I am. I think. I will.

At the beginning of chapter 11, Equality says "I am. I think. I will."
At this point in the novel, Equality has fully realized that the foundation of man's emotions was based on individualistic terms. After he read the texts found in the house, he realized that society was vastly different from the dystopian society he had lived in. Previous societies had emphasized the achievements of the individual, rather than the group. When he read this, he shed tears, not for himself, but for the current condition of humanity. He realized that these "transgressions" and "Sins" he had committed were all natural. In fact, they were apart of human nature. That is why, he thought, he didn't feel any remorse or guilt for the "sins" he had committed.
The basis of this quote is formed on forbidden thinking in the society. Everyone in society learned to refer to themselves as "we" rather than I. This emphasized the common good for the community rather than individualism. However, once Equality learned the existence of the word "I", he fully embraced the lifestyle and thinking of "I"

Ayn Rand Quotes

"If It's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"
Ayn Rand is saying that if something if worth your efforts, then you should put all of your effort into it.
There's two kinds of people in society; those who complete the minimum expectations and get by, and those who put their full effort into everything important to them. To those people, I have a question. If it's worth doing, then why do you barely do it? I guess the answer to that question is, in fact, another question. What is really worth doing? What defines what is worth doing, society, or the individual? Who sets the expectations for your life, and what you do? Do they have a  right to set those expectations?
In order to overdo something, you must have the motivation to overdo it. In order to have this motivation, you must look inside yourself, and see what you really want to do with your life. Only then will we, as a society, put in our fullest effort.

"But why should you car what people say? All you have to do is please yourself."
I can't agree with this quotation any more. Rand is saying that you really shouldn't consider what people say about you. As long as you're happy with yourself, then you're fine. An example of this is how my generation is labeled as the ""me" generation. You can label my generation whatever you want, but when it comes down to it, I know who I really am. Say what you want to say about me, it's not going to affect my life, and how I look at myself. I've come to learn who I am, so such labels don't have such an effect on me. Since I'm pleased with myself, I can care less of any labels people give to me. I'm Brandon Link. I want to see everything the world has to offer, and I want to make the world a better place for others.. Through my motivation for such causes, I'm willing to put in my full effort to attain these feats.

Ecology

"Ecology as a social principle... condemns cities, culture, industry, technology, the intellect and advocates men's return to "nature", to the state of grunting sub-animals digging the soil with their bare hands"
This quote, mentioned by Ayn Rand, refers to the philosophy of environmentalism and its impact on society. Rand chooses to over-examine this concept, saying that in order to truly embrace ecology, we must reject the advances humans have made and conform to our original way of living. I disagree with her interpretation of ecology and environmentalism. I feel that there is a way to combine environmentalist philosophy and modern technological philosophies. Right now, we simply don't have the answer regarding how to combine these two philosophies. Solar energy isn't as efficient as fossil fuel energy... yet... Right now, we are only able to harvest specific wavelengths of the sun's light. If we can learn how to take advantage of more wavelengths of the sun's light, we can make solar energy more efficient, and possibly even replace the popular method of fossil fuels with solar energy. Only when we are able to harvest an eco-friendly source of energy will we be able to conform our society to a different way of living, with accordance to nature.
Until then, we have to find ways to get more Eco-friendly sources of energy. It's not only our responsibility, it's our moral priority. We, as the dominant species have a right to help out the recessive species, and we can't help them out if we become as powerless as them.

Existence

"The Council of Scholars has said that we all know the things which exist and therefore the things which are not known by all do not exist".

I'd say that this statement is driven on a logical fallacy. The logic used here is that if one thing is true, than the opposite must not be true. However, this isn't he case. Elements of the world exist, even if they're not know by man. They are just waiting to be discovered by humanity. Many things in this world haven't been discovered yet, and they're just waiting to cause a revolution in society.

However, the council doesn't want their citizens to know that. The council only wants the citizens to know enough to function in everyday life; nothing more, nothing less. That is how this dystopian society has thrived thus far. Knowledge is power, and in this case, the opposite is, in fact true. The lack of knowledge means the lack of power.

"Self"

What is "Self"? What part of yourself is really yourself? What part of my "self" distinguishes me from others?

I am my "Self". Starting from the mind that resides within my body. All my thoughts, emotions, feelings, and opinions lie in my "self". My inner "self" is obviously influenced by the outside world. In reality, i'm not original. I'm a conglomeration of everybody i know, everybody i've read and watched about, and everybody i've observed. I've taken a little part of everybody else, and put them into myself. Nobody is truly original.
In that sense, we really can't separate ourselves from society. What would we be like if we grew completely independent of society? We wouldn't learn a darn thing. Would we even be able to think, considering we wouldn't even know English?
The only part of my "self" which is not influenced by society is how i feel. I always will feel a certain emotion as a reaction to a given situation. This is why communism doesn't work. Communism and the likes can't stop people from feeling. People will always have emotion, regardless of what laws are set, or what is socially correct. We all have emotion.

Ayn Rand's shenanigans

Ayn Rand, in "The Fountainhead", argues that men never actually seek their own happiness. Illustrating her individualistic view, she states that all standards, efforts, goals and ambitions are set up by society, not the individual. Ayn Rand is proposing an extremist viewpoint o the topic of individual freedom. This statement can be qualified as true, but has several setbacks.
To an extent, our goals are set up by society. According to society, we must go through school, go to college, find a job, and carry on the job until we retire. To an extent this is the lifestyle most men must follow in order to survive. If we don't have a well-paying job, then we can't thrive, let alone survive in today's society.
However, there are notable exceptions to this rule. I have a friend who has a life goal of going into space one day. She plans on majoring in aerospace engineering, and working for NASA. Realistically, it is possible for her to accomplish these goals, considering they flow with society's demands. However, her desire to become an astronaut started when she was a mere kid, before society's expectations could morph her. And even though she currently has a grudge against me, I can still see that she means to stay away from society's expectations of life.
In all, while society sets up the standards for how we should live life, we still have much choice in what we desire, versus what society desires.

Ol Goodman Brown and the Devil Within

In many works of literature, past events affected a character psychologically, affecting their view on life, and how they act. In Young Goodman Brown, the protagonist’s view on society is morphed because of one experience in the past. Goodman Brown, once a good man, innocent and pure, became corrupted by his attendance to the devil’s ceremony. Whether this was a dream or reality will never be known, but because of this event, Goodman Brown couldn’t look at anybody in society the same way. He became distrustful, seeing the devil in those who preached purity. He couldn’t even greet his wife once he came back home from the incident. In this event, he saw his townspeople, even his own wife, give up purity and give into the devil. He saw that people wore masks, hiding their true selves. Thus, the Goodman Brown we once knew became a shell of the man he was, hiding behind a mask just like the others.

Hello!

Let me start off saying that I absolutely love "The Road". Cormac McCarthy performed an excellent job writing this novel, especially with his use of diction. One literary element that plays a significant role in "The Road" is the novel's use of characterization.
In the post apocalyptic world of "The Road", a boy and his father travel down a road to reach the coast. Along their journey they struggle to find the bare resources they need to survive. They meet a lot of "bad" people, but they never meet a lot of "good" people. The father, a man who lost his wife, only aims to stay alive because of the boy. As stated, "The boy was all that stood between him and death" (p.29). The father thinks logically through situations, accepting the emotional hardships they have to face.
The boy represents the innocence of mankind. At such a young age, he still has hope that everything will be all right. Throughout the story, while the boy wishes to help others out, his father forces him to dismiss these thoughts, as they will get them killed.
The Road is a fantastic novel, unlike any other novel. The minimalistic writing style portrays so little, but so much at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Just another blog entry

What is the better path, having one group of friends that you're really close with or having a lot of friends, with only a few people you're really close with? Personally, I feel like i'm in a situation where I've expanded myself to all the cliques of Kearney, but i still only hold a few close friends whom i can really share myself with. Sometimes i really with i could be closer with more people outside of my normal group of friends, but given time constraints, I need to invest my time in other matters.
Maybe after college applications are finished and after the Academics tone down, I can work on hanging out with those people. I really do respect them, and I would like to get closer.
Not that there's anything wrong with my current group of friends; they're the funniest most understanding people I know. Even though there's some clash between me and a certain female best friend right now, I still love and respect my current group.
I guess I'm just saying that I naturally like to talk with and get to know people i don't know as well. This is also why i look forward to going to college; I'm going to experience so many things that I wouldn't be able to experience at home, and I'll meet so many new people.
But I digress. I think that there's a mindset you can be in where you can make a lot of friends, and be close with a lot of friends. Fortunately, I think that I am currently in this mindset

Senior Year so far, Q1

Senior year has been interesting. In some aspects, it's been a lot of the same thing. In some aspects there's nothing, and in some aspects a lot is going really well for me.
Academically I'm still pulling around a 94 average. I increased my SAT overall to a 1960, which i couldn't be happier about. I have the same teachers as last year, which definitely feels repetitive. For the most part I feel like I'm going through the same motions and practices; i need something to change.
This mindset has poured over to my social life. I'm getting a little tired of my central clique, and I've expanded the amount of people I talk to. The only real problem right now is that a) I don't have a car to hang out with other people, b) I would need to ask my parents to go places, and c) I've pretty much expanded myself across the student body of Kearney. I can't talk to much more new people because there aren't any more new people to talk to.
In terms of love life, I appear to be falling in the same trap. This time around, I'm noticing that it's not as much of a desire for this specific girl as it is a desire to have a girl be mine. I've basically milked by central clique of girls, which is another reason why I want to expand. It's not love, it's the desire for compassion.
But I digress. Overall, Senior year has been fantastic. I've met a lot of new people, I feel much more comfortable showing myself around others, and i'm definitely an overall better man than I used to be. However, with the goals I have for myself, I'm still a shell of the man I want to be.

The Road

The father and boy from "The Road" live in a post-apocalyptic world where everything is burnt down. Every day, they strive to keep living, to reach the coast. The boy, still innocent in age, can't mentally handle seeing the atrocities of the world. He can't imagine people eating other people to stay alive, and he is devastated when they have to leave the boy and dog behind. All the boy wants is someone else to talk to, but all he has is his father. The father has to stay strong not only for himself, but for the boy as well. He always tells the boy that they are the "good guys", and that they would never resort to such foul means of survival as eating others. The father doesn't have a choice in his own emotions, he has to be the bigger man in this situation. He says his only reason of living is to keep the boy alive. Without the boy, the father wouldn't have the emotional ability to survive thus far, and without the father, the boy would have died off early. Such a duo couldn't exist separately in such a hopeless environment.

Symbolism in Literature

Inanimate Object play a crucial role in literature. Even though these object are just that; objects, they play a great role in the progression of the novel.
In Lord of the Flies, the seashell represents order. In the beginning of the story, everybody grew quiet when Ralph blew the conch. The seashell made the noise that signaled for the children to gather at the gathering point. As the novel progressed, and the democracy Ralph formulated combusted, the children refused to listen to the shell's call. The children grew insane under dictator Jack's rule, and wouldn't be subject to order anymore.
Also in Lord of the flies, Piggy's glasses represented hope. In the story, Piggy's glasses were the only thing the children could use to start a fire. Using the glasses to magnify the sun's heat rays, they could start a fire, which could be used to signal any planes or boats to rescue them. Likewise, throughout the story, Jack ends up breaking Piggy's glasses, one spectacle at a time. As the glasses break, the children begin to lose hope in being rescued, and become subject to Jack's manipulative rule.
Finally, in Othello, the handkerchief plays a significant role in the progression of the story. The handkerchief represents Desdemona's fidelity. Othello refused to become subject to Iago's manipulative tales of Desdemona cheating on him, asking for "ocular" evidence. The handkerchief becomes such evidence, as Iago plants said handkerchief in Cassio's chambers. When Othello sees Cassio with the handkerchief, be finally becomes convinced that Desdemona is cheating on him.

Emotion in Literature

Literature is often a reflection of the expression of human emotions. Many authors incorporate their emotions into their work, virtues and vices. Several novels and plays delve into the complications of the human mind. 

In Othello, many of the characters are motivated by vices. Iago embraces his evilness, only justifying it by claiming that Othello slept with his wife, and that Cassio was picked over him to be Othello's Lieutenant. From this suspicion, Iago claims a hatred for woman, manipulates other characters to his desire, and destroys relationships. Another character, Roderigo, is motivated by his blind love for Desdemona, denying all truth to get his way.

In the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack fight over who gets to rule the island. Ralph originally takes over rule, forming a democracy amongst the other children, but as hope is lost, and insanity kicks in, Jack performs a coup de tat and establishes a dictatorship. Fear plays a huge role in this novel. 

The Road: The truth behind a post-apocalyptic world

From the beginning of "The Road", Cormac McCarthy, the author of the book, implements a depressing, black and white tone. There seems to be no hope in this post-apocalyptic world. There are no zombies, or war, or an abundance of people. There's only a man and a boy trying to survive in a hopeless world.

From the first sentence you can already draw a conclusion as toward the tone and style of the book. "When we woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reached out to touch the child beside him. Nights beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before". This book isn't going to get any brighter. It's just a man and a boy trying to survive the true reality of a post-apocalyptic world.

My primary question is, Is the author going to give these characters any hope to live? From solely the introduction of the book, this answer becomes obvious: no. However, the readers want to see the man and his boy catch a good break. I'm very curious to see how this book plays out.

Otherness

While segregation has significantly decreased in the last century, as human rights groups became more active, we still live in a world where people subconsciously judge other people for being "Different". Active racism and discrimination has basically become nonexistant in today's world, but people still judge others who are different.

This impulse is natural. Naturally, our mind urges us to stay in our comfort zones, to avoid danger. People naturally feel safer and more comfortable with their own kind than another kind. For example, I read a blog the other day in which a man wanted to stop being racist, but his mind kept wandering toward racist thoughts. He said that wen he saw a group of black men, his mind passively resorted to the worst case scenario that they were up to no good. He knew nothing about these people, other than that they were a group of black people. He also stated that he thought nothing of the group of white people in the area.

Even thought active racism has been condemned, our minds can still tend to drift away, and subdue to racist or sexist thoughts. It's not a bad thing per se, it's more of a safety trigger in our minds. Our minds are disciplined to stay away from questionable sources, and because many whites don't feel comfortable around blacks, they still subconsciously judge them.

This is why people use otherness as an insult. They aren't familiar with their kind, so they subordinate them in order to relieve this threat. This is why the whites judged themselves as superior to the blacks; because it was easier for them to subordinate them than to accept them as their own kind.

However, this doesn't mean that we are still a racist society. As mentioned before, racism has significantly decreased since the early 20th century. Racism isn't a common issue now, it's an issue that only you can overcome yourself. You can train your brain to stop thinking these thoughts. Get to know a black person. Hang out with them sometime. Once your mind recognizes that they aren't a threat, you won't feel racism for their kind.