Blog Post #5

I added the question marks because at this point in the book Callie is not only confused about what's going on, she's also confused about what she is and her gender identity. The question mark replacing her body shows that she's aware that she's no longer a girl but she doesn't know what that means.

Blog Post #4

Current events

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gender-identity-versus-attraction-apples-oranges-bruce-jenner/story?id=30570293

I chose this article because it discusses Bruce Jenner and his transition from male to female but more specifically he talks about the difference between one’s sexuality and one’s gender identity. Gender identity basically refers to how an individual sees themselves and who they are as a person whereas sexuality has to do with who you’re attracted to and what you desire. He also says that although your gender identity can change, your sexuality doesn’t change based on that, most likely it will stay the same. The two are extremely similar and have a lot in common although they don’t directly affect one another. In Middlesex, Callie grows up gaining feelings for girls like the Obscure Object even though she sees herself as a girl because that’s how she identifies herself. Although when Callie becomes Cal, his interest in girls doesn’t change. He doesn’t start finding himself attracted to men, he remains attracted to females so although Calliope’s gender identity and how she sees herself has changed, her sexuality and what she desires hasn’t changed. Although the situation is extremely different because Calliope isn’t a transgender but rather a hermaphrodite although it’s not a question of whether you’re a transgender or not because your gender identity can extend far beyond being a transgender. It’s just what you see yourself as and Calliope begins to see him/herself as a male rather than a female and Cal’s desires don’t change over time, he remains interested in females throughout the entire book. When Callie was younger, her liking boys seemed weird and she didn’t know if it was the right thing which may have caused her to question her sexuality. Her gender identity was not questioned until she learned about her condition because she then began to see herself differently than she did before.

Blog Post #3

Key Passage

“Mr. da Silva had spent a summer in Greece six years before. He was still keyed up about it. When he described visiting the Mani, his voice became even mellower than usual, and his eyes glistened. Unable to find a hotel one night, he had slept on the ground, awaking the next morning to find himself beneath an olive tree. Mr. da Silva had never forgotten that tree. They had had a meaningful exchange, the two of them. Olive trees are intimate creatures, eloquent in their twistedness. It’s easy to understand why the ancients believed human spirits could be trapped inside them. Mr. da Silva had felt this, waking up in his sleeping bag. (321-322).

In the chapter, “The Obscure Object”, we are introduced to Callie’s English teacher, Mr. da Silva. She speaks very highly of him and discusses his background a little bit and it seems as though she is really intrigued by him and his stories he has to tell. She also feels a strong connection to Greece which is where she is from which I think allows her to see Greece from a different perspective, other than her family’s. I think the word keyed is extremely significant because it shows us how much Mr. da Silva is holding onto his experience in Greece. He isn’t just still thinking about it, he’s really “fastened” up and the significance the trip had on him is clearly still there. The way she describes him talking about it and how his eyes don’t just light up, but they glisten and they shine which just shows us how happy it makes him to even talk about it. Callie also reiterates his story as if she were there and as if she really understands how it makes him feel. When she talks about the olive tree, she says “they had had a meaningful exchange, the two of them”, it almost sounds as if she’s talking about two humans having a really meaningful and strong bond upon their first encounter. Knowing that he’s spoken so highly of a tree really tells us a lot. It’s as if the tree is being personified. You can’t necessarily have an exchange with a tree like you would with another person. She also says, “olive trees are intimate creatures, eloquent in their twistedness”, this phrase is so significant in itself. The us of the word intimate to describe the trees because usually trees can’t be intimate. The word eloquent makes us think of smooth and meaningful and this tree is really being brought to life.

Blog Post #2

While reading about how Calliope feels when she is supposed to be going through puberty- while everyone already is, it puts me back in time to when I was in middle school. I don’t consider myself a late or an early bloomer because I have friends who got breasts and got their periods when they were in 5th grade and others who got it months after I did. I got my period a week after my birthday in 7th grade and it didn’t really shock me or anything because it was expected, I just wasn’t sure what to do and puberty wasn’t always something that was occupying my mind. While most of my friends had gotten their periods already and had had them for a while, I was just thinking about when I would get mine although I knew no matter when I got it that I would get it. Calliope observes, “Boys are getting peach fuzz on upper lips. Foreheads and noses are breaking out. Most spectacularly of all, girls are becoming women. Not mentally or emotionally even, but physically. Nature is making its preparations. Deadlines encoded in the species are met” (286). Cal believes that there is a specific time for everyone to go through puberty, together and so she’s concerned because she seems to be the only one not meeting this “deadline”. Unlike Cal, I grew up understanding that puberty is different for everyone and when it happens, it happens and it doesn’t need to happen at the same time as everyone else. This calmed me and made me realize that theres no rush to going through puberty. Everyone’s body works differently and it’s a natural thing we all go through. It only started to bother me when I noticed that my friends who had gotten their periods after me were really starting to develop breasts and I wasn’t. Of course, again, I understood that not everyone is going to grow massive boobs but it was still something I wanted that everyone else seemed to be getting. I realized shortly after that everyone is different and there was really no reason for me to get bothered by it. I’m happy with my body and the way that I am and I think considering the age that we are at now, most people are and puberty for everyone seems like almost a century ago. I can understand Calliope’s frustration especially as it’s clear that everyone is going through puberty and she’s the only one thats been left behind. Neither Tessie or Milton has talked to Calliope about puberty or anything related to it so it makes it a lot more difficult when everything Calliope knows is just from observation and she doesn’t have anyone to really reassure her that everything will be okay.

Blog post #1

When reading Middlesex I see a lot of connections to different texts in different parts of the book but in book 3, specifically in the chapter, “Opa!” I saw many connections to Persepolis, a book I read last year. Persepolis is the autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi discussing her childhood to adulthood during and after the Iranian Revolution. The entire novel is a memoir so everything is seen from her point of view, even during times where she wasn’t sure what was going on. After the Iranian Revolution, girls were required to wear a veil and as Marjane comes from a religious yet modern family she struggled with remembering and wanting to wear it, especially compared to other young girls and females in Tehran during this time period. Even that reminds me of Cal in a way where they’re both so young during these times and they’re really thinking about their identity and who they really are and thats why change is so difficult for both of them despite how different their situations truly are. Both Cal and Marjane come from an important background and have grown up with supporting and loving parents. Marjane’s parents follow the revolution and protect Marjane in any way they possibly can. Both Cal and Marjane live in the middle where everything is being burned and destroyed. Marjane’s parents work hard to protect their own house as they’ve seen what has happened to their neighbor’s homes. Cal’s father sits inside the Zebra room, scared and protective over this diner that means so much to the family; he sits and watches as everything in the street burns to ashes, hoping that the diner isn’t the next target. Reading this part of Middlesex immediately made me think of Persepolis because both Marjane and Cal are at such a young age during the Detroit Riots and the Iranian Revolution so it’s very difficult for them to experience it and really understand what’s going on.

Synthesis

Throughout the course of the play my view on Oedipus has changed as I found myself continuously losing respect for him as a king and person as discovering the truth of his origin became his only priority instead of helping the people of Thebes, his kingdom. At the beginning of the play, he came across as a concerned but caring king who only sought to help his people as they and the city of Thebes slowly began to crumble to the ground because of the plague. He made several remarks to the public, such as, "I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life" (105-106). He is claiming that the lives of his people are far important than his own at this point because they need help to end this plague and he needs to step up as a king in order to do help them. This along with many other quotes show the concerned side of Oedipus as a king that truly does care about his city. As the play progressed, I began to see Oedipus' priorities change as he became a lot more concerned about his own origin and life. This brought out the self centered side of Oedipus as his own quest to prove his innocence suddenly exceeded the importance of saving his entire kingdom.

One theme that became more clear to me after reading the entire play was the theme of leadership. I've always had a strong understanding of leadership and what a strong and weak leader look like, but after reading Oedipus the King I understand that a leader isn't necessarily one or the other, but all leaders have times of strength, as well as weakness. Although I don't agree with Oedipus and his actions towards the end of the play, I don't believe that just because a leader is one who is supposed to support their people and live up to their responsibilities that they cannot have moments of weakness. Leaders are people just as we all are and they all have their weaknesses and moments where leadership doesn't always shine through strongly. Although, as moments of weakness arise in every person, as a leader, one should be able to put their own issues aside to deal with their duties and what has been placed on their plate; in Oedipus' case, the people of Thebes and the plague that is destroying his city. At the end of the play, Oedipus really proved to me that he was incapable of putting his own worries aside as he made them his only priority. He made a promise to his kingdom, although he didn't live up to it because his own problems became his only focus which I find to be a trait of an incompetent leader.

Quote #1

"Rule our land, you know you have the power,
but rule a land of the living, not a wasteland" (66-67).

Analysis: This quote is from a Theban man speaking to Oedipus on behalf of the people of Thebes. They are all unwell and coming to speak to Oedipus in hopes that he can turn everything around for the better, as their king. They have a lot of faith in him as a king as they say "you know you have the power"because they know what he is capable of. They know he is capable of ruling Thebes and stopping the plague and they know that he knows it as well. Everyone knows that Oedipus will be the king no matter what, but better to have him be a king of a strong and powerful kingdom than a Thebes in it's current state; a city that is slowly crumbling to the ground. The word "wasteland" implies that Thebes is in a very neglected and unattractive state because it isn't receiving the attention from it's king; a king that has the the trust from his people and the potential to turn everything around.

Readers Response:
Dear Oedipus,
I have been following your story for quite a while now and paying close attention to your actions. It seems to me that you have really been letting down your kingdom recently; the city in which everyone depends on you. Thebes has been hit by a horrible plague and as king I believe you should do everything in your power to ensure good health and safety for your people. It seems to me that there is a strong trust between the Theban people and yourself which I admire you for as a king. They believe in you and know you have the power and I know you believe that too, I just think you need to realize that and help your city to reassure them that you care.

Sincerely, Claudia

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1984. Print.