What makes a novel "a classic"? Discuss.

A novel is a classic when it has been read for a very long time.  It could be written in one time period, but it could still be understood in the next generations and time periods.  Many "classics" are always relatable because the themes deal with human relationships and emotions.  There are many romance novels today, but a classic would have the main characters try to break some social barrier.  For example, many classic novels have a female character unhappy with her life as an obedient house wife.  She wants to be an independent woman, but the time period does not allow her to be because of the patriarchal society.  Other classics involve love triangles where true love between characters' cannot exist, or a character cannot chose the person he or she loves the most.  Most classics have some kind of love conflict because human relationships and emotions are always relatable, no matter what time period the reader lived in. 

My Comments to Others

to Ashley

I agree with you.  I think that adoption is great because their are so many loving parents in the world that are incapable of having children or choose to adopt and have biological kids.  Whether biological or not, I think that all parents would consider their kids equal because they love them so much.  Great comparison with Smallville!

to Allison J.

Hi allison! The media definitely portrays rich people as stingy snobs who only care about the latest designer trends.  This is not always true.  All rich people have money because somebody earned it, whether they are self-made or inherited money from hard-working parents.  I personally want to be rich one day just so I could help so many people! I think Oprah is a great person for using her self-made money to help the less fortunate, and I wish everyone was more like her!!

to Yuma,

hi yuma, 

your not a jerk, because the truth is that women would prefer to marry a rich man than a poor man.  When a woman is ready to settle down and get married, she does not want to worry about money issues.  She want the man to be able to support their family once the have kids.  No woman would go into a marriage knowing that money will be a major issue.

I think it is wrong when women only date rich guys because they are missing our on all of the sweet and loving guys who may not be millionaires.  Money should not be a deciding factor of whether you want to date and possible marry someone, but but sadly, there are shallow women in the world who are only after money. 

Most Women Don't Marry for Money

I think that women would rather marry a rich man that a poor man, but I think the majority of women do not really care about this when the men are their true loves.  As a teenager, I can honestly say that marrying a rich man one day would be nice, but that is not the only requirement for being with someone.  I know that I will be able to support myself financially one day, and I will not look for a rich man to take care of me.  I don't care if I make more money than my husband because everything will be good as long as we have a happy and healthy marriage.  Personality is more important than if he is rich or not, and having a personal attraction and connection is necessary for any relationship to work.  Most of all, true love is needed for marriage. 

Some women might be "gold diggers" and seek after men's money, and some women mary rich, old men so that they will inherit millions of dollars after the men die or they get divorced in a few years.  This is extremely shallow.  I feel bad for women who only care about money because they night miss out on their soul mates.  I believe that everyone has a perfect match that is meant to be.  It is important to learn and love in every relationship while on the journey of finding your one perfect mate.  So many factors come into play while on this search, and it is important to look for so many more traits than just having money. 

My Comments to Others

Hi Yuma, 

I completely, totally, and 100% agree with you!! Laughter is sooo important, and it is something I do on a daily basis.  I can personally relate to your example to your fight with your mom.  I don't fight with my parents frequently, but when we do fight, it is usually over something petty.  My family always finds humor in situations.  This may be hard to believe, but I have a great sense of humor and I always know how to make my family laugh.  I love to be in a good mood, so I laugh to relieve stress and to have a good time.

I believe that another universal sign is smiling.  I feel like I always smile!!!  I can inform someone that I am in a good mood by simply smiling at them.  In addition, I love to see everyone smiling because that means that everyone is having fun.  I believe that it is important to let others know how you feel, and there are many universal indicators that any human being can understand. 

hi john,

In my blog, I had a link that talked about races and drugs.  With this site, I learned that many African Americans are racially profiled by police.  African Americans have a very high percentage of imprisonment for drugs even though there are not the highest percentage of people who buy, sell, and use drugs.  In addition to this, more African American children have parents in prison than white children.  Many people are racially profiled, but a certain race should not be looked down upon because of the criminal activities that certain individuals decided to take part in.  Anyone can make the decision to be good or bad, and this is not determined by race. 

hey caylin, 

I think it is great how you had the courage to stand up at such a young age.  I remember when kids tried to make clubs to exclude one person in elementary school.  I would always be the one to tell someone when they were not being nice, and I never joined one of the "clubs" that would purposely exclude one person.  However, I never had to stand up against racism. 

It is amazing how parents affect young children's minds.  There is no way for young kids to know what racism is because all kids want to play and have fun together.  I think it is disgusting how that little girl's parents taught her to be racist.  I applaud you for knowing right from wrong and for standing up against prejudice. 

hi josh,

I think that Malcolm had a realistic insight to his future.  He knew that he stood for controversial beliefs, but he was willing to defend his beliefs.  He wanted the African American community to unify and work together to gain strength.  Malcolm wanted the African American to have confidence in themselves.  This goes along with the know phrase, "you must have confidence in yourself for others to have confidence in you."  He believed that the African American had to believe in themselves before the whites would ever believe in them.  

I also like your example with baseball. Everyone must face the fact that they will eventually lose or fail at something.  I think that Malcolm proved that people must stand for what they believe in, and they must not be afraid to share their views with  others because one person's view could change the whole world. 

Be Proud of Your Identity (Post 5)

  After his "white devil" rant for the majority of the book, Malcolm realized that there are good white people in the world.  He realized this in Mecca when he experienced unity with all different Muslims with different features, appearances, races, and ethnicities.  Malcolm's attitude towards white people made a 36o degree turn after his pilgrimage.  This seemed to happen very quickly to wrap up the book, but I believe that Malcolm's feelings were sincere.  

At one point, Malcolm remembered a time when he stopped at a traffic light and saw two white people in a car.  The white man recognized him and asked, " 'Do you mind shaking hands with a white man?' " (Haley 370).  Malcolm' response was, " 'I don't mind shaking hands with human beings. Are you one?' " (Haley 370).  This proved the change in Malcolm's perception of and feelings towards whites.  I felt that this was a better interaction than his encounter with the white college girl.  As I said before, he just dismissed her and did not even want to deal with her.  Now, he actually expressed how he thought that black and white people were human beings who should be willing to live in the same equal and respectful environment.  I was glad when Malcolm made this revelation that whites could be good people.  Because of Mecca, he realized that he should accept people for who they are and learn about them before judging them.  I think that he wanted to accept this attitude towards other races so that the whites could adopt this way of thinking towards black people and other races.  Malcolm's change in character was uplifting and refreshing to read after his rant about "white devils."

In addition, Malcolm believed that black people should support each other and stay connected with other blacks.  He believed that they must be a strong and united community before they can have better treatment in society.  I think that this connects back to the beginning of the novel when Malcolm was describing how the "upper class" blacks looked down upon the "lower class" blacks.  He described how the blacks considered themselves in the higher black class when they had the closest connections to whites.  The blacks would consider themselves "in banking" or "in law" and look down upon the drug dealing blacks or the janitors of bars.  I think that Malcolm's beliefs are neither for or against integration because he thought that black people tried to be more like white people in order to be accepted and integrated. While pretending to be white, the blacks would put down other blacks. Malcolm did not want this at all.

Previously, Malcolm wanted to teach the African Americans that no matter how good they might think they are, the whites will always hate them because they are black.  He believed that they must face the facts that the "white devil" caused all of their problems, that racism will always be present, and that the black community must stick together in trying to be heard and treated fairly.  Throughout his autobiography, he has stressed that African Americans should have basic human rights, not just civil rights. By the end of the book, Malcolm still believed in how the blacks must stay unified in their cause.  I think that his beliefs that I found insulting before were just magnified in his mind because he was so passionate.  He was passionate about unifying the blacks to stand up and realize that they cannot blindly accept the way they are treated. After Mecca, he seemed more normal, and he pinpointed the basic principles in which he had always believed in indirectly, but never realized before. 

I personally think that all people are equal and that everyone deserves respect.  I learned this from my parents.  I also wondered how the media affects kids by portraying different races. I found this article from 1998: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/research_document/reports/diversity/different_world.cfm.

This site explains how kids can learn that their races are important from seeing them portrayed on TV. I remember that my favorite childhood shows portrayed diversity, and my favorite shows now also have people with different ethnicities.  I am so glad that times have changed and I hope that the new generations become less racist. 

Unity in Mecca (Post 4)

When Malcolm was in Mecca, he truly realized and experienced the brotherhood and unity between all Muslims.  All of the Muslims on their pilgrimages wore white robes to show that they were all equal as humans and that they were united as brothers and sisters of Islam.  I think their white robes symbolize how people should learn about others before they judge them.  It is impossible to know if someone is rich and successful or poor and struggling when everyone wears the same white robes.  Their clothes are a blank canvass, and the wearers cannot be judged. Instead, they can all focus their on a religious journey personally while knowing that they are experiencing the same things as other Muslims at the same time.  

Everyone was very helpful towards each other even though they did not all speak the same languages.  Malcolm made friends very quickly, and they were happy to translate for each other.  One time, Malcolm reflected on how he felt unified with other Muslims when they were all sleeping on mats on the ground.  He observed that all people snore in the same language, and this made my think about how all humans have the same necessities.  Everyone is united because everyone needs to sleep at the end of the day.  This connects to the pilgrimage because all Muslims have the spiritual need to travel to Mecca.  Unity encompassed Malcolm in Mecca, and he truly felt united with other Muslims when he realized that everyone rests and snores at night. 

Another way Malcolm was united was when he visited the Ka'ba.  This picture really represents how all of the Muslims were together in reference.  Thousands of Muslims gather around this to recite prayers, and the picture is amazing because there are so many people.  I cannot imagine worshipping alongside so many people, but I would not want to be alone at an important time either. 

Blued-Eyed White Devil (Post 3)

Throughout a major portion of the book, Malcolm blames the "white devil" many times for causing all of the problems black people dealt with such as: living in poverty; being hated because of racism; and taking part in criminal activity involving drugs, violence, burglary, and prostitution.  This made me think about the racism that is involved with criminal activity.  I don't want to sound racist, but I always thought that mostly black people were in jail in our country because of TV shows and movies.  I wanted to look up  the different races involved with drugs and I found this website: http://drugpolicy.org/communities/race/.  I found the part about racial profiling interesting because I think it is a form of racism.  The African American community as a whole should not be viewed as criminals just because of certain individuals' bad choices, and this should not have anything to do with race because anyone can make the choice to be a criminal.  Also, the children of the convicted people suffer when their parents go to jail, and this disrupts the whole family.  I never realized how African American children are more likely to have a parent imprisoned than white children.  

At first I was insulted every time he said "white devil" because I believe that there are good people and bad people in the world, and race does not determine if someone is a saint or a devil.  I felt personally attacked when he used the phrase "blue-eyed devil" because that stereotyped all whites to have blue eyes and insinuated that the fairest whites are the most evil.  I wanted to defend myself and all the other blue-eyed people because eye color does not make someone good or bad.  

I kept thinking, "Doesn't Malcolm believe there are any good white people?"  I really identified with the young, white college girl who went up to him and asked him the same question, but he just shooed her away like she was an annoying little fruit fly.  I felt very sympathetic for her because he probably would have done the same thing towards me if I went up to him and asked him that question.  But then I realized, even though I felt sorry for her, I should feel worse for Malcolm.  He grew up in a poor town with an unstable home.  He moved to Boston to be with his older sister, but he eventually ended up in a "hustling" life style with prosecution, alcohol, and other drugs.  He had to realize his mistakes in prison, and he bettered himself through education and Islam.  Malcolm was the person who was judged and hated every day because of his skin color, not the young college girl.  

This made me think about how the "white devil" is a general term that is true.  Malcolm was not attacking me every time he said it, he was talking about all of the white people who ever took part in slavery and were more concerned about making money than treating people of every race with equality, respect, kindness, and friendship.  Malcolm made me realize that prejudices will always exist and the African American community will always have to remember that their ancestors lived in horrible conditions while they hope for more change in our nation's future and change in some stubborn peoples' minds.

Knowing My Heritage (Post 2)

In Malcolm X, Malcolm explained to Haley that it is impossible for blacks to know their exact heritage and background.  This made me think about my heritage.  As far as I know, I am: 25% Spanish from my dad's paternal side of the family, 25% German from my dad's maternal side of the family, and a lot of things from my mom's side of the family.  I am Italian, English, Welsh, Irish, and Lithuanian from my mother's parents.  

Sometimes I lightheartedly think: "Maybe I would be more tan if I was a greater percentage of Italian," "I don't really feel Irish--maybe because it is such a small percentage," "Why do I look mostly German compared to the other ways I could appear," and "I am glad that I can easily speak Spanish--maybe I have this talent because I am Spanish!" I am happy with my family's heritage, but I always took for granted one thing: I am white. I know where my family came from, and they came to America because they wanted to, not because they were forced into slavery.   

Malcolm explained how African Americans can never be sure of what tribe they came from, who their ancestors were, and what their true last name is.  I never realized how African Americans' last names were given to them by their white slave owners, and this made me realize how I take for granted the fact that I know the heritage of my Spanish last name. African Americans lost all trace of their line of ancestors when the slaves were forced to accept their new last names. Presently, there are websites that look up the ancestry for Africans, and these sites can provide someone with a name of a slave with the same last name. One example is: http://www.afrigeneas.com/welcome.html.  Unfortunately, ancestry searches like these can only provide someone with the slaveholder and the first African in American with that name. There is not way for African Americans to find their exact heritage, and this is all because of slavery.  I always took for granted how I have a document in my house that explains the origins of my last name.  This framed paper is very important to me because it says the area in Spain my family inhabited.  There are records of my family members in Spain and in America, and I never thought that other people might not know where their family came from.  Malcolm X opened my eyes and made me realize that African Americans do not know their original tribes, family members, or countries they came from.  They must accept that their last names are their ancestors' slaveholders' names.  This is an effect of slavery that will always exist. 

"Yacub's History" --IRRATIONAL, INSULTING, & INCORRECT!!! (Post 1)

Many events occurred in chapters 7-10, but I want to talk about Yacub's History in chapter ten in this post.  Malcolm's brothers and sisters started to introduce him to the religion of Islam when he was in prison.  His siblings seemed very religious and seemed worried that Malcolm was going down the wrong path in his life, so they wanted him to follow "the true knowledge of the black man" (Haley 165).  They said that a  360 degree angle of knowledge was only known by Allah and Muslims, and everyone else only had a 33 degree angle of knowledge.  

Malcolm's siblings also introduced him to Mr. Elijah Muhammad's teachings of how all white people are devils.  Elijah Muhammad taught "Yacub's History." I understood that it explained that Africans were the first humans on earth, and that white people were created by an evil scientist, Mr. Yacub, so that evil could increase as more white people were created.  This section of the book really angered me because it did not make any sense at ALL!  This is an extremist belief, and it is very complicated.  I felt insulted, especially when white people were described as hairy, four-legged savages who were dragged across the Middle Eastern desserts into European caves, and that they had to kill the other animals that tried to eat them.

IN REALITY, people have different features and appearances because of adaptations to different environments.  People from northern parts of the globe are more fair than people near the equator because our skin is an organ to protect us from the sun's harmful rays.  People who originate from places that do not receive many harmful ultra-violet rays have light skin, and people who originate from places that receive many strong rays have dark skin because the melanin protects them.  Everything about living things exist because of genetics, not because of bogus, extremist stories. I find DNA and genetics really interesting because everything in the world exists because of passed on traits, and this website explains the evolution of skin colors: http://www.wonderquest.com/evoulution-skin-color.htm

I found it ironic how "Allah raised Moses to civilize [the devil white race], and bring them out of the caves" (Haley 170) and how "the Books of Moses are missing. That's why it is not know that he was in the caves" (Haley 170).  This just does not make any sense and could be debated from many different religious views.  Also, Malcolm said to Haley, "I was to learn later that Elijah Muhammad's tales, like this one of "Yacub," infuriated the Muslims of the East. While at Mecca, I reminded them that it was their fault, since they themselves hadn't done enough to make real Islam known in the West. Their silence left a vacuum into which any religious faker could step and mislead our people" (Haley 171).  These quotes show that Yacub's History is not necessarily credible because only some people choose to believe it, and the rest of the Islamic world looks down upon it. 

Ethnic Notations video

  The video Ethnic Notations--Black People in White Minds was very eye-opening for me.  It discussed all of the different "types" of black people as viewed by white people.  There are so many things to respond to: the laughing, lazy, childish "sambo"; the stupid "zip coon" that was freed from slavery and cannot pronounce anything; the fat, ugly, authoritative "mammy"; the uncivilized "brute" who goes after white women; and the dirty children called the "pickaninny" who were portrayed as alligator food.  All of these depictions showed blacks people as stupid, animalistic people who were better off as slaves. I was especially appalled when the video showed examples of media from the 1940s.   The cartoons that were supposed to be for children depicted blacks very negatively.  They were dancing around spastically to music, barely spoke, and were hit by things.  All of these ingrained racism into the youth's minds by portraying that blacks were the most stupid, uncivilized, and animalistic beings on earth.  They did not even look like humans--it's things like this that planted the seeds of racism into the youth of that time, and the children did not even realize it. The media casually used the n word, and I think that white people accepted all of these prejudices because they were present everywhere. Postcards showed black people with HUGE lips, mouths, and teeth biting into watermelon, and there were many postcards showing alligators ready to eat the "pickaninny."  These further showed that whites thought that blacks were wild and uncivilized. 

Malcolm X Ch. 1

     I think that the most important part of chapter one is how Malcolm's mother and family was affected by the Welfare people after the father's death.  Their mother went crazy, and she never accepted the Welfare.  She wanted to preserve her family's pride, and no one understood why she would not accept the food to feed her children.  I think that horrible situations like this cause people to behave differently based off of emotions.  Malcolm's mom did not want to accept free food because she did not want the Welfare people intruding on her and questioning her parenting and ability to provide for her children.

      The Welfare people made surprise visits where they would separate the eight kids and ask them questions.  This seemed like they were trying to tear the family apart and prove that the mother was not taking proper care of her children.  The kids eventually went to different foster homes when the mom went to the State Mental Hospital, but they continued to stay close.  At the end of the chapter, Malcolm said, "I truly believe that if ever a state social agency destroyed a family, it destroyed ours.  We wanted and tried to stay together.  Our home didn't have to be destroyed.  But the Welfare, the courts, and their doctor, gave us the one-two-three punch" (Haley 22).  This summarizes the family's struggle to stay together and make ends meet while the Welfare people were tearing them apart.