The Endless Train of Thought

Humans are very habitual creatures. A daily schedule, something that occurs everyday, or a common factor with each passing moment; we favor these situations time and time again. We all have something like this. For example, as a student, I wake up at 6:15 AM to prepare myself for school, drive myself in the same car, to the same school, to the same first hour, sit at the same table for lunch, with the same people, and the list goes on and on. These sorts of things are basic habits: things that we are inclined to do from pattern. Tradition on the other hand, is much more personal. Tradition is something that is passed down from generation to generation, occurs much less frequently perhaps, and can differ vastly from culture and race. For example, every Thanksgiving, we inquire the kitchen to discover succulent turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, and most importantly, the ones we love most such as family or other friends. These traditions, typically rather than habits, produce a sense of pri...

Internalization. The thing that makes events "normal." What is normal? In Song of Solomon,  we see Guitar and a gentleman at a bar discuss the death of Emmett Till. Freddie, the gentleman in the conversation, believes that Till is at fault for his own murder from, "acting big down in Bilbo Country" (Morrison 49). Basically, Freddie's internal thoughts leads him to believe that a black man should not have catcalled a white lady; so his death was his own fault because black men are naturally inferior and Till tried to step out of this "normal" mindset. Guitar however, sees a different light. He believes that Till should have not been killed out of a simple act of catcalling a white woman. In fact, he is in disbelief when Freddie says his rationale for the justification of Till's death. The internalization of racial inequality can affect the people of any race, but it can lead to the acceptance of inferiority rather than the freeing of these racial be...

Music is a powerful substance. It creates new beginnings, helps the present move on, and can affect someone's future. I can directly relate this to a story from a small ensemble of band members that went to a small nursing home. This small group from Troy High played some old tunes that the elderly population of the home would recognize. What this small group of players did not realize was that after the small performance, an elderly man who had not spoke for years had started to sing along to the tunes produced by the ensemble.  In  Song of Solomon , song is used by the characters. In one instance of singing, the reader sees, "Sugarman done fly away" and helps to see a theme with flight and freedom. Mr. Smith "flies" off "No Mercy Hospital" and gains freedom from his depressing life. The music itself may not be powerful in itself to Mr. Smith, but the song conveys a meaning that is the bigger picture of the novel: that flight is representative of fre...

“Go with wise men and be wise: but he who keeps company with the foolish will be broken.” – Proverbs 13:20      This quote is often used to describe people based off of their peers. As humans, we tend to lose track of our identity and lose our uniqueness to common conformist beliefs, but this unique individuality is what sets us apart from one another to create relationships that last forever.       Conformity can be great. There is strength in numbers, but the ones who stand tall and provide limited traits otherwise not present in their peers are often the ones who survives in the end. To not "forget who you are and where you come from" (Fitzgerald) is important in a vastly changing world. That is not saying that always standing out is a positive. There are always times where coming together is always better than going off into a path alone. Being able to realize when to fit in and when to draw boundaries between the people around you allow the ...