Author Archives: dodesa

The Big Problem

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The problem with todays society is that we are too quick to hear of problems that do not directly affect us and dismiss them. It is not anyones fault, it is just how the human brain works. It is in our genetics to be a little selfish. However with that being said, hearing about all the issues in the world about water from everyones presentation in class made me think. Why don’t we (Union College) acknowledge the ongoing water issues that concern other regions of the world?

Union College is not short of water by any means. In every building there is cold filtered water ready to be used. Also in the bookstore there are at least 5 different types of water being sold to students. So, getting water is no problem for Union College, but at the same time is exactly the problem. People are never thinking of ways to get more water, or getting cleaner water. To quote Where the Water Goes by David Owen, he states, “All I knew was that every time I attached a hose to a spigot and turned it on, I could run it full force until it was time to go home” (1). This is relatable because water is so assessable. Why would we fix something that is not broken? However, as humans we need to dig deeper and not think just about ourselves and think about the people less fortunate than us. We have a duty to use our resources and help others that can not help themselves. Make a movement bigger than ourselves. It starts with the student body leaders and how they can get all students on board in helping places that do not have water like us.

 

Relationship with a House?

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In the play, By The Water, by Sharon Rothstein, Marty, the father of two, is in a dilemma where the whole community he lives in wants to leave because of the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. Marty however, wants to stay in his town and not leave the home he has started his family in. I will question what Marty’s house symbolizes to him?

I think Marty’s house represents a toxic relationship with a girlfriend. What I mean by this is that whatever happens or no matter how big of a fight (the house getting ruined) they get in, Marty always comes back even though he should not. He thinks about all the good memories the house and him had together. For example when he is talking to his wife, Mary, he explains to her all the great times they had together in that house. He states, “I was a kid here. We started our family here. How many mornings have we had, walking down to the beach, the sun coming up, looking out over Brooklyn, thinking ‘Brooklyn. What schmucks.’ I’ve been the luckiest man on the planet” (23). Even though Marty has had a lot of great times in his house, there becomes a point where he has to move on like one would have to do if they were in a toxic relationship. One can not keep coming back if they know that they are going to get hurt. Marty has to stop coming back to the old house because he knows that there is going to be another storm that is going to cause more problems in his life like a toxic girlfriend would.

A life for love

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In the film, The Little Mermaid, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Ariel makes a deal with the devil (Ursula) to get a shot at meeting her true love. Her love, Prince Eric, is a human and they first interact after Ariel saves him from drowning when his ship crashes. The deal Ariel makes with Ursula is that she trades her voice for a pair of human legs, to have an opportunity to become human by temporarily transforming her into one so that she may earn love. What Ariel finds out quickly is that dancing with the devil is a slippery slope. Even though everything ended working out for Ariel, I question how much are humans willing to sacrifice to earn love?

We see that Ariel was willing to lose her voice and never see her family and friends again to have an opportunity at gaining love. This was also present in The Mistake, by Martín Kohan. The main character was willing to walk miles in a river with no water to go to his love. However, what he didn’t realize was that eventually the water would return and he consequently died. We will also see it in the short story, Sea Story by A.S. Byatt. Even though Harold doesn’t kill himself over his love, he devotes lots of time and goes far into the ocean to drop off a message in the bottle to hopefully reach his love. He does all of this after realising that his love gave him a fake address and email. He was so desperate for obtaining love that he sent a shot into the dark hoping it would hit. Overall I think humans are willing to sacrifice anything for something they believe in like love.

Love hurts

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Finding a soulmate and discovering what true love feels like is something hopefully we all can experience in our life. However, attempts to finding this passion may create unforeseen dilemmas. Accordingly, my question is: Did Laura rejecting Harold have a bigger impact on Harold or in turn have a bigger impact on her work?

I think Harold getting rejected definitely impacted him, but inevitably impacted Laura’s work more. When Harold saw that none of his emails were being delivered and that the address she gave him was a lie, he wrote a love letter, put it in a bottle, and dropped it in the sea to hopefully reach the Caribbean. As time passed that bottle was making its way to the Caribbean. However, the effect it had on aquatic life is saddening. AS Byatt states, “The mollymawk tore at it, and carried away a smeared strip to feed to its chicks, who would die with bellies distended by this stuff. The cap detached itself, and was swallowed by a green turtle which mistook it for a glass eel. When this turtle choked and died, the cap was picked from its remains by another turtle, which also choked.” Harold’s message in the bottle ended up killing lots of animals in the ocean. Laura’s job involves eels and other marine life, so having these animals die impacts her work. In addition to the bottle killing marine life, Harold ended up marring a different women. Showing that he moved on. Laura rejecting Harold definitely impacted him, but not as much as it impacted her work as if she was truthful with her address than a couple of animals lives would have been saved.