One Direction or Maroon 5? Well, he had them with flowers, as odd as that sounds.  I'm sure that if flowers could move and talk, he would scream at the sight of them.  Basically he would have the same reaction teenage girls do with their favorite male singers.   He would literally make his children plant all types of flowers all over their yard.  Ali and her brothers even began to ask, "Isn't this illegal?" (93) 

As previously mentioned, the flowers in this novel have a large significance.  A flower is seen as beautiful, delicate, soft, etc.  Those are the perfect words to describe Ali's father.  He is delicate and has a dream of being the most beautiful creature to have ever walked this earth.  It's obvious by the way he treats his daughter.  He constantly tells her to wear barrettes, pearls, pretty dresses, and even straw hats.  He even tells her that he'll "wale" her if he sees her "without it" (97).  What the heck does

that even mean?! So her father will basically slap her if she doesn't wear a stupid barrette? That's insane! It's as if he wished he were a girl and she were a boy.  They are just trapped in bodies of the opposite sex.  

Finally, the flowers represent her father's feminine side. In other words, the whole fact that he is gay and hits on younger boys (NOT MEN).  He is basically a flower that is scared to bloom since he fears that he will not be accepted into society.  However, he is a flower none the less.  This is proven on page 100 when Ali finds a picture of Roy (Ali's babysitter).  It's a picture her father had taken of him... half naked... on the bed... Now that is just creepy.  

As explained above, flowers have a large significance in the novel.  Ali introduces them as any other object, but as the reader continues reading, he/she can see the similarities between the lilacs and Ali's father.  They are both delicate, feminized, and they connect with each other since he is obsessed with him.  In other words, Ali's dad is basically the human version of a flower.  

What… The… F…

It has been psychologically proven that children copy their parents' behavior.  That is why children, many times, are very similar to their parents. Alison, in Fun House, is proof to that. Once she got away from her parents, she realized that she is a lot more like her father than she would have realized back home.  She found out that she is a lesbian and decided to admit it to her parents.  When she does this on page 88, she writes a letter to her parents.  Her father called and seemed to be very please, but her mother refused to talk to her on the phone.  Her mother sent her a letter later expressing her disappointment.  Later on, her mother calls her and tells her how father is gay and had sexual interactions with boys, not only men.  From there, Ali shows how she falls for her partner and how she found out about her father's exact death.

I don't know how she can possibly live in that environment. It would drive me insane! Living in a some what normal family stresses me out enough as it is. I cannot imagine having a gay father who is also a CREEP.  Actually, the gay part isn't that bad.  What really is scary is the creep part and the fact that her mother stayed with her father. I don't think I could ever stay with a man once I found out he was gay.  It wouldn't be right.  I definitely would get a divorce and possibly go to the cops if the man were a pedophile.  Of course, it's difficult to understand since I'm not living it myself.  I feel really bad for Alison.  I don't know how she didn't run away.  Her life is definitely anything but a walk in the park.

It's All About the Order Of Things

Juxtaposition: the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
Allusions (page 67): indirect or passive reference; an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly

There are many literary elements within this graphic novel.  The two vocabulary words above are two examples of them.  Each page either contains some sort of device or famous literary author.  The author of this graphic novel succeeded in finding an entertaining way to educate her readers.  If that wasn't her intention, she did a phenomenal job anyways.

Juxtaposition is very important in comics.  It basically helps giving meaning to the image, as well as the story.  This is proven on the page I posted to the right.  These illustrations are found on page 70.  On the top is a picture of when Ali's mother and father were in a college play together.  The middle comic shows Ali and her brothers listening in to their parents' argument. The third image on the bottom shows what is actually occurring downstairs in their fight.  The order of these images implies that their marriage is just like the play they were in when they were in college.  This is also what Ali says in the novel.  By seeing these three images together, the audience can relate them all.  The top photo is seen from the audience's point of view of them acting.  The second photo contains the same principle, but instead of acting it's real.  The children would be the audience and they would be overlooking their parents' reality.  The final image is the parents putting on their show.  They all relate and fit like a puzzle piece.  The juxtaposition on this page proves exactly that.

 The comic displayed on the left is another perfect example of juxtaposition.  It's found on page 64.  Ali uses it express the similarities between Gatsby (In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby) and her father.  Not only can the observer read it in the text, but he/she can also see it in the illustration.  The image on the top of the page shows Ali's father speaking to his student at their home.  He is recommending his student to read the Great Gatsby.  The second image shows when Ali's parents took her and her brothers to see the Great Gatsby as soon as it had opened. On the bottom left corner shows her father's annual school portrait.  These images allows the reader to see the resemblance between her father and Gatsby.  The order of these images also allows the reader to make the connections.

If juxtaposition didn't exist, art wouldn't really have a meaning.  There would be infinite questions to one portrait and there would be no way to form a conclusion.  Juxtaposition is basically the reason we can slide all of our crazy ideas into one conclusion.  It helps give art a meaning.  Without it, how could comics possibly exist?

The Past Comes Back To Haunt You

Fun House by Alison Bechdel is a graphic novel based on her life and crazy family.  It's full of metaphors and subliminal messages, causing the reader to need to constantly observe the panels.  In the first 50 pages, she explains how life with her father was.  She then begins to touch on how her father's death affected her.  What she doesn't seem to realize is that her past is her present.  She is a lot more like her father than she sees.  

The past is an important element in this graphic novel. It is constantly popping up in both her words and images.  For example, on page 53 she says that there is "some fleeting consolation in the sheer violence…" This is ironic since she used to shudder at the idea of violence.  Her father was violent with her and her siblings when they were younger.  On page 18, she shows the reader her father's unreasonable violence. In the illustration, she is saying "But I didn't do anything!" Her brother holds onto their mother while crying his eyes out. 

In another pair of panels, the past comes up again.  Her grandmother tells her a story about how her dad got "stuck in the mud" (pg. 40).  The kids loved that story and it would make them happy.  Ironically, that is what Alison refers to on the last page of the second chapter.  She says that he's "stuck in the mud of good this time." (pg. 54) 

These are a couple of the many panels where the past comes up. It's ironic how she saw her dad as more of a negative figure than a positive one, and yet she becomes more like him every day.  She is a lesbian and her father was gay.  They both begin to feel comfortable with violence.  She even refers to his mud story on the very last page of chapter 2.  The past is literally coming back to haunt her. 

Don't Wake Me Up

It's official! Sleep is crucial to our existence, and yet we are being deprived of it! Why, you may ask? Well, the answer is quite simple.  Work and school is so demanding that we stay up all night trying to finish everything we have to do before the next day.  Most people do not realize how important sleep really is. They don't realize that we spend around "1/3 of our lives" sleeping (paragraph 1).  Why would we spend so much time "completely out of it" if it didn't really matter (paragraph 1)? The reality is that sleeping does a lot more than we think it does.  When we sleep, our brain forms and consolidates "memories and it plays a central role in the formation of new neuronal connections and the pruning of old ones" (paragraph 2).  All of this is said by doctors in a fascinating article I read on sleep deprivation.

Dr. Nedergaard explains is that the brain clears out all of the "junk that has accumulated as a result of your daily thinking" (paragraph 3).  Another thing written in the article is that sleep may cause diseases or be a result of a disease.  "80 percent of working adults suffer from sleep deprivation" (paragraph 13).  This is probably because they are constantly pulling off all nighters to impress their co-workers or boss.

I have seen this first hand with my dad and oldest sister, Tatiana.  My dad is constantly up in the early morning doing business calls.  He usually falls asleep around 8 p.m. and wakes up at 4 a.m.. This caused insomnia.  Recently he had to sleep at the hospital so doctors could monitor his sleeping schedule. My sister, on the other hand, is constantly pulling all nighters now that she is a senior in college and having important internships.  It's easy to tell when she has been working because she isn't very focused on our family discussions.

It is clear that sleep deprivation causes us to completely lose it.  We lose focus and usually become cranky or, in some cases, delirious.  I have experienced this first hand.  In Turkey, my sisters and I pulled an all nighter. The next morning it looked as if we were on drugs or something.  We would go from insanely hyper to cranky to exhausted.  Therefore, sleep is very important.  It's important for medical reasons and for life.  Without sleep, we cannot properly function.  I guess there are only two questions left.  Why does school still start so early?  Why do business people and school kids have such a heavy load of work once they have left school or the office?

Ruined House, Ruined Vocabulary Book

"We left Marley alone during a thunderstorm and we came back the house was completely destroyed" (Locations 240-245).  That is so unfortunate.  Can you imagine leaving the house for a few hours and then coming home with it being completely destroyed? Luckily, I never have had to go through that.  At least not directly like that.  However, one time I left Bella alone because I had ballet.  When I came back, my vocabulary book was completely destroyed.  I had homework due the next day and I literally had to say, "Ms. Garland, my dog ate my homework."  I took the book for evidence.  She couldn't believe it! She literally took my book and showed it to all of the other 6th grade teachers.  It was kinda humiliating.  For me, that was a tragedy.  I cannot imagine coming home to my house being in ruins!

Unfortunately for Josh, that is exactly what he came home to.  That was when he and Jenny, his wife, learned that Marley was afraid of thunderstorms.  He was not much older.  He was still a puppy in many ways.  His reaction was surprisingly calm.  I would have thrown a fit and called my parents asking for their help.  Josh, on the other hand, just cleaned it up and ended up laughing about it later on.  That is when the phrase "sucks to suck" can truly be used.  The worst part is that this event is only the beginning of their troubles.  Marley has a lot more up his sleeve.  He is disobedient and is constantly embarrassing them.  He is definitely the opposite of Saint Shaun, Josh's childhood dog.  Marley is literally the perfect example of a devil dog, at least for now.

New Year, New Book

Marley and Me is a successful novel written by John Grogan that eventually became a movie.  It is about a family who starts their life off in Florida and buys a crazy dog, Marley.  Since I can relate to it perfectly, I chose this to be my second independent novel.

It's scary how alike you can be to people you don't know at at all.  That is exactly the case in this novel.  Josh is from Michigan, so is my mother.  He met his wife in Western Michigan, and weirdly enough, that is where my mom had met my dad.  Then they got married and moved to South Florida right outside of Fort Lauderdale.  Guess where I am from.  Yes, right outside the lovely city of Fort Lauderdale!  On top of that, he had the perfect dog when he was young (before Marley).  I had a perfect dog too before the dog I have now.  My perfect dog's name was Cotufa.  She was my companion and we grew up together.  Unfortunately, she died when I turned nine.  That year was when I found my Marley, and her name was Bella.

Marley was very similar to Bella when we bought her.  Marley "pounced at his shoes as though convinced they were dangerous enemies that needed to be destroyed" (Locations 231-37).  He even had a "crazy look in his eye" when they first bought him (Locations 267-72).  Just from my experience with Bella, I wish them the best.

Bad Guy Version Of G.I. Joe

The mission was not successful.  Tiger crashed his helicopter into the mountains of Medellin and lost his life.  At least people actually grieved over his passing.  The "Brits" truly cared and admired him.  They valued his courage along other things.  The colombians also looked up to Tiger.  He would be the one to make jokes, even if they were in possibly the worst situation ever.

The whole description of the unsuccessful mission reminded me of the film G.I. Joe.  It specifically reminded me of the scene in Paris where they mess up and the evil people escape.  The Joes in the movie, just like the people in the cartel, don't give up.  They plan ahead and fix the flaws in their strategies.  Anyone could admire the "Joes" or the people in the cartel for their determination and courage.  It's too bad that the cartel is actually made up of criminals.

Jorge would strongly disagree with that idea.  He expresses the idea of the godfathers being the criminals, not their security detail.  He specifically says that he is "not a criminal".  He does not "live the life the cartel bosses do" (locations 679-85).  He protects them but has nothing to do with the drugs. What Jorge does not realize is that by protecting the godfathers of the Cali Cartel, he is protecting all of the drugs that they sell.  Therefore, he truly is a criminal who will have to suffer the consequences.  EVERYONE in the Cali Cartel truly are the bad guys.  That organization is the bad guy version of G.I. Joe.

Isolation

Isolate: to be or remain alone or apart from others

This is exactly how Jorge feels.  He is completely alone and is frightened.  There are attacks everywhere.  He cannot even escape them in his sleep! On top of that, he could "never tell Lena". In his dream, "he was stalked by a man with a gun, a faceless stranger who kept getting closer.  Finally the gun was in his face, its enormous muzzle inches away." I guess all of this is what led to him "needing a time off" (Locations 641-47).

How can one truly live in mental isolation? It would drive me insane! He doesn't share his private life with his coworkers, and he can't share anything about his job with Lena.  What a burden! Additionally, he is expecting a baby and is planning a mission.  I cannot imagine the about of stress he must've been going though.  People's lives are constantly on the line! Any simple screw up could've ended one of their lives!  How can one plan to raise a child in that environment?! At least he "drew the line at trafficking" (locations 656-61).  This story, so far, has allowed me to realize how simple my life truly is.  It has also taught me to be grateful for everything I have.  Others, as shown in this novel, are not so fortunate as the rest of us.

Where the Heck Do They Get It All?!

"The shiny aluminum box van was a mobile armory filled with automatic rifles, pistols, grenades, antitank rockets, and detonators." (Locations 629-35)

"They carried enough combined firepower to kill more than 3,000 Escobar defenders." (Locations 635-41) 

Holy smokes! First of all, where the heck does one possibly find all of these weapons?! The godfathers get a hold of them like it's nothing.  They act as if buying weapons were like buying shoes.  You can buy as many as you want and without consequences.  In the normal world, this is definitely not the case! A person needs a license only to buy a single gun.  Imagine how many one person would need to get a hold of all of that! How do they do it?!

Not only is that shocking, it is also petrifying! Imagine living during that time.  If I were a regular citizen in Cali, I would be horrified to walk out the front door! Can you imagine living in a city knowing another person has all of these weapons? On top of the fact that they buy them as if they were buying shoes?!  These two sentences bewildered me.  This topic was the only thing I could think about as I carried on with the novel.  It's the only thing I can think about now!

Today people are frightened when they hear about guns and knives.  It's not normal to have a gun just lying around.  Countries around the world are going through panic attacks due to the amount of violence that is going on.  This year alone there have been many school shootings in the United States.  Obviously, the use of weapons is frowned upon by almost everyone!  I could not imagine having a car full of weaponry right in front of me. If I did have it in front of me, I would find a way to get rid of it all! I would want nothing to do with it! It gives me the hebegebes only thinking about it. How does Jorge and his British friends embrace all of it? How do they find it amazing? Their thoughts here are just wrong.  Yes, we are all entitled to our own opinions, but one thing is to have an opinion and another thing is to act on that opinion.

He Died? How Unfortunate.

Death: the end of the life of a person or organism

Grief: deep sorrow that is caused by someone's death

"He was midway between the car and his office when five men with Miles rose up in the truck bed and opened fire." (Locations 569-75)

That is how Jorge's friend's life ended. He was on the job and lost his life.  This should have troubled everyone in the cartel.  They should have grieved over their lost friend because, as shown above, death and grief belong together.  Shockingly enough, this was not the case.  They carried on with their lives.  They replaced him with Jorge and Mario, who were on their way to London when they received the call from their bosses. According to Jorge, they "weren't at all bothered by this high-level loss.  There were no expressions of sorrow."  Isn't that the opposite of what should have happened? Clearly the man was close to them.  He was a part of their "high-level" security.

This all goes to show how violent and careless cartel bosses are.  They only care about themselves and their fellow godfathers.  The people around them are easily replaceable.  It doesn't really matter if they die or not because who cares about the actual person! They only care about how good of a job that person does.  I find all of that to be inhumane!  I could not, under any circumstances, turn a blind eye to this sort of behavior.  Jorge seems to be having a difficult time turning a blind eye to the horrendous things occurring around him.  He finally begins to think to himself, "what have I gotten myself into?"

This proves everything I have already mentioned in my previous blogs.  Money can change people, so can power.  It causes people to become corrupt and only care about themselves.  Only in the end do the people realize of the huge mistakes they have made.  Unfortunately for them, it is already to late to fix everything they have done.  They must now live with the consequences.  It makes me begin to wonder if the novel will ever change.  Will things get better? Will it only be constant violence throughout the novel? How ever did he manage to overcome his fear of the godfathers in order to take them down? Seeing as to what has happened in the novel, I believe Jorge is only now beginning to see the mistake he made.  Just by what is found in the summary of the novel, it's clear that things are about to get a lot worse than what they already are.