Julia's Justifications

While others might say the practice of eminent domain is beneficial and positive, they most likely are not thinking of those who it affects.   It does, however, gives us national parks, but those don’t really include people.   There really weren’t people there in the first place so of course the government will say it’s beneficial.   I’m not going to lie; Yosemite and Yellowstone are beautiful, and I’ve personally been there before.   But my opinion would not be the same if I went through an area where human beings are concerned and aren’t necessarily in favor of the decision of them having to leave their homes. Now let’s say you notice a sign that went up recently in Troy. It says: “Casino coming soon to you!”   You think to yourself, “oh that’s cool.”   Most likely the thought of innocent less-fortunate families having to leave their homes because the government wants their property to themselves didn’t even hit your mind.   The government wan...

Everyone should possess the right to own a home wherever one wants, regardless of cultural or racial factors.   It is also the government’s obligation to ensure that everyone has access to basic human needs.   Housing must be a basic human right.   Everyone should at least be able to have an affordable place to live, where they have access to food, clothing, and medical care.   The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to a standard of living for the health and well being of himself and his family.”   When I was younger, my family went often drive us to Ann Arbor to see our grandparents.   On the way, we drove through Detroit and I would see lots of people in the streets without proper clothing for the season and with signs that indicated they were homeless and without food/money.   Now, once I have grown up more and became more educated on the matter that every person truly has the human right to obtain a home, regard...

When we viewed “Black Jeopardy” from SNL, it occurred to me that I have seen almost all of them before.   It didn’t come to me at the time that those sketches were satire.   I mean, I didn’t even know what satire even was back then.   I thought maybe it’s more about the divisions between the two communities and the stereotypes than the humor itself. I decided to watch a different sketch of “Black Jeopardy,” because I was curious about the differences in a video that did not have all black contestants on the show.   I clicked on the one with Tom Hanks, who was wearing a “make America great again” hat and a bald eagle shirt, who was named Doug.   When I first watched it, I wondered how the atmosphere would end up being on account of Trump, and the fact that SNL would hate to miss an opportunity to make fun of him.   However, when Doug answered some questions correctly, the host was pleasantly surprised.   When the question comes up of a fingerpri...

While I was reading “Will the real Nick Carraway please come out?” (which I found funny since it sounded exactly like Eminem’s “Slim Shady”) I found quite interesting how the writer included details that I didn’t even notice could be evidence of Nick being homosexual, and other characters being in that community.   For example, the two girls that “looked alike, talked alike, and dressed alike” were lesbians.   When I first read that passage, I didn’t even think that that was the case.   Nick’s way of characterizing and describing certain males in the novel is what makes it ambiguous.   At the in Tom and Myrtle’s apartment, when Nick and McKee meet, it’s clear he may be gay. They were in bed together, so it’s possible something sexual had occurred.   He referred to McKee as “a pale, feminine man” and “shrill, languid, handsome, and horrible”.   He characterizes McKee in a feminine sense, and his wife in a more masculine sense, which he does with females th...

In chapter 4, we see even with all of Gatsby’s wealth, he is depressed, and didn’t really have much of a will to live after his family died.   “He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor” (Fitzgerald 78).   Gatsby’s life is so empty that he uses his wealth and mansion to feel somewhat satisfied. When we look at celebrities and those with wealth, we wholeheartedly believe that their lives are perfect.   It doesn’t occur to us at all that they could be depressed or be struggling with anxiety.   The saying “money isn’t everything” comes to mind.   Even though one may seem that they have everything to make them happy, we don’t realize that perhaps wealth could be the reason that is hindering their happiness.   Gatsby’s wealth did not fix him, but Daisy did—he found some will to live in her.   Considering celebrities and mental illness, I believe we should try to remove that stigma that they are not people and e...

Everything we ever did was for him.   While we were robbed of our girlhoods, everything was gifted to him on a silver platter.   Our lives revolved around him, constantly.   When he was tired, we made his bed.   When he was hungry, we cooked for him.   When he was bored, we entertained him.   And what do we get in return for our constant beck and call? Nothing.   We get nothing.   She is the most educated out of all of us, but she cannot work because of him.   We make fake flowers for a living.   She obtained a job as a maid in order to escape from them.   She met a man and secretly held a relationship with him, but it was all destroyed because of him.   It was the only thing that allowed her to escape but men like him destroyed her freedom.   We kept it locked inside for too long, and now we revolt.   He barely remembered that day; the most important one.   The day I found the twig with the maple leaf...

“After you peed on me, I wanted to kill you” (Morrison 213).   At the end of chapter 9, Lena is talking to Milkman about how he has peed all over his family.   Now, Milkman is quite drunk, so he does not truly understand what Lena is getting at, but she tells him the story of when she took him to the woods, and he peed on her.   Lena explains to Milkman that he was born with all his needs catered at his every whim and that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.   Their entire life, their worlds revolved around Milkman’s.   Lena states that, “As surely as my name is Magdalene, you are the line I will step across” (Morrison 214).   She means that she is finally standing her ground and is physically and mentally exhausted of carrying this weight on her back.   For everything that his mother and sisters have done for him he has peed on them in return.   “When you slept, we were quiet; when you were hungry, we cooked…” (Morrison 215).   ...