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  Reader Profile: Ms. Pahomov

Posted by Larissa Pahomov in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on
Photo on 9-28-16 at 8.59 AM #2
Photo on 9-28-16 at 8.59 AM #2

Ms. Pahomov hates it when strangers ask her “what book are you teaching in your English class right now?” Usually it means they want to just talk about what they liked to read (or not) in high school. When she was in high school, people told her she was a “fast reader,” and that was a bad thing for her, because she often read too quickly and missed the details. There are a lot of books she likes better now that she slowed down when reading, like “The Great Gatsby,” which she has probably read ten times at this point, each year when she teaches it. She is proud of the fact that she has the stamina for long books, but is more likely to carry around something that is 200 pages or less in her backpack.

One of the great sadnesses of her school year is that she uses so much of her brain to read and respond to student work that she has limited capacity to read on her own. She also recently discovered that she is old enough to have read books and COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN what they are about. Take, for example, the novel “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut. She is certain she read it as a teen, but a student asked her about the plot recently and she couldn’t remember a thing. She is a little bit worried that this represents the rest of her life: forgetting things and having to go back to them.

One of her great joys of the school year is when she gets to read alongside her students in class. Her plan is to re-read “Cat’s Cradle” as soon as she finishes “Bone” by Fae Myenne Ng. The hardest time for her to read is on a plane or train. She always tells herself that she will, but she’d much rather listen to music and look out the window. She is a little bit ashamed of the fact that she never reads in German anymore, although she can. Never enough time!

Gold-digger

Posted by Sopheary Sok in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on

Characters in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew were not discreet with their motivations to gain wealth through marriage. Money was the top priority for Petruchio’s marriage, as it was for Baptista when he was choosing the suitor promising the biggest dowry for his daughter. Fast forward over 400 years later, people like Petruchio would be considered as a “gold digger”, an offensive term for those who form a relationship with someone purely to extract money from them. The play reflects how Petruchio’s intentions were an ordinary occurrence in Shakespeare’s time. The 2011 movie "Just Go With It" is a good example of a modern film that illustrates how much times have changed. Its protagonist, Dr. Danny Maccabee, was heartbroken to find out on his wedding day that his bride has been cheating on him and is only marrying him for the comfortable lifestyle he will provide her from his fruitful occupation as a cardiologist. Marrying for someone's wealth was widely accepted then regardless of romance. The difference in these stories shows how attitudes about marriage have evolved over the centuries. "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily then happily in Padua" -Petruchio (Act 1, Scene 2, 76-77) Petruchio travels to Padua in search of a rich wife. His friend Hortensio tells him about Katherine, the elder sister to Bianca, whom Hortensio was trying to woo at the time, and daughter to affluent Baptista. Baptista has a strict rule that Katherine must wed before Bianca. The problem is that no man dares to be near Katherine because of her foul mouth and bad temper. Petruchio dismisses Hortensio’s warnings about Katherine’s fiery nature and then declares that he will wed her no matter what as long as she is rich enough to be his spouse. Hortensio assures Petruchio of her family’s wealth and gives Petruchio his full support. Petruchio then immediately goes to meet Baptista to ask him for Katherine’s hand in marriage and to discuss what Petruchio will get out of the marriage in terms of the dowry. The fact that Petruchio never received anything but support for his intentions in marrying to increase wealth shows that his motive was nothing to be ashamed of at the time. Petruchio’s openness about it towards everyone including Baptista hinted that tying the knot for prosperity was more than accepted, it was approved. It’s a good thing Petruchio wasn’t born in the 21st century because no one would want to marry him. This is illustrated in the movie Just Go With It when Danny called off his wedding after overhearing his fiancé admit to cheating on him and marrying him for his money. Here is Danny’s cousin’s and Danny’s (from left to right) shocked expression when they overheard the conversation. Poor Danny is seen shedding a tear to find out that his fiancé, Veruca, doesn’t actually love him. Veruca can be heard expressing her annoyance over his family and saying to her bridesmaids, “Danny is so sweet and considerate, and he’s gonna be a cardiologist, so I’m marrying him… aand that zucchini on his face.” According to the Merritt Hawkins data, cardiologists are guaranteed an average base salary of $512,000. Veruca is well aware that she will be financially stable with Danny and that is enough for her to overlook his gigantic nose, deal with his annoying family, and end her affair (probably). Danny’s cousin was just as shocked as Danny was and he can be heard saying, “Gosh, I’m so sorry!” (Sorry that the girl his cousin loves turned out to be a shallow gold-digger.) His reaction is unlike the reactions Petruchio received when he told everyone why he wanted to marry Katherine. No one felt sorry for Katherine because Petruchio had a perfectly valid reason to tie the knot. And unlike Petruchio, Veruca kept her intentions a secret between her and her friends. She knew that Danny loved her and she pretended to feel the same way because in modern times, people marry for love. "I must confess your offer is the best, / And, let your father make her assurance, / She is your own;" - Baptista (Act 2, Scene 1, 408-410) Switching back to Taming of the Shrew, Baptista basically auctioned off his younger daughter, Bianca, to the highest bidder. Unlike Katherine, Bianca is sweet and desired by many. Two suitors, Lucentio (who isn’t really Lucentio, but that’s besides the point), and Gremio went back and forth about all of the lands, properties, and money they could offer for the hand of Bianca. When it was clear that Lucentio had more to give, Baptista agreed to hand Bianca over to him as soon as Lucentio can assure that his inheritance will fall onto Bianca in the case that Lucentio passed before his father. It would only make sense for the richest man to be chosen by Baptista because marriage was all about materialistic gain in Shakespeare’s time. The other characters were conscious of that as well which is why Gremio was able to admit his defeat knowing he wasn’t as rich as Lucentio and why the bidding happened in the first place. People wedded to increase wealth and it was as simple as that. Nowadays, people seek something far less tangible in a relationship: love. For Danny, that was all he ever wanted, but as mentioned, his first experience at love was a complete lie. In the movie’s happy ending, Danny finally marries the woman he loves who loves him just as much for who he is and not for his money. In the scene displayed, the couple confess their love for one another. Moments before their reconciliation, Danny had just called off a second wedding with a hot, blonde 23-year-old because he realized that the one he’s loved all along was his best friend, personal assistant, and a divorced mother of two. The bulk of the movie covers the journey of how the two realized their feelings for each other. That and the happy ending where Danny marries the love of his life shows how romantic love is a necessity for marriage in modern times. Just Go With It makes that clear as its protagonist calls off two whole weddings because it wasn’t love. The film even bashes gold-diggers like Petruchio (poor Veruca). The play and the film was created centuries apart, so it’s no wonder that they feature contrasting attitudes towards the concept of marriage. Taming of the Shrew showed us that people sought financial benefits through marriage. Just Go With It accurately demonstrates how people seek romantic love before marriage nowadays. These portrayals overall show us that society’s attitudes towards courtship/dating change in trend with our values.

​     Characters in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew were not discreet with their motivations to gain wealth through marriage. Money was the top priority for Petruchio’s marriage, as it was for Baptista when he was choosing the suitor promising the biggest dowry for his daughter. Fast forward over 400 years later, people like Petruchio would be considered as a “gold digger”, an offensive term for those who form a relationship with someone purely to extract money from them. The play reflects how Petruchio’s intentions were an ordinary occurrence in Shakespeare’s time. The 2011 movie "Just Go With It" is a good example of a modern film that illustrates how much times have changed. Its protagonist, Dr. Danny Maccabee, was heartbroken to find out on his wedding day that his bride has been cheating on him and is only marrying him for the comfortable lifestyle he will provide her from his fruitful occupation as a cardiologist. Marrying for someone's wealth was widely accepted then regardless of romance. The difference in these stories shows how attitudes about marriage have evolved over the centuries. 

"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily then happily in Padua" -Petruchio
 
(Act 1, Scene 2, 76-77)

     Petruchio travels to Padua in search of a rich wife. His friend Hortensio tells him about Katherine, the elder sister to Bianca, whom Hortensio was trying to woo at the time, and daughter to affluent Baptista. Baptista has a strict rule that Katherine must wed before Bianca. The problem is that no man dares to be near Katherine because of her foul mouth and bad temper. Petruchio dismisses Hortensio’s warnings about Katherine’s fiery nature and then declares that he will wed her no matter what as long as she is rich enough to be his spouse. Hortensio assures Petruchio of her family’s wealth and gives Petruchio his full support. Petruchio then immediately goes to meet Baptista to ask him for Katherine’s hand in marriage and to discuss what Petruchio will get out of the marriage in terms of the dowry. The fact that Petruchio never received anything but support for his intentions in marrying to increase wealth shows that his motive was nothing to be ashamed of at the time. Petruchio’s openness about it towards everyone including Baptista hinted that tying the knot for prosperity was more than accepted, it was approved. It’s a good thing Petruchio wasn’t born in the 21st century because no one would want to marry him. This is illustrated in the movie Just Go With It when Danny called off his wedding after overhearing his fiancé admit to cheating on him and marrying him for his money.
 
     Here is Danny’s cousin’s and Danny’s (from left to right) shocked expression when they overheard the conversation. Poor Danny is seen shedding a tear to find out that his fiancé, Veruca, doesn’t actually love him. Veruca can be heard expressing her annoyance over his family and saying to her bridesmaids, “Danny is so sweet and considerate, and he’s gonna be a cardiologist, so I’m marrying him… aand that zucchini on his face.” According to the Merritt Hawkins data, cardiologists are guaranteed an average base salary of $512,000. Veruca is well aware that she will be financially stable with Danny and that is enough for her to overlook his gigantic nose, deal with his annoying family, and end her affair (probably). Danny’s cousin was just as shocked as Danny was and he can be heard saying, “Gosh, I’m so sorry!” (Sorry that the girl his cousin loves turned out to be a shallow gold-digger.) His reaction is unlike the reactions Petruchio received when he told everyone why he wanted to marry Katherine. No one felt sorry for Katherine because Petruchio had a perfectly valid reason to tie the knot. And unlike Petruchio, Katherine kept her intentions a secret between her and her friends. She knew that Danny loved her and she pretended to feel the same way because in modern times, people marry for love. 

"I must confess your offer is the best, / And, let your father make her assurance, / She is your own;" - Baptista
 
(Act 2, Scene 1, 408-410)
 
     Switching back to Taming of the Shrew, Baptista basically auctioned off his younger daughter, Bianca, to the highest bidder. Unlike Katherine, Bianca is sweet and desired by many. Two suitors, Lucentio (who isn’t really Lucentio, but that’s besides the point), and Gremio went back and forth about all of the lands, properties, and money they could offer for the hand of Bianca. When it was clear that Lucentio had more to give, Baptista agreed to hand Bianca over to him as soon as Lucentio can assure that his inheritance will fall onto Bianca in the case that Lucentio passed before his father. It would only make sense for the richest man to be chosen by Baptista because marriage was all about materialistic gain in Shakespeare’s time. The other characters were conscious of that as well which is why Gremio was able to admit his defeat knowing he wasn’t as rich as Lucentio and why the bidding happened in the first place. People wedded to increase wealth and it was as simple as that. 


     Nowadays, people seek something far less tangible in a relationship: love. For Danny, that was all he ever wanted, but as mentioned, his first experience at love was a complete lie. In the movie’s happy ending, Danny finally marries the woman he loves who loves him just as much for who he is and not for his money. In the scene displayed, the couple confess their love for one another. Moments before their reconciliation, Danny had just called off a second wedding with a hot, blonde 23-year-old because he realized that the one he’s loved all along was his best friend, personal assistant, and a divorced mother of two. The bulk of the movie covers the journey of how the two realized their feelings for each other. That and the happy ending where Danny marries the love of his life shows how romantic love is a necessity for marriage in modern times. Just Go With It makes that clear as its protagonist calls off two whole weddings because it wasn’t love. The film even bashes gold-diggers like Petruchio (poor Veruca). 

The play and the film was created centuries apart, so it’s no wonder that they feature contrasting attitudes towards the concept of marriage. Taming of the Shrew showed us that people sought financial benefits through marriage. Just Go With It accurately demonstrates how people seek romantic love before marriage nowadays. These portrayals overall show us that society’s attitudes towards courtship/dating change in trend with our values.

The Power of Obscenity in Hip Hop

Posted by Mohamed Bah in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on

“Hip Hop has done more damage to African Americans than racism in recent years.” - Geraldo Rivera, FOX News


What does rap music tend to be about? First thing that comes to a person’s mind: sex, money, murder, women, drugs, and anything illegal you can think of. But, what’s ignored is the content which surrounds the swears and inappropriate deeds. Tupac said it best. In a 1994 BET interview on the topic of black on black violence, Shakur spoke of scenarios in which young black men are situated in the ghettos of America, “It’s not that he wants to kill. He does not want to die”. It’s this desperation that the media construes to people that is left unheard.The importance of vulgarity is the immense power it carries. Unfortunately, this is something  The impact of these dangerous words and things hit harder than anything else, and that’s exactly what they’re putting out there.

In Dead Man’s Tetris by Flying Lotus, Snoop Dogg says “could’ve been the drink, might have been the smoke, in light of all that he was considered dope”. The usage of contraband in this sense is speaking of a man who is no longer alive, either from alcohol poisoning or drug overdose. Regardless, in the end, he was “considered dope,” which has multiple meanings. Dope is a (usually derogatory) term to refer to relatively strong drugs. This puts on the assumption that all this man was remembered for was doing drugs. Dope could also refer to his intelligence, not only because he is dead, but because of the situation in which led to his death was all his own. Drugs destroyed him. Dope could also mean he was remembered well by his people for doing these “dope” things. This meaning highlights this trend of fear in black communities. Thug behavior is embraced because the guys who do what the dead man did are afraid. They’re afraid that their actions have consequences, so they relish in the fact he went out in this way. It’s dope to run away, and regardless of how it may seem at first, this is lighting substance abuse in a negative light. It’s not the first song to hit this note.

Kendrick Lamar rocked the charts a few years ago with his hit single “Swimming Pools (Drank)” The hook of the song glorifies drinking with catchy lines like “I got a swimming pool full of liquor and they dive in it”. From the chorus, Lamar sets off a song with the anthem of the glorification of alcoholism, but indeed proves the opposite. The song takes place at a party Lamar’s at in his teenhood. There is so much alcohol it overwhelms him. If he drinks anymore (which is apparently “only 2 or 3 shots”) he thinks he’ll “drown in the poison”. Already the song explains through its verses and marketing that it’s all about facades. Kendrick, wanting to impress his friends and party-goers, pretends to want to get intoxicated, but actually doesn’t, much like the song’s presentation. This is reaffirmed with the next line, where Kendrick says “I think that I’m feelin’ the vibe”, referring to the party through alcohol. The key word is “think” which highlights the theme of uncertainty this song associates with drinking, not even close to encouraging it.

To be more recent, Future’s recent “Mask Off” is something most old white people want to avoid. Immediately, they are met with the obnoxious barraging of unintelligible lyricism and vulgarity. Less than half of the song are unique words, with the most prominent noun used on the track being “percocets”, a hard drug. But within these words most interestingly is the line “chase a check, never chase a bitch”. Simplicity aside, the meaning of this line is to go after money and quantifiable things over the subjective. Things like love and a woman are no match to a lot of money and a lot of women. Future teaches his audience how to count, and his blunt, but telling vocabulary shows the other side to the melancholy of black culture, accepting it as it is and the importance of having more. The simplicity is accepting all of these drugs and violence in the world these rappers grew up in.

  In conclusion, it is to be known that point of the so called “bad influences” that rap adorns are just seen through the wrong lens. The place these rappers came from, their experiences living in poverty, in gang fights, substance use, and racism should not be viewed under a lens of the protective quality, but one seeing strength, impact, and reflectiveness.


“I’m not on the outside looking in, I’m not on the inside looking out; I’m in the dead fucking center, looking around.” - Kendrick Lamar, “Ab-Soul’s Outro”


Works Cited

“FUTURE - Mask Off Lyrics.” Directlyrics,www.directlyrics.com/future-mask-off-lyrics.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.

Flying Lotus. “Dead Man's Tetris Lyrics.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/flyinglotus/deadmanstetris.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.

Kendrick Lamar. “Ab-Soul's Outro.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/absoulsoutro.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.

Kendrick Lamar. “Swimming Pools Lyrics.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/swimmingpoolsdrank.html.Accessed 13 May 2017.

BETNetworks. “Tupac Shakur: ‘God Has Cursed Me To See What Life Should Be Like.’” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Sept. 2016,www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIl3k9C7HGo. Accessed 13 May 2017.

HuffPostLive. “Geraldo Rivera: Hip-Hop Has Done More Damage To Black People Than Racism.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Feb. 2015,www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqES8vQE-ZA. Accessed 13 May 2017.


This is my best 2fer because I'm very passionate about it, much like my other one. It has more of an argumentative tone, but does not slip into the personal. It hits harder. I like it. 


Strength Through Pain

Posted by J'Lynn Matthews in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on

When a person is growing, there are numerous events that they will go through. Some will bring happy memories that they will love, whilst some will bring sad, terrible, painful memories. Even though these painful memories will be hated because of the pain that is associated with them, they are truly needed. A life lived with only happiness will not reap the same result as that lived with constant pain. This is because, one cannot successfully become stronger without experiencing some form of pain.

There are numerous sayings, such as; “No pain, no gain”, “We only learn things the hard way”, and “From adversary comes strength”, that support this ideology. These sayings tie to a phenomenon known as post traumatic growth. Post traumatic growth was originally coined by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun. Calhoun and Tedeschi interviewed numerous people that had gone through life changing events such as bereavement, housefires, serious illness, and becoming refugees. The interviews showed that by experiencing these horrific events, people gained what Tedeschi and Calhoun called “Positive life changes”. The people who were surveyed discovered skills they never knew they possessed, gained a new inner strength, and among other things became appreciative of life.

Another psychologist named Judith Neal, did a study with 40 people who went through post traumatic growth. Most of them stated that they initially had experienced “a dark night of the soul” where their values were questioned and life seemed to have no meaning. This caused them to go through a phase of spiritual searching where they tried to understand what they went through and find new values. Then they went through a stage that Neal called spiritual integration. In this stage they applied the new principles to their life and found a gratitude for being alive and for experiencing such an event. For the people that Neal surveyed it can be concluded that suffering had brought them to a new and stronger place in life. The surveyed people may have lost everything physically and internally (based on the questioning of the principles), but among their newly gained principles, they had also gained a new mental strength to face such traumatic events and persevere through them.

From a physical perspective, pain also makes a person stronger. This is most evident in cases such as that of the Shaolin monks. These monks are notorious for their practices that involve striking others with steel poles, receiving numerous kick to the groin, and essentially inflicting pain upon oneself. The monks conduct these activities because they believe that it strengthens the body part that is being hit, and scientifically they are right. Gradually the pain that is being inflicted gets stronger and stronger. Once a person’s body gets used to one level of pain the next level is brought. This process takes numerous years to occur and has resulted in monks being able to do things such as bending steel with their necks and being able to withstand a hit to the groin as if nothing has happened. This just goes to show of how pain can strengthen people.

Normally when someone hears the word pain, negative thoughts are the only ones that seem to arise. People fail to note that pain, and negativity in general, can bring strength. Traumatic events can cause one to reach new levels that they have never presumed possible. The process may not seem easy and may not be fun, but the rewards that will be reaped will be great.


Work Cited

Leknes, Siri, and Brock Bastian. "The Benefits of Pain." SpringerLink. Springer Netherlands, 01 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 May 2017.

Taylor, Steve. "Can Suffering Make Us Stronger?" Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 04 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 May 2017.

"The iron crotch exercise (铁裆功)." Braineggs. N.p., 10 Apr. 2016. Web. 13 May 2017.


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