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Wagner College Forum for
Undergraduate Research
Spring 2011
Volume IX, Number 2
Wagner College Press
Staten Island, New York City
��EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
The Wagner Forum for Undergraduate Research is an interdisciplinary journal which
provides an arena where students can publish their research. Papers are reviewed with
respect to their intellectual merit and scope of contribution to a given field. The journal is
typically subdivided into three sections to enhance readability.
This issue is a special edition devoted entirely to the First Year Program. All papers are
representative of work performed in the 2010 Freshman Learning Communities and
Honors Seminars. They show the enthusiasm of our students and the effectiveness of
connecting courses around a central theme. This interdisciplinary approach combined
with fieldwork prepares students to address real world issues and greatly enhances their
educational experience.
Read on and enjoy!
Gregory J. Falabella, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Board
Dr. Miles Groth, Psychology
Dr. Jean Halley, Sociology
Prof. Andy Needle, Art
Dr. Peter Sharpe, English
Dr. Donald E. Stearns, Biological Sciences
Prof. Patricia Tooker, Nursing
Dr. Lori Weintrob, History
Dr. Margarita Sánchez
��Table of Contents
1
Whose Life, Whose Choice? - Doctor and Patient Relations
Christina Parello
8
Martin Luther King and the Shadow Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement
Stephen Galazzo
14 Heterosexual Male Transvestites in America
Lauren M. Wagner
21 Lightness and Weight Paradox in The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by Milan Kundera
Radislav Meylikh
28 The Port Richmond Farmers’ Market Proposal
Andrew Burt
40 A Home Run for Civil Rights
Matt Cangro
47 The Moral Obligation to People in a Learning Environment
Julia Zenker
54 The Punishments of The Bacchaeans
Caroline Geling
60 The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Nothingness: Utilizing the Philosophy of
Jean-Paul Sartre to Better Understand Kundera’s Novel
Zachary Weinsteiger
66 Here, There, and Everywhere
Morgan Grubbs
70 Dissident Voices Against the Injustices of the School Experience
of the LGBT Community
Elle Brigida
79 Extracting the Spider Webs of a Subway Lost in History
Klevi Tomcini
95 The Effects of Hubris
Brenna Dean
��Whose Life, Whose Choice? - Doctor and Patient Relations
Christina Parello1
In the world of medicine and patient care, many controversial and challenging
situations often arise that concern themselves with doctor and patient relations. One issue
that has been debated and discussed for decades with no conclusion or end in sight is that
of physician assisted dying. Each person who is questioned about the moral aspects
surrounding this topic has a different opinion. Because physician-assisted dying is
usually separated into the three different types (active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, and
assisted suicide), this issue gives rise to more problems and challenges than meets the
eye. Most doctors are opposed to euthanasia because they see it as going against the
main goal of their profession and what the Hippocratic Oath calls upon them to live by.
On the other hand, patients living with terminal illnesses or excruciating pain may request
death because they believe their life is no longer worth living. However, the biggest
dilemma that stems from this issue is the question of who can ultimately make the
decisions concerning the lives of patients, the doctors or the patients themselves? Is it
permissible for doctors to deny their patients their one last wish because of the
physician’s own moral beliefs and medical knowledge?
Many works of literature are centered on this issue of euthanasia, but none
attempt to answer this question quite like the play entitled Whose Life is it Anyway?. The
author, Brian Clark, divulges his answer in the plot line and conclusion of this play. He
presents the point of view of the patient in the character of Ken Harrison, the traditional
view of the physician opposed to euthanasia in the character of Dr. Emerson, and the
view of the sympathetic doctor in that of Dr. Scott. Through the course of the story the
readers are able to take all these clashing beliefs and decide for themselves whose side
they are truly on. With the ending of the play, Clark makes it apparent that he agrees
with Ken, Dr. Scott, and Judge Millhouse in believing that the ultimate decision should
be left in the hands of the patient.
Ken Harrison was paralyzed from the neck down after a horrific car accident six
months prior to the setting of the story. Before this event, Ken was a celebrated sculptor,
engaged to be married to the love of his life, and living happily and successfully.
1
Written under the direction of Dr. John Danisi (Philosophy) for LC 9: Minds, Machines,
and Human Beings.
1
�However, in losing the use of such a large percentage of his body, Ken also lost this life
and everything that made him who he was as a person. Upon realizing that his life would
never be the same, Ken also realized that he would never truly be happy again. He would
never be able to make love with his future wife; he would never be able to have a family
with her; and, probably the worst thing yet, he would never be able to sculpt again. To
Ken, sculpting was everything, his livelihood and personhood revolved around
expressing his ideas and thoughts through his hands.
The play begins with a dialogue between Ken Harrison and his nurses, through
which one immediately recognizes Ken as being a very flirtatious and unreserved man
who says anything that comes into his head. With a number of Ken’s lines in the play,
the reader not only immediately picks up on the unique personality of this character but
also realizes how much his accident and his current position are affecting him: “Ken:
Hello, I was just practicing lying here” and “Dr. Emerson: How are you this morning?
/Ken: As you see, racing around all over the place” (Clark, 15). With these quotes, it is
apparent that Ken handles his situation with humor and sarcasm, but it is obvious that he
is truly beginning to realize the gravity of his situation. Indeed, he is depressed and
admits it.
Having been a patient at the hospital for such an extended period of time, Ken is
very friendly with many of the nurses, doctors, and other workers there. However, he
does not seem to get along with his primary physician, Doctor Emerson; they both have
different views on the way in which Mr. Harrison’s bodily condition should be dealt with
and who should make the decisions concerning his treatment. Dr. Emerson says to Dr.
Scott: “Dr Emerson: No Clare, a doctor cannot accept the choice for death; he’s
committed to life. I haven’t the time for doubts. I get in there; do whatever I can to save
life. I’m a doctor, not a judge” (51). Here we see the high standards Dr. Emerson lives by
and the ways in which he believes he is supposed to act as a doctor.
Believing that it is his duty to protect the life of his patients at all costs, Dr.
Emerson goes as far as forcefully injecting Ken with Valium, despite his objections:
“Ken: Don’t stick that damn thing in me! /Dr. Emerson: There… It’s over now. /Ken:
Doctor, I didn’t give you permission to stick that needle in me. Why did you do it? /Dr.
Emerson: It was necessary…” (27). From this excerpt, it is obvious that Dr. Emerson is
the type of physician who would go to any length in order to do what he believes to be
the right thing for his patients, regardless of their requests, wishes, and rights. He
believes in following the Hippocratic oath to a tee and saving lives no matter what the
circumstances may be.
However, Ken holds a completely opposite view. Having been lying completely
2
�paralyzed in the same hospital, room, and bed for over six months, he comes to the
conclusion that he no longer desires to live the rest of his life in this way. He believes
that his life is over, that he is already dead, and that, as time went on, staying as he is
would drive him into a deeper depression and could only lead to increased misery.
Ken: Of course I want to live but as far as I am concerned, I’m dead already. I
merely require the doctors to recognize the fact… Look at me here. I can do
nothing, not even the basic primitive functions. I cannot even urinate; I have a
permanent catheter attached to me. Only my brain functions unimpaired but
even that is futile because I can’t act on any conclusions it comes to” (78 and
79).
For these reasons, and some others, Ken Harrison decides he wants to be discharged from
the hospital, an action that would bring about his death. This decision brought to light the
question of whether or not it is morally acceptable for the hospital, and the doctors in it,
to grant Ken his wish.
In this situation one must remember two very important facts: every person has
a right to bodily self-determination and every patient is also a person—a person with
rights. These facts are what Ken believes doctors do not understand, and they are the
reasons for his animosity toward Dr. Emerson. Ken also believes that all health
professionals carry a certain view that leads them to overlook their patients as human
beings. While talking to one of his nurses, Ken describes that belief in more detail: “Ken:
Of course you have upset me. You and the doctors with your appalling so-called
professionalism, which is nothing more than a series of verbal tricks to prevent you
[from] relating to your patients as human beings.” With this comment, Ken makes clear
that the doctors and others in the hospital cannot see him as a person, but rather only look
upon him as their work and a patient under their control.
What Ken Harrison calls the “so- called professionalism” of those around
him can also be called the on-looker or detached point of view (Danisi). Because of the
nature of their work dealing with the patient’s body, many doctors and other healthcare
professionals work within this view in order to distance themselves from the sick or
dying patients they are faced with every day.
Mrs. Boyle: You’re very upset. /Ken: Christ Almighty, you’re doing it again.
Listen to yourself woman. I say something offensive about you and you turn
your professional cheek. If you were human if you were treating me as a human
you’d tell me to bugger off. Can’t you see that this is why I’ve decided that life
isn’t worth living? I am not human and I’m even more convinced of that by your
visit than I was before, so how does that grab you? The very exercise of your so-
3
�called professionalism makes me want to die (34).
With this excerpt, and in the circumstances found in the plot line of this play, it is
apparent that Mrs. Boyle, a medical social worker, does not view Ken in the same light as
she would a healthy, mobile person. Ken’s world and self has been covered up in the
mind of this woman, who does not find a need to consider the life Ken once lived.
According to Ken, all healthcare professionals do not strive to look past the “body” and
consider the human characteristics of the patient, but rather find it easier to view them as
nothing more than their patients. They forget the autonomy, personality, individuality,
hopes, dreams, and thoughts of each of their patients; and, as such, they make their
patients seem less like themselves (Danisi). These professionals see Ken’s personhood
confined to his body, and not in those things and people that make him who he is.
This detached way of caring for one’s patients is also apparent in the way Dr.
Scott, another doctor working on Ken Harrison’s case, handles herself when in Ken’s
presence. Ken realized that Dr. Scott never feels uncomfortable leaning over him or
touching him in any way, and confronts her about this to make his point. “Ken: I watch
you walking in the room, bending over me, tucking in your sweater. It’s surprising how
relaxed a woman can become when she is not in the presence of a man” (38). In bringing
this up, Ken attempts to show to Dr. Scott that he may not be able to act on his thoughts,
but that these thoughts still flash through his mind: “Ken: You haven’t provoked me as
you put it, but you are a woman and even though I’ve only a piece of knotted string
between my legs, I still have a man’s mind” (38). Ken is not the same man he used to be,
but nevertheless, he still has a man’s mind.
The main reason for Ken’s personhood being overlooked by the medical
community is the existing relationship between the patient and his doctors, a relationship
that can be viewed as one between unequals. What the doctors see in their patients is
seriously ill beings overcome by symptoms and diseases that need to be cured. Because
of their vast knowledge with this type of information, physicians do not take patient
opinion into consideration and believe their ideas and intelligence is key. This power
relationship revolves around the healthy and knowledgeable person presiding over that of
the diseased and ill, making physicians believe that their unilateral decisions are
necessary decisions to keep their patients alive.
The choices and decisions physicians make when dealing with their patients are
based on clinical practices and medical knowledge. They are objective decisions, whereas
the ones made by patients are subjective. These subjective decisions concern themselves
with deeper feelings and emotions, those “abstract things” that doctors many times
cannot see. Doctors don’t believe such things should be taken into account in diagnostic
4
�matters because they just hinder the care needed to keep patients alive. This is clearly
what happens in the mind of Dr. Emerson, and is displayed by the author in a dialogue
between Dr. Emerson and Dr. Scott.
Dr. Emerson: But in spite of two qualified opinions, you accept the decisions of
someone completely unqualified to make it. /Dr. Scott: He may be unqualified,
but he is the one affected. /Dr. Emerson: Ours was an objective, his a subjective
decision. /Dr. Scott: But isn’t this a case where a subjective decision may be
more valid? After all, you’re both working in the same subject- his body. Only
he knows more about how he feels. (24)
Dr. Scott is beginning to realize that they should not be going against Ken’s wishes
because it is his life and that it is his world that is being compromised. He is the one
living with this debilitating bodily condition, not the doctors. However, Dr. Emerson will
not consider anything other than what he believes and stays true to what he has always
followed: “Dr. Emerson: But he doesn’t know about the drugs and their effects. /Dr.
Scott: He can feel their effects directly. /Dr. Emerson: Makes no difference. His
knowledge isn’t based on experience of a hundred cases. He can’t know enough to
challenge our clinical decisions” (24).
The detached point of view cannot grasp Ken’s paralysis as a human reality and
how it pervades his life and world. The actions of physicians and other health
professionals are taught to adopt that point of view, which they have learned to follow
since they first started as students in medical school. What they do not seem to realize is
the fact that Ken’s personhood is not solely located in his body. His personhood consists
of his relationships, his interests, his career, his likes, his dislikes, the people cared and
loved, etc. The reality is that the paralysis is spread across his world and is not only
affecting his spinal cord. The physical ailment that he suffers from has a greater
influence on the intangible aspects of his life and his person. The reality of his paralysis
is what the physicians seem to overlook when dealing with him and other patients; they
concentrate only on those tangible things that they can perceive as licensed professionals
(Danisi).
Therefore, with this work of literature, one cannot simply look at the issue of
physician- assisted dying, but must turn to the relationship between doctors and patients.
The latter brings the question of the patient’s personhood into view. Doctors and
healthcare professionals have become accustomed to viewing those they are caring for
from the on-looker point of view, the professional view; and, as such, they diminish the
subjectivities of their patients. Ken Harrison sees that this is happening with his own
case and feels imprisoned by that view.
5
�More than anyone, Dr. Emerson does not understand that Ken views his life as
over and no longer wants to live as a paralyzed man who cannot take care of himself. In
losing the use of his body and its relationship to other people and things, Ken has lost his
life. He can no longer do those things that he had always dreamed of and made him
happy: marrying his fiancée, starting a family, and sculpting. Without these people and
things, and the fact that he cannot be with them as well as take care of himself, Ken
believes he is already dead.
However, Dr. Emerson does not take any of these things into account; he only
looks at Ken’s physical body when making the decisions to keep him alive. For this
reason, he denies Ken his wish to be discharged from the hospital. He says that it would
be against everything doctors work for if he allowed him to be discharged. Because he
refuses to view Ken as a person with a past, a person with feelings and rights, Dr.
Emerson does not believe Ken can make the decision to choose to die. Ken believes that
it is his life, and it is his privilege to make his own decisions: indeed, as a person he
possesses the right of bodily self-determination.
By way of the struggles between Ken and the doctors, this play explores the
great and disputed issue of doctor and patient relations from two different viewpoints:
that of the patient making the decisions concerning his own life and that of the doctor
wanting to uphold the Hippocratic Oath to save a human life. Seeing both sides of the
argument helps all to further understand Dr. Emerson’s and Ken Harrison’s views on the
issue. The reader learns why Ken feels his life is completed; she can sympathize with his
hardships knowing that living the rest of one’s life in a hospital bed is not satisfying
whatsoever. On the other hand, she can comprehend the doctor’s standpoint in wanting
nothing more than to live the Hippocratic Oath and to save his patient by doing
everything in his power to keep him alive.
However, the ultimate point to be made in this argument is that healthcare
professionals have a life of their own, and do not have the power to control the lives of
their patients. In Whose Life is it Anyway? that point is made obvious by Justice
Millhouse’s ruling at the conclusion of the play. Millhouse deemed Ken mentally
capable of choosing the path he wanted his future to follow, even though Ken’s choice to
be discharged would lead to a dead end. Millhouse states:
However, I am satisfied that Mr. Harrison is a brave and cool man who is in
complete control of his mental faculties and I shall therefore make an order for
him to be set free.
6
�In the end, Dr. Emerson has no authority over Ken, nor authority to overrule Justice
Millhouse’s decision. Dr. Emerson is forced to recognize Ken’s subjectivity and
autonomy as well as to grant Ken’s wish to be discharged.
Works Cited
Clark, Brian. Whose Life Is It Anyway? Woodstock, Illinois: Dramatic, 1979. Print.
Danisi, John. Class Lecture Notes – Medical Ethics, Fall Semester, 2010.
7
�Martin Luther King and the Shadow
Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement
Stephen Galazzo1
The name Martin Luther King, Jr. is synonymous with the civil rights
movement. It is almost impossible to decouple the man from the movement. When
Americans speak about the civil rights movement they invariably summon images of
massive demonstrations led by Dr. King. This universal image has been implanted in our
collective conscious so deeply that one would swear that the civil rights movement
sprang upon the American landscape fully formed in the early 1960’s. Nothing could be
further from the truth. The movement actually had very deep roots dating back as far as
the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Years before King ever entered the battle, poor
men and women taking great personal risks shaped the civil rights movement. The hero
worship that was directed at King infuriated some because they felt that many of Dr.
King's victories were the result of the hard work of those who had gone before him, and
those who fought in the trenches without the benefit of headlines and television cameras.
One of the shadow dwellers was Bayard Rustin. (Anderson, 262) Although he was one of
the principal architects of King's strategy of nonviolent protest and the main organizer of
the 1963 March on Washington his sexual, political, and religious orientation made it
impossible for him to assume a leadership position within the movement. Others, such as
Malcolm X were eager to challenge King’s leadership with opposing ideologies.
Malcolm X categorically rejected almost all of King’s principles from desegregation to
non-violent protest. Malcolm X himself said,
"The goal has always been the same, with the approaches to it as different as
mine and Dr. Martin Luther King's non-violent marching, that dramatizes the
brutality and the evil of the white man against defenseless blacks. And in the
racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the
"extremes" in approach to the black man's problems might personally meet a
fatal catastrophe first -- "non-violent" Dr. King, or so-called "violent" me."
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Lori Weintrob (History) and Dr. Stephen Preskill
(Education) for LC20 entitled From Violence to Nonviolence:The Quest for Justice.
8
�Despite an abundance of capable leaders, it was the charismatic King with his powerful
oratory skills, photogenic countenance, and dedication to non-violent protest that
emerged as the icon of the civil rights movement.
A number of historic moments in the civil rights struggle have been used to
illustrate why Martin Luther King, Jr. became the dominant force in the civil rights
movement. However, the most generally recognized is the Montgomery bus boycott in
1955. Rosa Parks triggered the Montgomery bus boycott when she refused to obey a
white bus driver who demanded she give up her seat to a white man. When police
arrested Parks for refusing to move, activist JoAnn Robinson, of the Women’s Political
Council, and E.D. Nixon, President of the local branch of the NAACP, persuaded a group
of black ministers to launch a bus boycott. (Metcalf ,274-277) The idea being that the
black people in Montgomery should refuse to use the buses until passengers were
completely integrated. Young Martin Luther King, who had recently become pastor at the
local Baptist Church, played a key role in organizing the boycott. King was joined by
other campaigners for civil rights, including Ralph David Abernathy and perhaps most
significantly, Bayard Rustin. Rustin appreciated the boycott's significance and King's
potential. (Cone, 76) He immediately traveled to Montgomery to meet King and offered
his assistance. (Emilio, 226)
Unlike King, Rustin was no novice when it came to organizing protests. On
April 9, 1947, Bayard Rustin and the Committee on Racial Equality (CORE) decided to
try to force the South to comply with the 1946 Supreme Court decision in Irene Morgan
v. Virginia. The ruling prohibited segregation as it related to interstate transportation.
(Cone, 40) Rustin, along with an integrated group of passengers, boarded buses in
protest; black protesters took the front seats and white protesters sat in the rear. The
protesters were arrested and jailed, and some were even sentenced to hard labor in chain
gangs. These actions, collectively called "The Journey of Reconciliation," provided a
blueprint for the Montgomery bus boycott as well as a model for the Freedom Riders of
the 1960’s.
During the Montgomery bus boycott, King was arrested and his house was
firebombed. Other leaders involved in the boycott also suffered from harassment and
intimidation, but the protest continued. For over a year, the black population of
Montgomery, Alabama walked to work or obtained rides via a meticulously coordinated
ride-sharing system. Eventually, lost revenue and a November 13, 1956 Supreme Court
ruling forced the Montgomery Bus Company to accept integration. The following month
the buses in Montgomery were desegregated.
9
�King was a quick study, and his success with the bus boycott encouraged him to
become more active in the civil rights movement. By 1957, Rustin had become one of
King’s key speechwriters and advisers. He urged King to capitalize on the boycott's
success by creating a new organization dedicated to advancing the cause of human rights
in the South through mass activism. Rustin drafted the founding documents of what
would become the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to fight
segregation and achieve civil rights. Although Rustin would have liked to administer the
SCLC or otherwise serve in an ongoing open basis, that possibility was precluded by his
homosexuality. More precisely, objections to his homosexuality and fears that scandal
would fall on King and the new organization prevented Rustin from being a more visible
force for change. Instead, Rustin generated publicity in positive ways. He was the ideal
organizer, he wrote speeches and pamphlets, organized car pools, ran effective meetings
and even composed songs about the movement
Confronting the ongoing sexual bias from within the movement was difficult for
Bayard Rustin. Although he suffered harsh discrimination because of his sexual
orientation, he continued to fight the biases during the Civil Rights Movement using what
he had learned from Gandhi. He fought back, peacefully. It was Rustin who advised
Martin Luther King, Jr. on Gandhian tactics.
When King began the Montgomery bus boycott, he had not personally
committed himself to the principles of non-violence. During the boycott, white violence
became increasingly focused on King personally and armed guards surrounded his home.
In an effort to protect himself and his family King had gone so far as to apply for a permit
to carry a gun. When Rustin nearly sat on a loaded gun that King also kept in his house,
Rustin quickly persuaded the boycott leaders to adopt complete nonviolence as a tactic.
Rustin advised King to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence.
In 1959, King went on a month long visit to India. Upon his return King wrote,
“I left India more convinced than ever before that nonviolent resistance is the most potent
weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.” From that point on
King embraced non-violence as a “total commitment” and a way of life. King came to
believe that nonviolence was love expressed politically, and that love was the most
powerful force in the world. Because many people believed that non-violence was the
same as doing nothing King repeatedly stressed the active dimensions of nonviolence.
Non-violence was only passive in that it refused to inflict physical harm on others.
Nonviolence was not a method for cowards. It could only be employed by people
unafraid to suffer for the cause of justice. Nonviolence resists evil but it refuses to
commit evil; it eliminates hate from the hearts of those who are committed to it. King
10
�was convinced that non-violence was the only way blacks would ever achieve justice in
America. Nonviolence bestows courage and self-respect to oppressed people who were
once consumed by fear and low self-esteem. Violence he claimed would only get black
people killed and give whites a justification for violent retaliation. Of course, it was much
easier to advocate nonviolence when there were concrete victories and few serious
challenges to its practice. One critic of both King and non-violence as a strategy who
himself became a powerful and influential leader was none other than Malcolm X.
During the 1960’s the issue of violence and nonviolence was hotly debated in
the African-American community. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X respectively
were the poster children for the debate. Too often, their respective views were reduced to
caricature with King’s supporters misrepresenting Malcolm X as the “messiah of hate.”
In turn, Malcolm X’s followers often referred to King as an Uncle Tom pacifist.
Malcolm X was infuriated when whites urged blacks to follow Martin Luther
King, embrace nonviolence, and reject violence in any form.(Metcalf, 335-336) Malcolm
could hardly contain his rage as he pointed out the contradictions between what whites
advised blacks to do and what they did themselves. He claimed that whites did not apply
to themselves the same moral logic they urged upon blacks. Malcolm regarded them as
the worst hypocrites on the planet. Malcolm did not advocate violence; he advocated selfdefense. He believed that the right of self-defense was essential if blacks were ever to get
their freedom in America. Malcolm saw nonviolence as an absurd philosophy, one that
whites would never adopt for themselves. He never understood why King embraced it.
How could blacks be regarded as human beings if they could not defend themselves?
Malcolm said, "Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend
himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks."
It is ironic that the Birmingham, Alabama campaign, considered by historians as
one of Martin Luther King’s greatest successes, was the perfect illustration of Malcolm‘s
criticism. In the spring of 1963, King and the SCLC planned a series of peaceful direct
action marches through the city of Birmingham. While King cautioned the demonstrators
to practice non-violence, he knew that "Bull" Connor, the head of the police, was a
notorious racist and a hothead to boot. King counted on Connor reacting with force
against the peaceful protestors thus bringing attention to the movement and forcing
federal intervention. King succeeded beyond his wildest expectation when Connor turned
police dogs and fire hoses on peacefully protesting children. The images of bleeding and
battered children were splashed across newspapers and televisions nationwide bringing
the sympathy of the nation to Birmingham. (Auerbach, 2)
11
�Encouraged by the success in Birmingham a massive March on Washington was
planned for the summer of 1963. Rustin one of the principal architects said, “credit for
organizing the March on Washington should go to "Bull Connor, his police dogs, and his
fire hoses." On August 28, 1963 250,000 people marched peacefully down Constitution
and Independence Avenues and stopped in front of the Lincoln Memorial for songs,
prayer, and speeches. The event was broadcast live to an audience of millions, and the
huge crowd was held spellbound as Martin Luther King stepped to the microphone to
deliver his incomparable “I Have a Dream" speech. (Cone, 113)
Far larger than previous demonstrations for any cause, the march became the high
point of the Civil Rights Movement. It had an obvious impact, on the passage of civil
rights legislation and on nationwide public opinion. President Kennedy was initially
against the march believing it would trigger violence and ultimately do more harm than
good. However, at the end of the day Kennedy met with all the organizers of the march
and proclaimed the march a great success.
Besides the SCLC, the older, more conservative NAACP and the NUL
sanctioned the march. In addition, white supporters such as labor leader Walter
Reuther and Jewish, Catholic, and Presbyterian officials attended. Also, in attendance
as an uninvited observer was Malcolm X. Following the march, Malcolm said that, in
terms of the excitement and degree of good feelings gained, he could not understand
why blacks were so excited about a demonstration “run by whites in front of a statue
of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he
was alive.”
Despite criticism of militants like Malcolm X, the March on Washington was a
major milestone in the fight for freedom and the biggest event of the civil rights
movement. The march was instrumental in gathering support for the Kennedy
Administration’s proposed civil rights bill. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated
before the bill was passed. Johnson, Kennedy’s vice president, was able to get the
legislation passed and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law. The March on
Washington helped to make this monumental legislation possible.
People recognized King as the symbolic icon of the civil rights movement because
of his extraordinary leadership abilities and great personal appeal. King was able to
successfully communicate his ideals in such a way that many other activists before him
could not. By sharing his ideologies with others through speeches and writings such as
“Letters from a Birmingham Jail” King’s powerful words and calming demeanor sparked
the collective conscience. Those who heard him were inspired to trust in King’s methods
to create reform through non-violent means. Despite many years worth of prior
12
�experience in social activism Bayard Rustin was not a universally appealing leader for
the civil rights movement. Ironically his religious, political, and sexual orientation would
prove a handicap in developing support for a movement based on equality. Rustin was
well aware that his personal choices would negatively impact the advancement of the
movement so he unselfishly stepped into the shadows and allowed King to emerge into
the spotlight. (Emilio, 226) Malcolm X was also an unsatisfactory candidate for the
leader of the movement. He was a very polarizing figure and was unable to bridge the
divide that existed through out the country. His philosophy was by its very nature
divisive and unlike King’s philosophy failed to garner wide spread support. All these
aspects allowed King to outshine his contemporaries and emerge as the embodiment of
civil rights in the 1960s.
Works Cited
Anderson, Jervis. Bayard Rustin. Troubles I've Seen: A Biography. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1998. Print.
Auerbach, Jerold S. “Means and Ends in the 1960s”, Society 42, No. 6
(September2005): 9-13.
Cone, James H. Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare. Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1991. Print.
Emilio, John. Lost prophet: The life and times of Bayard Rustin. Chicago: University Of
Chicago Press, 2004. Print.
Metcalf, George, R. Black Profiles. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York, 1968
13
�Heterosexual Male Transvestites in America
Lauren M. Wagner1
Transvestism is a commonly misunderstood behavior in the United States. Transvestism,
or cross-dressing, is the behavior in which a heterosexual man dresses as a woman for
brief periods of time, commonly for a feeling of sexual satisfaction. In the past,
transvestism was thought to be a psychological problem, but it is a behavior that a large
number of heterosexual men posses. This behavior is not widely accepted, mostly because
it is not fully understood. The act of cross-dressing is most frequently associated with
homosexuality and transgenderism, when in reality, it is a completely different behavior
and has no relation to those genders. There are two general reasons for why
heterosexual men may feel the desire to cross-dress; the feminine clothing is sexually
arousing to the man, or the man is aroused by the idea of being portrayed as a woman.
Because transvestism is so misunderstood, many men who cross-dress feel they do not fit
into their society and lead troublesome lives.
Each individual human being possesses his or her own unique personality and
set of behaviors. Many personality and behavioral traits may be found among a large
number of people. However, there are also behavioral traits that are seen as uncommon.
Although there may be a significant portion of the human population that takes part in a
specific behavior, the behavior may be viewed as strange or unusual. An example of a
commonly misunderstood behavior is transvestism. Transvestism can be defined as the
condition in which a person has the fetishism to cross-dress to confirm his or her belief of
being both feminine and masculine (Beatrice, 1985). More specifically, male crossdressing is a misunderstood behavior found amongst heterosexual men in the United
States. In the past, research studies were done, the continuous desire to repeatedly dress
up as the opposite sex was seen as a psychological disorder. However, transvestism is not
a disorder. Transvestism is a behavior that is largely misunderstood, and transvestites
often have a problematic time being accepted.
Transvestism is not fully accepted into society because it is not an understood
behavior. The confusion between gender and sex is the reason the act of cross-dressing is
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Steve Jenkins (Psychology) for LC16 entitled Mind,
Body and Culture.
14
�so difficult for people to understand (Garber, 1992). A transvestite, or cross-dresser, is
specifically referred to as a heterosexual man who persistently dresses in women’s
clothing (Blanchard, Racansky, & Steiner, 1986). Transvestism differs significantly from
other gender related terms, such as homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual (Prince, 2005).
Very few males that cross-dress are homosexual or bisexual. The majority of transvestites
are strictly heterosexual (Kholos, 1993). One of the many distinctions that a transvestite
has from being homosexual or bisexual is that cross-dressing actually interferes with sex
life (Garber, 1992). As a heterosexual man, dressing as a women does not attract the
heterosexual woman that the man desires. Therefore, transvestites eventually need to
“unmask” themselves, whereas a bisexual or homosexual would be attracting their
desired partner by cross-dressing (Garber, 1992). According to Prince (2005), many case
studies of cross-dressing frequently fail to show that transvestites desire to engage in any
sort of male-with-male sexual activity. However, people still tend to view transvestism as
“masked” or “latent” homosexuals, despite the fact that transvestites are fully aware that
they are heterosexual. Transvestism is characterized by the one simple wish to dress in
clothing of the opposite sex; it has no particular association with homosexuality, and does
not create a lasting desire to belong to the opposite sex (Gosselin, 1980).
Transvestites are most commonly confused with the transsexual. A transsexual
is a person who cross-dresses as the opposite sex, but lives as the other sex permanently
(Prince, 2005). Unlike transsexuals, a transvestite does not feel more natural as a woman
than a man, or vice versa (Gosselin, 1980). Transsexuals may or may not have gone
through operative stages, but they differ tremendously from transvestites for this reason.
Transvestites have no desire to change sex physicality (Gosselin, 1980). Prince (2005)
states that transsexuals are considered homosexual because they are attracted to the same
sex that they biologically are. A very important distinction between transsexuals and
transvestites is that transsexuals wish to have their genitalia changed, while transvestites
do not. According to Beatrice (1985), transvestites do not wish to have sex reassignment
surgery. Transvestites value having their male genitalia and do still engage in sexual
activity when not cross-dressing; they do not want their genitalia removed (Prince, 2005).
The fact that cross-dressers have no desire to change their bodies is also reiterated by
Garber (1992). Another distinction between transvestites and transsexuals is that
transvestites only act feminine at times of cross-dressing (Stroller, 1971). Transsexuals
act as the opposite sex the majority of the time, while transvestites for the majority of the
time “go back” to their masculine ways. Also, the desire for cross-dressing for
transvestites comes from a sexual attraction to women’s clothing. The desire to crossdress for transsexuals comes from the fact that they feel that they are more of a woman
15
�than they are a man; they feel they were born the wrong sex (Stroller, 1971). Stroller
(1971) states that just because of the common desire to cross-dress, transvestites and
transsexuals are wrongly mistaken for each other and extremely misunderstood. The
differences between transvestites and transsexuals are found behaviorally,
psychologically, and must be studied as two completely separate behaviors. Overall, the
biggest factor that separates transvestites from transsexuals is that transvestites only want
to seem, not actually be.
Then what exactly is a transvestite? According to Gosselin (1980), a “true”
transvestite is a heterosexual male that is confident about his masculinity, although he
may feel that he does not have as much as a non-cross-dressing heterosexual. “True”
transvestites cross-dress frequently and may wear women’s attire underneath their male
clothing. Transvestites feel the need to be accepted as women, but do not actually wish to
become so. Cross-dressing is used as a relaxation mechanism, relief of gender
discomfort, or sexual arousal. Most importantly, a “true” transvestite must be
heterosexual in orientation (Prince, 2005). In addition, both Garber (1992) and Prince
(2005) suggest that a transvestite is more concerned with the social aspect of being a
woman rather than the physical attributes. According to Prince (2005), there are three
types of women: the sexual woman, the psychological woman, and the social woman.
The sexual woman is the type of woman that is physically and physiologically different
from a man. Her sexual behavior differs from heterosexual men and homosexual women
and men. The psychological woman refers to women’s “special” attitudes and capabilities
of the mind that differ from men. Prince gives examples such as sensitivity, emotional
nature, virtues of tenderness, love of children, changeableness, intuition, consideration,
helpfulness, lack of aggression, and more. The psychological woman represents the
mental and emotional attitudes that an individual feels. The social woman deals with
attitudes and relations with other females or males, and also with the attitudes and
relations in the society towards women. Prince states that homosexuals choose to act as
both the psychological woman and the social woman. Transsexuals have the desire to be
all three women. However, transvestites only have the desire to be the social woman. A
transvestite desires to dress, act, and go out in public as a woman and to be accepted by
society as a woman. According to Prince, a “true” transvestite only wishes to be the
social woman because to him, cross-dressing and behaving socially is as far as he could
go. If he wished to act as anything other than the social woman, he would be considered
either homosexual or transsexual.
Why cross-dress? Cross-dressing can be erotically arousing to many
transvestites (Blanchard, Racansky, & Steiner, 1986). Therefore, cross-dressing can also
16
�be defined as a behavior due to fetishism. Blanchard, Racansky, and Steiner (1986)
performed an experiment in which they measured penile blood volumes of heterosexual
males, some cross-dressers and some not, during which the researchers described crossdressing and other neutral sexual activities. Results indicated that heterosexual male
transvestites tended to respond with penile blood volumes higher than non-transvestites
when discussing cross-dressing. These results suggests that there must be some level of
arousal for transvestites when cross-dressing. Blanchard, Racansky, and Steiner also
found evidence that the feeling of arousal decreases with age. However, they believe that
the feeling of arousal does not decrease, but becomes subconscious. The results had also
indicated that some of the transvestites were unaware of the arousal they were
experiencing when discussing cross-dressing. A cross-dresser’s strong desire to see
himself and have others see him as a woman may cause the feeling of arousal to become
subconscious. This leads to the belief that awareness of arousal may ruin a transvestite’s
self-image of being a woman (Blanchard, Racansky, & Steiner, 1986). In contrast to this
study, Blanchard, Clemmensen, and Steiner (1987) found evidence to believe that the
majorities of heterosexual transvestites have been able to acknowledge the presence of
some type of erotic arousal related to cross-dressing. They found that the incidence of
fetishistic arousal was most likely underestimated by the cross-dressers, and possibly
ignored in order to maintain the self-image of being a woman (Blanchard, Clemmensen,
& Steiner, 1987). Garber (1992) also suggests the idea that transvestites often ignore the
unconscious eroticism of their “self-transformations”. In addition, Thomas J. Ryan
(2005) believes that there are two different types of transvestites, or reasons for crossdressing. The first typically begins with trying on one or two pieces of women’s clothing
at an adolescent age. The type of men that start off this way tend to begin cross-dressing
because they feel sexually excited by women’s clothing. As they get older, the arousal
begins to wear off, but the desire to cross-dress still continues. Now the reason for crossdressing is to be able to completely pass as a woman. The other type of transvestite, as
Ryan states, is the intermittent cross-dresser, a man who thinks of himself as a phallic
woman, or a woman with male genitalia. An intermittent cross-dresser is still sexually
aroused by women’s clothing, but always considers himself to be a man, no matter what
type of clothing he is wearing.
Transvestism can also be viewed as a sexual fetish. Traditionally, fetishism
occurs when the “sexual goal” is a body part, fabric, or inanimate object, as opposed to
the human being (Gosselin, 1980). A “fabric fetishist”, or cross-dresser, will dress as
completely as possible in his favorite female clothing, often multi-layering, until he is at
the stage in which the material turns him on (Gosselin, 1980). Gosselin (1980) also states
17
�that fetishistic practices such as cross-dressing are more frequently done by people who
live alone because they are free to do what pleases them as much as they want. The crossdresser’s fetishism is not just the women’s clothing or material, but seeing themselves
dressed in the clothing (Gosselin, 1980). A pioneer of the study of sexuality, Magnus
Hirschfeld, argued that transvestites’ dominant sexual urges were focused on themselves
dressed in women’s clothing, not on another person, no matter their sex (Bullough,
1993). In summary, according to Gosselin (1980), a fetishistic transvestite dresses
periodically in female clothing; the clothing acts as a fetishistic object and produces
feelings of sexual arousal. The transvestite does not wish to completely be a woman, but
has a fair desire to act as one in certain instances. The transvestite may be mimicking a
particular type of woman depending upon his chosen attire, such as the desire to be
adored, to be sexually attracted to, or just noticed. According to Prince (2005), how a
man is raised influences what type of woman he chooses to mimic. A young male may
develop the desire to behave as a particular female in his life at an early age. For
example, a cross-dresser may be influenced by his mother, sister, aunt, a neighbor, or
someone in the public eye, like a celebrity. This relates to Prince’s theory of the three
different types of women; whomever becomes a man’s “role model” deciphers which
type of woman he becomes or will behave like, ultimately determining what kind of
sexual identity he gives himself. Transvestites still feel masculine, live as men, and
generally reject any ideas of sex changes. However, many have guilty feelings about
cross-dressing and those feelings may build up and begin to cause trouble.
Because transvestism is such a misunderstood behavior, many transvestites are
forced to lead “double lives.” Because lifestyles of cross-dressing are not typical, they are
not generally acceptable. Therefore, phobias and discomfort of cross-dressers exist
(Lance, 2002). Many cross-dressers become self-conscious about their gender behaviors
because of the society’s reactions towards them (Beatrice, 1985). Research evaluated by
Beatrice (1985) showed that heterosexual transvestites, along with pre and post-operative
transsexuals, had a very low psychological idea of self-acceptance for themselves.
Because transvestites feel that it is difficult for them to be accepted into society as
women, one of the ultimate goals of cross-dressing is to be able to “pass” in public
(Kholos, 1993). Going out in public means something different for each transvestite. For
some, passing in public is going to a restaurant and being treated like a woman. For
others, it may only mean walking around the block at three o’clock in the morning in
women’s clothing for fear of being seen and rejected (Kholos, 1993).
Reasons for cross-dressing did not begin because of a psychological disorder,
but transvestism may result in psychological issues due to degradation from society.
18
�Many transvestites develop psychological issues because they feel they have “reared off
course” from what society accepts as acceptable gender behavior (Kholos, 1993). Kholos,
who interviewed many transvestites and their female spouses, discusses that crossdressers tend to feel guilty and confused because they know that the activities they enjoy
partaking in are not acceptable male behaviors to society. Many heterosexual
transvestites are, or have been, married (Beatrice, 1985). According to Kholos (1993),
some transvestites who are happily married never tell their wives about their fetish. On
the contrary, in some cases, wives were so supportive of their husbands’ behaviors that
the secret bonded them closer together (Garber, 1992). Despite some success stories,
cross-dressers let very few people know about their cross-dressing choices, or they do not
let anyone know at all. In addition, Kholos states that many transvestites agree that the
desired woman would be one who will become acknowledged to and respect crossdressing and would believe in the marriage without reservation. A large number of
transvestites have had the desire to cross-dress for a long time, but felt forced to keep it a
personal secret (Blanchard, Clemmensen, & Steiner, 1987). In the data analyzed by
Blanchard, Clemmensen, and Steiner (1987), heterosexual males would begin to crossdress in secrecy as soon as they felt the desire to cross-dress, as opposed to homosexual
males who were very open about cross-dressing. Many transvestites feel that they are
forced to live with the idea that they are living a double life and must keep it a secret.
Although transvestism is not an extremely uncommon behavior, it is
misunderstood among the American population. Transvestism, differing immensely from
homosexuality or transgenderism, is the act of dressing as the opposite sex. Whether the
act of cross-dressing is meant for relaxation, anxiety relief, or sexual arousal, the
heterosexual men that cross-dress value their masculinity and femininity. Unfortunately,
because of the lack of knowledge of transvestism, many cross-dressers are forced to keep
their behaviors secret in fear of being discouraged by society. Therefore, many
transvestites are forced to lead a double life. Transvestism is not a psychological disorder,
but a behavior that is largely misunderstood.
Works Cited
Beatrice, J. (1985). A psychological comparison of heterosexuals, transvestites,
preoperative transsexuals, and postoperative transsexuals. The Journal of Nervous and
Mental Disease, 173, 358-365.
Blanchard, R., Clemmensen, L. H., Steiner, B. W. (1987). Heterosexual and homosexual
gender dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 16, 139-152.
19
�Blanchard, R., Racansky, I. G., Steiner, B. W. (1986). Phallometric detection of
fetishistic arousal in heterosexual male cross-dressers. The Journal of Sex Research, 22,
452-462.
Bullough, V., Bullough, B. (1993). Cross dressing, sex, and gender. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Garber, M. B. (1992). Vested interests; cross-dressing & cultural anxiety. New York &
London: Routledge.
Gosselin, C., Wilson, G. (1980). Sexual variations; fetishism, sadomasochism, and
transvestism. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Kholos, D. (1993). Construction of masculinity: a look into the lives of heterosexual male
transvestites. Feminism & Psychology, 3, 374-380.
Lance, L. M. (2002). Acceptance of diversity in human sexuality: will the strategy
reducing homophobia also reduce discomfort of cross-dressing? College Student Journal,
36(4), 598-602.
Prince, C. V. (2005). Homosexuality, transvestism, and transsexuality: reflections on
their etiology and differentiation. International Journal of Transgenderism, 8, 17-20.
Ryan, T. J. (2005). Clothes maketh the man: transvestism, masculinity, and
homosexuality. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 22, 57-69.
Stroller, R. J. (1971). Transsexualism and transvestism. Psychiatric Annals, 1, 60-72.
20
�Lightness and Weight Paradox in The Unbearable
Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Radislav Meylikh1
Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being is often read as a philosophical
account through which Kundera explores how his characters struggle to find out the true
meaning of life in the face of “unbearable lightness.” Kundera uses philosophers, such as
Parmenides and Nietzsche to pose an argument of lightness versus weight. He effectively
associates each of his characters with either lightness or weight. He compares Tomas and
Sabina to light, while Franz and Tereza are compared to weight. By using the recurring
theme of lightness and weight, Kundera is able to show how each of his characters
struggles to find the meaning of life. Initially, Tomas is a light character, but becomes
heavier as he accepts the burdens of Tereza. Likewise, Franz who saw his whole life as
heavy, joined the Grand March in hope of finding the meaning of his life, but is instead
brought to an early death, which made him become light. Clearly none of the four
characters in the book are able to find a true meaning of life. Therefore, lightness and
weight can be seen as a dichotomy as each character fails to find his/her true meaning of
life.
Nietzsche was a German philosopher who claimed that everything that occurs
does so not only once, but infinitely many times (Small 585). In one of his works, The
Gay Science he develops an existential idea called the “eternal return”: “This life as you
now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times
more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought
and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you,
all in the same succession,” he wrote in a section of The Gay Science called the Greatest
Weight (Ridley 19). Through this idea of eternal return, Nietzsche asserts that the world
is a recurring cycle that repeats “ad infinitum” (Kundera 1). The world will continue to
move in a circle as every person relives his/her life over and over again.
If the world recurs infinite amount of times, then the weight of unbearable
responsibility lies heavy on every move we make (Kundera 5). Nietzsche calls his idea of
eternal return the heaviest of burdens because a life that repeats itself has meaning and
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Ann Hurley (English) for EN291: Freshman Honors
Literature Seminar.
21
�significance. Nietzsche compares eternal return to a burden because the past can be seen
as weight, “a stone” (Ridley 22). You cannot change anything that is already done in the
past. In the words of Rideley, “You cannot roll away the stone. But you can at least bring
that stone aboard as something you have chosen” (22). Therefore, eternal return can be
compared to weight because every action that is done is considered to be critical.
Kundera wrote “The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's
most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth,
the more real and truthful they become” (5). Thus, if life is considered to be heavy then
the heavier someone’s life is the more meaning there is to it.
Conversely, Kundera disagrees with Nietzsche. Instead, he believes that men
have only one opportunity in life. He argues that, “Human time does not turn in a circle;
it runs ahead in a straight line” (Kundera 298). If a person’s life only occurs once, then
there is no responsibility or meaning in life. In fact, life can even be seen as being
pointless because what happens but once might as well not have happened at all (Kundera
8). People will not be able to judge whether what they did in their lives was the right
choice or take any responsibility for their actions. Therefore, according to Kundera “the
absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into the heights, to
take leave of the earth and its earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as
free as they are insignificant” (5). Unlike weight, every action in a light person has no
meaning or significance because their lives only occur once and never repeat again.
Therefore, a light person is lighter than air because they do not search for weight or
importance in anything they do. They simply soar into the heights without any weight
pulling them back down to the ground.
Evidently, Kundera does not agree with Nietzsche and the idea of eternal return,
but instead poses his own opinion that men live only once. He argues that life is lightness
and lightness is in fact unbearable. Therefore, someone’s actions have no effect on their
life since that person will only live once. However, which one is true, weight or
lightness? Parmenides, a Greek philosopher, posed this question in the sixth century. He
responded in saying that lightness is positive and weight is negative (Kundera 5).
Nevertheless, it still remains unclear as to which is true. Kundera, however, exemplifies
the concept of lightness and weight to life through the lives of his own characters. He
tries to explore the answer to the philosophical ambiguity by associating each of his
characters with either lightness or weight. The light characters live without imposing any
kind of weight on their lives in order to find the meaning of life. Meanwhile, the heavy
characters search for a specific meaning, significance, and weight to the things they
consider important in their lives.
22
�Tomas was born from the saying “Einmal ist Keinmal” which means once
doesn’t count (Kundera 39). Clearly, he is a character of lightness. He enjoys having
freedom and not to having to carry anyone’s strain. Tomas does not want to be attached
to anyone, especially Tereza. Even though Tomas loves Tereza he does not want
commitment as much as Tereza does. He wants to enjoy his life by having fun and
sleeping with random women and mistresses. He considers sex and love as two unrelated
things. His love towards Tereza is separate from his infidelities. He loves Tereza
undeniably, however his infidelities is what defines his lightness. A character of lightness
such as Tomas does not have any burdens. He does not seek to find importance in his life
because he is content with being light.
Tereza, on the other hand, is the true opposite of Tomas. She is seen as a heavy
person. Tereza is a weak and powerless character. She is a faithful person who wants love
and commitment from Tomas. She is very insecure of herself as she resents her own body
mainly because of her mother. Her mother had a profound influence on her as she would
march around naked in the house. Tereza, as a result, does not want her own body to be
compared with any other women which is mainly the reason why Tomas’s infidelities put
so much weight on her. Kundera wrote,
She had come to him to escape her mother's world, a world where all bodies
were equal. She had come to him to make her body unique, irreplaceable. But
he, too, had drawn an equal sign between her and the rest of them: he kissed
them all alike, stroked them alike, made no, absolutely no distinction between
Tereza's body and the other bodies. He had sent her back into the world she tried
to escape, sent her to march naked with the other naked women (58).
Thus, Tereza feared that Tomas only saw her as another woman who he just slept with.
Tereza thought that she can escape that world where all the bodies were equal by being
with Tomas, but instead entered the same world that she was trying to escape.
Franz is another character associated with weight. He was never able to
experience his life as being light. Franz was always trying to find weight and significance
in everything he did. He joined marches and political demonstrations as a way to find his
true meaning of life. Kundera wrote, “He felt like placing his own life on the scales; he
wanted to prove that the Grand March weighed more than shit” (269). Franz was
incapable of lightness. He was always searching for weight, which as a result, brought
him to an early death.
Lastly, Sabina can be considered to be the lightest of all. She refuses to be tied
down by her parents or by the totalitarian art. She always received pleasure from betrayal.
Her hatred towards kitsch is what made her seem so light. She used betrayal as a way of
23
�fighting kitsch and through betrayal, she was able to escape her life and live in total
lightness. Her dream of having freedom led her to leave Franz, ultimately because of her
lightness. Sabina was able to escape to America where she gained the freedom she
always wanted.
Although Kundera effectively portrays each character as heavy or light, none of
them actually finds their meaning of life. In fact, characters such as Tomas and Franz fall
under the paradox of lightness and weight. Even though these characters were associated
with either weight or lightness, their actions were representative of the opposite. Tomas,
who was originally a light character, becomes heavy towards the end. Likewise, Franz
who was always searching for weight ultimately becomes light through his early death.
Tereza stays heavy throughout the whole book, but is capable of spreading her heaviness
to Tomas. And lastly, Sabina, lightest of all, is the only character alive at the end of the
book, and not even she is happy with her life.
In the beginning, Tomas was a light character who wanted freedom. He slept
with random women which symbolized his lightness. However, that began to change as
Tereza entered his life. By accepting Tereza into his life, he took on all of her burdens.
Kundera wrote, “she knew that she had become a burden to him: she took things too
seriously, turning everything into a tragedy, and failed to grasp the lightness and amusing
insignificance of physical love. How she wished she could learn lightness!” (143). Tereza
was evidently a heavy person, but her heaviness began to spread onto Tomas. Tomas saw
Tereza as a “child whom he had taken from a bulrush basket” (Kundera 7). He feared the
responsibility he was about to take on. However, his compassion and inexplicable love is
what forced him to accept a complete stranger into his life and the burden that their love
would eventually bring.
When Tereza unexpectedly arrived in Tomas’s life one day with a suitcase, he
unexpectedly took all her weight onto himself. Tereza’s heavy suitcase represented her
whole life crumbled up. The physical weight of the suitcase symbolized the weight which
Tereza lived in. Tomas accepted her suitcase, ultimately accepting the weight of her
whole life. He felt as if he had taken on all of her responsibilities. However, when Tereza
left to Czechoslovakia and left Tomas in Zurich, he felt light again. “Suddenly his step
was much lighter. He soared. He had entered Parmenides’ magic field: he was enjoying
the sweet lightness of being” (30). Tomas was finally enjoying his life again. He gained
back his lightness that Tereza had taken away from him. He felt free again, but his
compassion for Tereza kept reminding him of her. She had infected him with a
compassion that he was unable to resist. Although Tomas wanted freedom and lightness
in his life, his love for Tereza evidently makes him a heavy character.
24
�Moreover, Tomas can also be seen as a heavy character through his actions of
writing the anti-communist article. Ultimately, he was demoted from being a well-known
surgeon to a window washer because that article compared the Czechoslovakian
communists to Oedipus. Like Oedipus, the Czechoslovakian communists asserted that
they did not know what they were doing. Tomas said, “As a result of your “not
knowing,” this country has lost its freedom, lost it for centuries, perhaps, and now you
shout that you feel no guilt?”(Kundera 177) However, unlike Oedipus who recognized
his responsibility for his wrongdoing, the communists were instead using their lack of
knowledge as a way of staying in power. Tomas greatly criticized the communists in this
article and was asked by his boss to remove it, but he refused. Tomas, as a result, was
fired from his job. He became a window washer, descending in ranks. This shows how
his actions of not removing the article had an effect on his life. This one action led him to
losing a job that he loved. Therefore, it can be seen as weight because every action in a
heavy person is critical to their life.
Tereza, on the other hand, doesn’t change. Even though she wanted to be as
light as Tomas, she was too weak to succeed. She was constantly under the weight of
jealousy due to the women who Tomas slept with. However, instead Tereza was able to
turn Tomas into a weak and heavy person. “It turned into a tiny little object that started
moving, running, dashing across the airfield”, Kunder wrote “It was a rabbit” (305-306).
Tereza’s dream of Tomas turning into a rabbit certainly symbolizes how weak Tomas
became. He was no longer living in total lightness or sleeping with random women. He
was solely living under Tereza’s weight in a countryside away from everyone.
Franz was undoubtedly a heavy character, but his early death put him into a state
of lightness. He was always attaching weight to everything he did because he wanted to
find importance in his life. He believed that by joining political marches and parades he
would be able to find the meaning of life. “Franz felt his book life to be unreal. He
yearned for real life, for the touch of people walking side by side with him, for their
shouts. It never occurred to him that what he considered unreal was in fact his real life”
(100). Therefore, Franz was always searching for weight other than realizing what he
really had. Likewise, Franz didn’t really love Sabina. Instead, he liked the idea of her.
“He was happier with Sabina the invisible goddess than the Sabina who had accompanied
him throughout the world … He has always preferred the unreal to the real” (120). This
was the main reason why Franz was brought to an early death. He never realized what he
had in life which ultimately made him heavy because he was always searching for
something and misjudging what he had. Although, Franz was a heavy character, his early
death made him very light. His inscription, “A return after long wandering” showed that
25
�he did not have to search and wander for a meaning of life anymore. He was freed from
the solemn weight that was always a burden to him.
Sabina is left alone at the end solely because of her lightness. Her life was based
on a series of betrayals, and betrayal was her path to freedom. She was able to escape the
totalitarian system to America through betrayal. She had no trouble selling her paintings
in America unlike in Geneva. She left Franz in Geneva mainly because she wanted to.
She did not have Franz’s burden of weight on her; instead she had the burden of the
“unbearable” lightness. Her ultimate lightness forced her to make decisions which left her
alone and isolated. Sabina wanted to die under the sign of lightness. “She would be
lighter than air” wrote Kundera (273). While Tomas and Tereza died under the sign of
weight, Sabina wanted to be cremated and scattered to the winds to continue her pursuit
of lightness.
Despite the fact that Kundera views a person’s life as only happening once, he
views an animal’s life as the opposite. A dog’s life is repeated in a circle while human
time runs in a straight line. “Dog time cannot be plotted along a straight line: it does not
move on and on, from one thing to the next”, wrote Kundera (74). Instead, a dog’s life
repeats in a circle. The repetition lies in the idea of eternal return. And the eternal return
is what gives life weight. “Happiness is the longing for repetition” Kundera wrote (298).
If humans don’t experience a repeated circular life then they don’t attach weight to their
lives. They are not able to find the meaning of life because their lives only occur once.
Therefore, Kundera seems to agree with Nietzsche’s argument that only through eternal
return a person is able to find the meaning of life nevertheless, Kundera still argues that
because eternal return does not exist then ultimately a person is not able to find the
meaning of life.
Although it is evident that Kundera does not agree with Nietzsche and the
eternal return, Kundera still effectively portrays the theme lightness and weight. The
theme lightness and weight can be seen as a dichotomy. Lightness and weight can be split
up into two different parts, which contradict each other. Light symbolizes only one life
that never repeats, while weight signifies eternal return. Kundera tries to explore the
answer to the philosophical ambiguity posed by Nietzsche and Parmenides by associating
each of his characters with either lightness or weight. Nevertheless, Kundera is never able
to find a real answer to this mystery as his own characters fail to realize the meaning of
life.
26
�Works Cited
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. New York: HarperPerennial, 1999.
Ridley, Aaron. “Nietzsche's Greatest Weight.” Journal of Nietzsche Studies No. 14
(1997):19-25.
Small, Robin. “Eternal Recurrence.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 13, No. 4
(1983):585-605.
27
�The Port Richmond Farmers’ Market Proposal
Andrew Burt1
Mission Statement
The Burt Foundation’s Mission is to provide struggling communities of New
York City with new and inventive ways of gentrifying their districts through the
revitalization of their neighborhoods as a whole.
Proposal Summary
The Burt Foundation is seeking to serve as a liaison between the Roman
Catholic Church through the Staten Island Catholic Youth Organization of Port
Richmond and the local community struggling to provide its citizens with ample, readily
available, year round access to fresh and healthy sources of nutrition. The Foundation is
requesting that the Roman Catholic Church provide the Port Richmond Catholic Youth
Organization with the monetary resources needed to purchase and renovate the previous
Farrell Lumber Yard into a local farmers’ market. The unique location of the previous
lumber yard has both indoor and outdoor components that make it ideal to provide the
local community with healthy sources of nutrition within walking distance of their
residences as well as attracting patrons from outside areas. The overall goal of this
renovation is to bring back prosperity to the Port Richmond area in the same place that its
historical roots are planted.
Background
Port Richmond
The Port Richmond area of Staten Island, New York is located geographically
on the north central shore portion of the island. In the 2,000 census it was reported that
16,406 people compiled the population of Port Richmond’s area code. From that 16,406
residents 10,399 were reported to be of white ethnicity, 3,384 black backgrounds, 4,211
Hispanics or Latinos, and a mixture of other ethnicities that compile the culture of the
area. The area is comprised of 8,140 males and 8,266 females. Port Richmond
accounted for three thousand two hundred and seven jobs in the private sector,
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Abraham Unger (Government and Politics) for LC 14:
Society and the City.
28
�representing four percent of all the private sector jobs on Staten Island. (U.S. Census,
2000)
Vibrant Past
The Pt. Richmond Community of Staten Island has a rich and vibrant history
formed around the commercial district that formerly existed. Pt. Richmond Avenue is
often referred to as the former 5th Avenue of Staten Island. (Michele Sledge, Interview)
The local community had every type of business a community needed to survive. There
was a bank, lumber yard, hotel, dining facilities, schools, library, a large number of
furniture stores, as well as other companies that made up the business district along and
around Pt. Richmond Avenue.
Economic Downfall
The local community took several devastating blows to its economic standing
when the Staten Island Mall was established around the same time that the North Shore
Rail was shut down. The community business leaders fought to keep their business alive
through forming various associations to unify their efforts. Despite their efforts
consumers were no longer traveling to the north shore of the island to buy their goods.
Many residents left the local area and moved to neighboring communities. The closing
of the lumber yard was especially devastating to the economic standing of the community
due to its unique ability to attract consumers beyond the local residents.
New Community Forms
New York City is composed of roughly 8.4 million people. Fifty percent of
those citizens are immigrants or first generation immigrants. Pt. Richmond is no
exception to this statistic. In recent years there have been an increasing number of
immigrants of Hispanic heritage moving to the Pt. Richmond area. This minority group
has been one reason why the local community has been able to hang on as long as it has.
The new groups of residents have opened up stores and restaurants to service the newly
forming community in the same buildings as the businesses that had previously moved
and shut down were located.
Agencies Step Up
Many of the new immigrants in Pt. Richmond have not become legal citizens of
the United States. Without legal proof of citizenship the immigrants are unable to receive
some forms of government aid that they could benefit from. As a result a variety of
29
�agencies have stepped up efforts to aid in the transitional stage facing the community.
There are places that provide medical care, citizenship paperwork guidance, meals to the
elderly, community outreach programs, job training, aid new entrepreneurs through the
beginning stages of establishing themselves and maintaining revenue stability, and a
variety of other services. Some of the most predominant agencies that help the local
community are: Catholic Youth Organization, Meals on Wheels, Port Richmond Board of
Trade, Northfield LDC, Project Hospitality, New York Main Streets, and many more.
All of these organizations are working to improve the living conditions and overall
camaraderie of the Pt. Richmond community. The Burt Foundation strives to work with
all the currently standing foundations and organizations to improve the community as a
whole and work toward a prosperous future.
Literature Review
Farmers’ Markets
Farmers’ Markets are generally classified as farmers sell their products to
consumers with direct relationships. Many farmers’ markets exist in a general facility in
which a variety of farmers and growers congregate to sell their products. Markets are
commonly open around the same time periods. Small and medium sized operations often
utilize farmers’ markets as direct forms of marketing themselves to the general public
through collusion with a given market. Often consumers establish direct relationships
with the vendors and share personal camaraderie.
In 2000, the USDA studied the 2,863 identified farmers’ markets in the United
States to form a basis about their operations. The research concluded that 66,700 farmers
serve 2,760,000 customers per week at farmers markets. In addition, 19,000 farmers use
farmers’ markets as their sole source of marketing. Farmers’ markets reported retail sales
of approximately $900 million. This represents 93 percent of total sales. Customers
spent an average of $17.30 per week at farmers markets. (Payne, 2002) As of mid-2009,
there were 6,132 farmers markets operating throughout the U.S. This is a 16 percent
increase from 2009. (ams.usda.gov, 2010) These figures project that the dramatic
increase in the number of farmers’ markets across the nation also affected the gross
income of the markets and the number of patrons to the markets.
Farmers’ Markets in New York City
New York City is comprised of five different boroughs made up of five
collective counties joining forces to become one city. The charter of “Greater New
York” was signed into law on May 4, 1897, by Governor Frank S. Black, the charter
30
�counties of New York, Kings, Bronx, Richmond, and Queens combined to make the City
of New York. (nyc.gov, 2010) New York City is known for its rich variety of farmers
markets that supply locally grown produce to all five boroughs. The New York State
Department of Agriculture and Markets is responsible for working with farmers markets
across the state of New York, and keeping track of how many farmers’ markets each
county has. According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
the five counties that make up the City of New York account for 124 of the states
farmers’ markets with New York County having 42, Queens County 18, Bronx County
27, Kings County 34, and Richmond County 3. (agmkt.state.ny.us, 2010) Richmond
County makes up the entire Staten Island borough of New York City, and is dramatically
straggling in farmers’ markets compared to the other boroughs of New York City.
Markets Making a Difference
In addition to providing a healthy lifestyle option to citizens of urban areas
farmers’ markets are also now working to reach lower economic groups. Previously
farmers’ markets were viewed as a pricier option to acquiring goods for consumption and
something that lower income families were priced out of affording. In recent years there
has been a movement for markets to make their products more readily available to lower
income families. This is demonstrated through data collected in 1998 when greenmarket
locations redeemed $150,000 in food stamps and $1,000,000 in farmers’ market coupons
(USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children
funds that can only be used at farmers’ markets). (Payne, 2002)
Community Members
The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda M. Baron
spoke at the Port Richmond Board of Trade meeting on October, 25, 2010. In her
presentation she covered key features about the community and how her chamber works
with local business to ensure their prosperity in the future. “The Port Richmond local
business leaders are going to have to take a unified approach to upcoming obstacles in
order to have the best outcome for their businesses.” L. Baron (personal communication,
October 25, 2010) One large topic of discussion was the current healthcare problems
facing the Port Richmond community as a whole, and what local business could do to
prepare for upcoming changes in new health care policies their business will soon face.
She advised many of the business owners to speak with their accountant and lawyers to
ensure that they were not left behind in the upcoming change.
31
�After the meeting she discussed how many of the local food vendors in the area
were in need of revitalization to the way in which they approach purchasing their
produces. “The need for a local sustainable food market is dire in the area for the
neighborhoods of Port Richmond. “ M. Sledge (personal communication, November 7,
2010)
In a course of interviews conducted with North Field LDC’s Economic and
Community Development Corporation, Michele Sledge commented that the “Port
Richmond area touches on every social economic issue facing the nation today.” M.
Sledge (personal communication, November 7, 2010) Issues discussed uncovered the
need for community members to feel secure while purchasing goods in the local
community. The abundant presence of law enforcement in the community makes patrons
feel uncomfortable with their surroundings. When asked about her opinion on placing a
farmers’ market in the previous Farrell’s Lumber Yard she replied, “The lumber yard
would be an ideal location for a future farmers’ market.” M. Sledge (personal
communication, November 7, 2010)
Strategies to Combat Under-Nutrition
The need for nutritional improvement throughout America is a social issue
facing the nation. Households need to become more aware of the contents they put into
their bodies. A scholar recently looked into the role that foods play in the nation and
concluded startling accounts and began a push for a change in the nation. “Foods for
families must be adequate; that is not just meeting the bare energy needs for survival, but
provide all the nutrient essential for normal development. The changing nutrition scene
is influenced directly and indirectly by several interrelated factors. There is a need to
evolve nutritional orientation of foods, production programs; examine and revise the
mistakes of the past and use new knowledge and technologies to evolve new strategies
for combating under nutrition.” The piece calls for the industry to lessen the
responsibility of food producers, but focuses on the role that consumers play in providing
nutrients to themselves and their families.(Gopalan & Aeri, 2001)
The Resilience and Strengths of Low-Income Families
Low income families are often the most resourceful households. They have to
endure the task of making low salaries and wages stretch to cover all of their family’s
needs. Research in this field has uncovered, “Families which endure the largest level of
suffering often have higher levels of communication and feelings of unity in their fight
against oppression.” (Orthner, Jones-Sanpei, & Williamson, 2004) The Port Richmond
32
�community is full of vibrant citizens that work to improve their lives to the best of their
abilities.
People Are Just Becoming More Conscious of How Everything’s Connected
Variations in eating styles are something that many people inherit as a part of
their heritage. While some styles are known to individual geographical regions other
characteristics can be generalized through the combining of a variety of heritages from
differing regions with a common factor tying them together. Modern researchers looked
at three ethno cultural groups in two differing regions of Canada. They deciphered the
ways that tradition played a factor to explain regional differences concerning ethical
consumption in contemporary Canada. Their findings support their arguments about the
way in which regions consume food. “We argue that ‘reflexive modernity’ cannot be said
to apply unambiguously in contemporary Canada. The food concerns of Punjabi British
Columbian and African Nova Scotia participants centered more on cultural traditions
than on ethical consumption. While European Canadians in British Columbia (BC) and
Nova Scotia (NS) appear similar on the surface, British Columbians expressed strong
commitment to discourses of ethical consumption, while those in Nova Scotia displayed
almost no engagement with those discourses. In contrast, tradition was a more prominent
concern in food decision-making. Availability of resources for ethical consumption both
shaped and was shaped by local discourses. Differing relationships to community may
contribute to reflexive ethical consumption.” (Beagan, Ristovski-Slijepcevic, &
Chapman, 2010)
Ties Across Seas
Many nations face similar problems that the Port Richmond community of New
York City faces. Providing fresh produce to their urban areas from rural areas is a key
feature that urban planners across borders are beginning to examine. The government in
prosperous cases must play a role as a facilitator of relations to ensure prosperity. “Good
governance is at the core of poverty reduction and how meeting the environmental health
needs of the poorer groups need not imply greater environmental degradation.”
(Satterthwaite, 2003)
Hispanic Healthcare Disparities
One unfortunate battle that the Hispanic population endures is being treated as a
monolithic population that is looked upon as the same in the medical field. Healthcare
providers need to recognize that there is diversity within the Hispanic community just as
33
�there is with every other ethnic group across the globe. Many barriers are in the way of
the Hispanic communities receiving the adequate assistance that they need. Port
Richmond has a large Hispanic population with many ethnic groups represented. The
needs of these ethnic groups must be met by the community in order for healthcare to be
utilized at its maximum efficiency. Data collected from the Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey compiled by a group of experts in the field discovered differences across all
Hispanic ethnic groups. “Multivariate models show that Mexicans and Cubans are less
likely, to have any emergency department visits than non-Hispanic whites, Mexicans
Central Americans/Caribbeans, and South Americans are less likely to have any
prescription medications. All Hispanics are less likely to have any ambulatory visits and
prescription medications, whereas only those with a Spanish language interview are less
likely to have emergency department visits and inpatient admissions more recent
immigrants are less likely to have any prescription medications.” (Weinick, Jacobs,
Stone, Ortega, & Burstin, 2004)
Early Childhood Nutrition and Primary School Enrollment
Low income countries often experience issues with youth suffering from
malnourishment. This problem can lead to serious medical conditions in the future.
Another problem is the idea that early childhood enrollment in education institutions can
be affected by the problem. In recent research conducted from Ghana startling
conclusions were formed about the nation’s youth. “ Our estimates which address a
number of previously ignored economic issues, firmly support the hypothesis that early
childhood malnutrition causes delayed enrollment. We find little or no support for
alternative explanations based on borrowing constraints and rationing of places in
schools.” (Glewwe & Jacoby, 1995)
The Role of Schools in Obesity Prevention
Schools have become increasingly involved in teaching the nation’s youth
healthy eating habits to prevent childhood obesity. New nutritional programs have been
integrated into classrooms to educate youth on how to take care of their bodies.
Government has set up new regulations for meals that are served through school
programs. “U.S. schools offer many opportunities for developing more nutritious food,
offering greater opportunities for physical activity, and providing obesity – related health
services.” (Story, Kaphingst, & French, 2006) Having a local farmers’ market in the Port
Richmond community would be a great educational source for the school systems to
34
�utilize. Local growers could be utilized as educational resources for the urban students to
learn from.
Tying Together
All of the academic literature compiled in research agrees that proper nutrition is
at the forefront of health care issues. If people are consuming nutritious substances they
are more likely to live a healthier lifestyle. The role that food plays in human’s daily
lives is critical for survival. Healthy food sources must be obtainable by all people
regardless of economic standings and racial background. Governments and communities
must work together to achieve the highest level of proficiency in local areas.
Funding Request
Request
The Burt Foundation primarily seeks to improve the Port Richmond community
of Staten Island through the reinstallation of an anchor business that attracts consumers
from various portions of Staten Island. The foundation aspires to aid in establishing a
line of credit from the Catholic Dioceses to the Pt. Richmond Catholic Youth
Organization to purchase and renovate the Farrell’s Lumber Yard property into rentable
spaces for local growers and producers to sell their products. Transforming the former
Farrell’s Lumber Yard into a year round farmers’ market is a goal the Burt Foundation
believes will breathe a new stability throughout the community.
The Farrell Lumber Yard is located at 2076 Richmond Terrace, Lot 1073/0061.
The brokers for the property are currently Chis Reno and Scott O’Brien. The 63,000
square foot property is currently advertised at $1,999,000. The property was previously
priced at $2,400,000. The buildings’ location currently meets the New York City zoning
requirements for commercial use. M. Sledge (personal communication, November 7,
2010) Along with the purchase of the building the Burt Foundation is also advising and
additional $250,000 be loaned to the Catholic Youth Organization to make needed
renovations to convert the space into rentable sectors for vendors.
Population Effect
Farmers’ market would service the local community of Port Richmond and the
local surround neighborhoods through providing a constant source of obtaining healthy
products for themselves and their families. Market vendors would all share a common
formality to assure that the low income families of the area are able to purchase the goods
for their families by accepting food stamps and the USDA’s issued farmers’ market
35
�stamps. The market will also provide the same opportunities for obtaining healthy goods
to the neighboring areas of Staten Island while bringing them back to the North Shore
Port Richmond region. The Port Richmond Catholic Youth Organization would be able
to retain all revenue collected from the retail spaces rented to the local farmers. Local
producers of natural products would be provided a new outlet for selling their products to
the general public in established facilities able to accommodate their individual
characteristics. Businesses in the surrounding area will receive customers that would not
otherwise travel to the north shore Port Richmond portion of Staten Island. The farmers’
market would also aid in the branding of Staten Island as a borough of New York City
working to improve the lives of its residents and fellow citizens.
Employment
The Burt Foundation would extend training and facilitating assistance to the
local Pt. Richmond Catholic Youth Organization aiding in the transitional stages of
training new employees on how to manage the market as a business entity. The Pt.
Richmond CYO would be able to hire on a new employee to oversee the operations of the
farmers market as well as develop relationships with local growers and producers to
ensure business prosperity and financial gain for both parties. The Pt. Richmond’s
CYO’s current accountant would handle the financial aspect of the new business venture
until the market becomes established enough to require a part or full time accountant.
Renovations made to the current standing building would require the work of skilled
artisans in the construction field to make architectural changes to the insides of the
building. Local citizens in the area would have the opportunity to acquire part time
positions with the growers and producers at the market and aid them in the operation of
their businesses.
Strategic Plan of Implementation
The availability of the farmers’ market year round component makes it uniquely
different from every other farmers’ market in Richmond County and the majority of New
York City. The main season for prime retail sales will follow the general months of
operations of farmers’ markets. However, in the winter season the space no longer rented
to spring thru fall seasonal growers will be rented to various vendors with products that
directly relate to the winter season. Christmas tree sellers will be able to utilize the
outdoor indoor component of the facility to maximize profits and ensure loss of
inventory. As well as hosting a variety of season vendors with goods and products
designed for the winter season.
36
�Qualifications
The Burt Foundation’s goal of aiding New York City’s struggling
neighborhoods is to find obtainable goals for local areas to accomplish to further gentrify
themselves into more well-rounded areas. For this reason the Burt Foundation works to
promote ties between parties and serve as a liaison between parties to ensure the best
possible outcome for the local communities. The members of the Foundation are
dedicated to ensuring that all facets of projects are completed in the most efficient way
possible.
Unified Efforts
The Burt Foundation believes in working in collaboration with every partner
involved in a projects plan. Therefore, the Foundation will strive to ensure that the
Catholic Diocese and Catholic Youth Organization establish a line of credit for the CYO
to use and pay back over a given time period. The Foundation will also work to form
partnerships between the CYO and vendors at the market. Efforts made by the Feeding
America movement will be echoed throughout the market with every vendor promoting
and offering information about the project and providing ways of delivering monetary
donations to the foundation. The Burt Foundation will also work with the vendors to
ensure that they meet the standards of the market to become food stamp and USDA’s
stamp comparable. The building would join the “I am Staten Island Movement” and
become safe places for people to turn to when in need.
Timeline
Once approval has been given and renovation plans are under way the
Foundation will work to ensure the CYO fills every slot in the market for opening day.
The purchase agreement and transfer of titles along with the renovations to the property
are all dependent upon weather conditions and deadlines to be set up upon purchase of
the property. Total renovations upon purchase of property should take a maximum time
period of six to twelve months.
Evaluation
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of the proposed plan for a farmers’ market to be put in the
former Farrell’s Lumber Yard will be measured through the data collected from various
aspects of the operation. The data will be collected and analyzed to determine the
prosperity of the project. The evaluation will be formatted around: loan payments being
37
�repaid on time, capital retained by the Catholic Youth Organization after expenses,
number of farmers provided with a new outlet to sell their goods, amount of food stamps
and USDA farmers market stamps redeemed, donations made to Feeding America
Movement, low income families aided by the market, and the overall improvement of the
local surrounding area.
References
Baron, L. (2010, October 25) Personal Interview.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2007, January 12). Profile of General Dem. 2000; zip code 10302.
September 26, 2010, from www.factfinder.census.gov.
United States Department of Agriculture. (2010, October27) Farmers Markets and Local
Food Marketing. Retrieved October 29, 2010, from
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets
Beagan, B. L., Ristovski-Slijepcevic, S., & Chapman, G. E. (2010). “People Are Just
Becoming More Conscious of How Everything’s Connected: ‘Ethical’ Food
Consumption in Two Regions of Canada.” Sociology, 44(4), 751 -769.
Glewwe, P., & Jacoby, H. G. (1995). “An Economic Analysis of Delayed Primary School
Enrollment in a Low Income Country: The Role of Early Childhood Nutrition.” The
Review of Economics and Statistics, 77(1), 156-169.
Gopalan, C., & Aeri, B. T. (2001). “Strategies to Combat Under-Nutrition.” Economic
and Political Weekly, 36(33), 3159-3169.
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. (2010, February 17). New York
State Farmers’ Markets. Retrieved October 16, 2010, from
http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AP/CommunityFarmersMarkets.asp.
New York City. (1997, May 4) Archieves of Rudolph W. Guliani. Retrieved October 29,
2010, from http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/html/97a/me970504.html.
Northfield Community Local Development Corporation. (n.d.) Economic and community
development. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.portrichmond.net/nldc/
econdev.htm.
38
�Orthner, D. K., Jones-Sanpei, H., & Williamson, S. (2004). “The Resilience and
Strengths of Low-Income Families.” Family Relations, 53(2), 159-167.
Payne, T. (2002, March) Agecon. Retrieved October 29, 2010, from
ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/27625/1/33010173.pdf.
Satterthwaite, D. (2003). “The Links between Poverty and the Environment in Urban
Areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.” Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science, 590, 73-92.
Sledge, M. (2010, October 25) (2010, November 7) Personal Interview.
Story, M., Kaphingst, K. M., & French, S. (2006). “The Role of Schools in Obesity
Prevention.” The Future of Children, 16(1), 109-142.
Weinick, R. M., Jacobs, E. A., Stone, L. C., Ortega, A. N., & Burstin, H. (2004).
“Hispanic Healthcare Disparities: Challenging the Myth of a Monolithic Hispanic
Population.” Medical Care, 42(4), 313-320.
39
�A Home Run for Civil Rights
Matt Cangro1
There is a tendency to believe that the civil rights movement in America began
in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. During that time, the movement garnered national attention
as the media aired graphic accounts of protestors in southern streets beset by fire hoses
and police dogs. In reality, the struggle for racial equality had begun long before Rosa
Parks refused to yield her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. At the turn of the
nineteenth century, black community leaders in Savannah and Atlanta protested the
segregation of public transportation. Ever since the formal establishment of segregation
in the late nineteenth century, there was resistance to institutionalized white supremacy.
This was even the case during the height of lynching and Jim Crow repression. African
Americans banded together to combat racism and discrimination. They established
schools, churches, and social institutions within their separate communities. Black
workers such as the Atlanta washerwomen and black porters on Pullman railroad cars
organized strikes to demand better pay (Santino, 76). On February 12, 1909 the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded, and became
leading civil rights organization in the country. The 1940s brought the New Deal, World
War II, and major social and economic changes to the country. As the nation fought for
democracy in Europe, black leaders pointed out that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were not
so different from the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists. Black veterans were
encouraged to confront white supremacy at home and riots sometimes broke out on
southern army bases. Martin Luther King, Malcom X, and Jackie Robinson were born
into this America. While the first two are acknowledged civil rights leaders, Jackie
Robinson is mostly known for being the man who broke Major League baseball’s color
barrier in 1947. Most people do not realize that Jackie Robinson was a civil rights activist
his entire life.
In 1944, while Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (aka Little) were still in high
school, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the very segregated United States Army. He
was assigned to a cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he applied for Officers’
Candidate School (OCS). In theory, Army policy allowed the training of black officers in
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Lori Weintrob (History) and Dr. Stephen Preskill
(Education) for LC20 entitled From Violence to Nonviolence:The Quest for Justice.
40
�integrated facilities. In reality, blacks were routinely denied access to OCS. Robinson
was rejected and told, off the record, that because blacks lacked leadership ability they
were excluded from OCS. An angry Robinson took his plight not to Army officials but to
a fellow black recruit, the heavyweight-boxing champion of the world, Joe Louis. Louis
was also stationed at Fort Riley, and he arranged for a meeting with a representative of
the secretary of defense (Rampersad, 91). A few days later, several blacks, including
Robinson, were enrolled in OCS. However, Robinson was soon to realize it was going to
be a long road to equality.
In July of 1944, sixteen months before Branch Rickey tapped him to integrate
baseball, Robinson boarded an Army bus with the light-skinned wife of a fellow black
officer. The two walked half the length of the bus and sat down. The driver, angry that a
black man was seated in the middle of the bus next to a woman who appeared to be
white, yelled at Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson knew that military
buses had been ordered desegregated and he ignored the order. Robinson’s refusal led to
his arrest and court-martial. As he wrote to the NAACP two weeks later, “I refused to
move because I recalled a letter from Washington which states that there is to be no
segregation on army posts” (Rampersad, 99). In his autobiography, Robinson stated that
he was influenced by the actions of boxers Joe Louis and Ray Robinson who had also
refused to obey Jim Crow laws. Robinson was acquitted, but the experience left him
discouraged yet determined and defiant. He later wrote, “It was a small victory, for I had
learned that I was in two wars, one against the foreign enemy, and the other against
prejudice at home.”
Branch Rickey had been looking for a black baseball player to integrate the
game of baseball for years. Rickey was convinced that Robinson was that player.
Robinson was talented, educated, had demonstrated a strong character. He was
determined not to bow to discrimination. However, Rickey was concerned about
Robinson's explosive temperament. Rickey knew that while the younger man’s
aggressiveness fueled his athletic performance, it also made him vulnerable. At their first
meeting, Rickey gave Robinson a copy of Papini's Life of Christ and asked him to read
the sections on nonviolence (this was nearly ten years before Martin Luther King would
step out onto the national stage). Rickey told Robinson that until he was established he
would have to refrain from confrontations. Jackie Robinson answered, “Mr. Rickey, I've
got two cheeks. If you want to take this gamble, I'll promise you there will be no
incidents” (Tygiel, 71).
In the spring of 1946 Jackie Robinson was on his way to spring training in Jim
Crow Florida, Martin Luther King was attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, and
41
�Malcolm X was in Massachusetts State Prison sentenced to eight to ten years for
burglary. The year was significant for all three men, Martin Luther King decided to
become a minister, Malcolm X was introduced to the Nation of Islam through the letters
of his brother Reginald, and Jackie Robinson realized the enormity of the challenge
before him. Because of the segregation laws in Florida, Robinson was forced to ride in
the back of buses, was unable to stay in the same hotels as his white teammates and some
games in which he was scheduled to play were canceled because of his presence.
Robinson however, persevered, he not only led his team to the championship in the Little
World Series, but his actions began the dismantling of Daytona Beach's Jim Crow laws.
In 1948, the city auditorium, Peabody Auditorium, was desegregated. In 1990, a statue
was erected in City Island Ballpark to honor Jackie Robinson's personal struggle against
racism. The statue depicts Robinson in his uniform talking with two young children, one
black, and one white.
The following year was momentous for all three men. On April 15, 1947, Jackie
Robinson strode onto the turf at Ebbets field to become the first African-American to
play major league baseball. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained a minister and
delivered his first sermon in his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. And
Malcolm X, intrigued by letters from Elijah Muhammad, converted to the Nation of
Islam. In many ways, the year 1947 defined these men not only as individuals, but also as
civil rights activists. Their unique contributions to the civil rights movement and the
legacy they would leave for future generations were determined by the decisions they
made that year.
Over the course of the next decade, the three men solidified their positions with
regard to the civil rights movement. Each man made a unique contribution to the
movement that was shaped by the philosophy of specific individuals. King was
influenced by Gandhi's doctrine of satyagraha (“truth force”), Thoreau's concept of civil
disobedience, and Reinhold Niebuhr’s statements about non-violent direct action. King
believed that these philosophies offered “the more excellent way of love and nonviolent
protest” as a means of building an integrated community of blacks and whites in America
(Jackie Robinson). Malcolm X heavily influenced by Elijah Muhammad who taught that
white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from achieving political,
economic, and social success (Metcalf, 342-343). Unlike King and Robinson who
wanted to end segregation, Malcolm agreed that America was too racist to offer hope to
blacks. They proposed a separate nation for blacks apart from the corrupt white nation.
By the time Malcolm X was released from prison in 1952, he had changed his name from
“Little” to the legendary 'X'. Malcolm considered “Little” a slave name and chose the
42
�“X” to signify his lost tribal name. He strongly encouraged his brothers and sisters to
follow suit as a symbol of their commitment to mount aggressive, and if necessary,
violent opposition to the white oppressors.
Jackie Robinson was an interesting mix of Christian faith and political activism.
As a young man, Robinson was greatly influenced by a pastor at his church, Karl Downs.
The Reverend Downs taught Robinson about a Savior who died for his sins, who taught
His followers to turn the other cheek when insulted (Jackie Robinson Foundation).
Robinson’s relationship with Downs, his Christian faith, his determination and his
political instincts made it possible for him to accept not only Branch Rickey’s challenge,
but also Martin Luther King’s commitment to non-violent protest. It is important to
understand that in the politics of the mid-twentieth century, “turning the other cheek” is
not simply an act of passivity, but also a form of defiant, nonviolent resistance. For the
first three years of his tenure in the major leagues, Robinson kept his word to Branch
Rickey. He quietly and consistently “turned the other cheek” despite the threats, insults
and epithets Robinson heard on major league diamonds. As he made his mark on the
game and won the grudging respect of baseball fans, he was known to protest racial
injustices both on and off the field.
In1957, Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from baseball. With his
playing days behind him, Robinson began a second career as a business executive and
activist. Robinson believed there were two keys to the advancement of Blacks in
America—the ballot and the buck. He stated, “If we organized our political and economic
strength, we would have a much easier fight on our hands”(Long, 92). In typical
Robinson fashion, he devised a two-prong campaign to further the goals of the civil rights
movement. From 1957 to 1964, Robinson served as chair of the NAACP's Freedom Fund
Drive, raising over a million dollars for education and scholarships. He took an active
role in the Harlem YMCA and other community organizations, and he was a key figure in
establishing Harlem's African American-owned Freedom Bank. Robinson dedicated his
career and reputation on making economic empowerment a reality for many black
entrepreneurs.
Robinson also became more directly involved in politics. His involvement with
Richard Nixon and the Republican party could give the impression that Robinson was a
conservative, but that would be a vast over-simplification of Robinson's politics. In 1960,
Robinson was called an “Uncle Tom” and “sell-out” for supporting Nixon over
Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy. Robinson did not receive any money or political
favors for supporting Nixon his only concern was how strongly a candidate supported
43
�civil rights: Robinson said, “I was not beholden to any political party. I was black first”
(Rampersad, 321-322).
It is important to remember that the Nixon of 1960 was not the same man who,
in1968 inflamed the black community by pandering to racist white southerners. As
Eisenhower’s vice president, Nixon enthusiastically fought for the civil rights bills of
1957 and 1960. Neither the Kennedy of 1960, nor the Kennedy of 1963 took affirmative
civil rights actions. As a senator, Kennedy voted to water down a section of the Civil
Rights bills of 1957, and actively courted racist Southern Democrats. Robinson promised
his detractors that if his candidate betrayed him on civil rights, “I'll be right back to give
him hell.” He did exactly that, Jackie subsequently denounced the political meanspiritedness of Nixon and the Republicans.
While black America was proud of Robinson’s exceptional performance on the
baseball field and his high visibility in community affairs and politics, he was not free
from controversy or from disagreement with other civil rights leaders. At one point,
Robinson resigned from the NAACP, claiming they failed to listen to younger, more
progressive black people. Black militants, such as Malcolm X, resented what they
interpreted as Robinson’s identification with a conservative, affluent white society and
labeled Robinson an “Uncle Tom.” Certainly, on the matter of racism, Robinson was
anything but a denier and status quo defender.
Robinson believed that Malcolm X was a talented man with a valid message for
African American youth but fatally flawed by a philosophy that was based on hatred. In a
war of words, the two men feuded over Malcolm's characterization of Robinson as a man
beholden by white people who had put him in a position to succeed. Robinson defended
not only his own integrity but also the integrity of white friends like Branch Rickey,
William Black, and Nelson Rockefeller (Long, 182, 186). While Malcolm X criticized
successful African Americans claiming they distanced themselves from the struggle for
equal rights, Robinson sought to give more African Americans a path to success.
Malcolm X's and Robinson's goals were identical, but their approaches were polar
opposites.
The same year Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from baseball Martin
Luther King was elected president of the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC). The goal of the SCLC was to use direct action demonstrations as a
strategy for ending segregation. Robinson had a deep respect and genuine affection for
Martin Luther King Jr. and as such, he became an ardent supporter of and speaker for the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As much as Robinson admired King, he
recognized that his own temperament was not suited for King's nonviolent
44
�demonstrations. Robinson understood that his time was better-spent heading fund raising
drives. As such, he founded the Church Fund, which raised money to rebuild black
churches destroyed by arsonists.
While Robinson eagerly embraced King's dream of racial equality they did not
always agree. In 1960, Robinson used his syndicated newspaper column to air his
disagreement with Dr. King’s stand against the war in Vietnam. King telephoned
Robinson and explained his motivation for the opposition. Their talk did not persuade
Robinson to accept King's stance. However, it did help him to understood why King, a
champion of nonviolence could not condone armed conflict in Asia (Long, 157).
Minor disagreements aside, Jackie Robinson stood proudly along with his son
on August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington as Martin Luther King delivered his
famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Malcolm X, on the other hand, condemned the march
as a “circus.” He claimed that the organizers had corrupted the integrity of the march by
allowing whites to participate.
Robinson approached the civil rights movement from the practical perspectives
of political power and economic opportunity. He also followed Martin Luther King’s
philosophy of nonviolent protest, (as recommended by Branch Rickey) which allowed
him to be accepted and admired by all baseball fans. While tempering his somewhat
confrontational nature, he did make his opinions known once he had established his
reputation. In some ways, he was like Malcolm X in that he said what was on his mind
despite its seeming political incorrectness.
Today Jackie Robinson is recognized as a pioneer, a larger than life individual
who made it possible for others to move forward. His achievements had an effect on
American society well beyond the baseball field. His selflessness brought the races closer
together, empowered the civil rights movement, and helped shape the dreams of an entire
generation. Robinson got the break of a lifetime when he was selected to smash
baseball’s color barrier. But at the end of his life he realized that many Blacks had
continued to lose ground: “I can't believe that I have it made while so many of my Black
brothers and sisters are hungry, inadequately housed, insufficiently clothed, denied their
dignity, live in slums or barely exist on welfare.” That is why Robinson insisted, “I never
had it made.” I cannot help but wonder if he would say the same thing today (Jackie
Robinson Foundation).
45
�Works Cited
Archives. JackieRrobinson. , 2003. Web. 5 Dec 2010. <http://www>.
“Jackierobinson.org.” The Jackie Robinson Foundation. N.p., 2005. Web. 5 Dec 2010.
Long, Michael, G. First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson.
New York, Henry Holt and Company, 2007. Print.
Metcalf, George, R. Black Profiles. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York, 1968
Rampersad, Arnold. Jackie Robinson: a Biography. New York: Ballantine, 1998. Print.
Santino, Jack. Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle: Stories of Black Pullman Porters.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
Tygiel, Jules. Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy. Oxford
[England: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
46
�The Moral Obligation to People in a Learning Environment
Julia Zenker 1
As a citizen of the world it is difficult to say that I have no moral obligation to
other people that I may not know. There is no guiding moral theory that flawlessly defines
a citizen's duty or obligation to another citizen. The moral theories that I have become
familiar with, express at least one inconsistency with regard to their ideals. Instead of
relying on one moral theory to prove an individual's moral obligation to other citizens, I
believe one must combine components of several different theories in order to fully
affirm that citizens have a moral obligation to one another. Through one particular
experience of mine at El Centro, I have come to analyze my moral obligation to the
people of that organization as well as the citizens of the world. By synthesizing aspects of
Kant's moral theory and psychological egoism, I have reasoned that I am morally
obligated to help provide a comfortable learning environment in which the ESL students
can learn and live.
One of the students in the ESL class at El Centro and I made a connection that
made me think about my moral obligations to people I do not know. I noticed that a few
weeks into my time at El Centro, the class had gained a new student. After he introduced
himself to me as Pedro, he revealed that he had been in a different ESL class. Pedro
noticed that in his previous classes, at a nearby high school, the teacher would not speak
to the students in English. He understood that in order to become fluent in the new
language, he would have to challenge himself to be in an environment where he had no
choice but to hear and speak the language. He explained to me some of the detrimental
effects of the teacher's unsatisfactory teaching methods.
The student revealed that since he had a poor quality english instruction, he was
unable to effectively perform his job. He was not able to distinguish between the words
‘‘in’’ and ‘‘on’’. At times, Pedro's employer would tell him to put plywood ‘‘on’’ a box.
Pedro would indicate to his employer that he was uncertain what was meant by ‘‘on.’’ His
employer would become impatient with him, which in turn made Pedro nervous and
anxious. Michael Nagel's article, Mind the Mind: Understanding the Links Between
Stress, Emotional Well-Being and Learning in Educational Contexts, describes the
neurological effects that Pedro experiences under pressure. Nagel explains that stress
produces powerful mind and body processes (Nagel 36).
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Sarah Donovan (Philosophy) and Dr. Margarita
Sanchez (Modern Languages) for LC8: A Journey to Different Worlds.
47
�Under this type of stress, Pedro was not able to function while his ‘‘Fight or
Flight’’ response was in action. Nagel asserts that Pedro's body had secreted a hormone
called Cortisol into his system (Nagel 37). When high levels of Cortisol are released in
an individual's body, the capacity to think is diminished ( Nagel 37). Not only did this
type of pressure negatively affect Pedro's self confidence, but it also put him in a frantic
state of mind. Nagel mentions that the longterm effects of the hormonal secretions of
Cortisol have included damage to parts of the brain and even the depletion of certain
brain cells (Nagel 36). In Pedro's position, he is subjected to an excess of daily stressors
that could potentially damage his brain. The author points out that ‘‘...emotion and
cognition are intertwined in the mind...’’ (Nagel 40). Generally, when one's emotions
cloud their judgement, they become clumsy which places themselves and all the other
workers at risk of injury.
From my experiences as student in the horseback riding business and in the
academic field, I too have witnessed and felt the damaging effects as a result of feeling
uncomfortable in a learning environment. In retrospect, I can identify that not only did
my impatient teachers influence my behavior when I was in their presence, but it also
began to effect every interaction I had. Once a confident individual, I would nervously
formulate sentences and second guess myself constantly.
Having reflected upon my previous experiences with intolerant mentors, I was
able to relate to Pedro on a very personal level. The incidence that he shared helped me
to realize that no one deserves to be put under that type of stress; especially when they are
only trying to support their families. It further aided my understanding of Pedro's
struggles when I realized that, unlike me, he is not voluntarily putting himself in an
unfavorable environment. At any time during my oppression as a student I could have
quit. However, if Pedro left his oppressive post, his family would starve.
As a member of the human population, I believe that I have a moral obligation to
Pedro and other citizens alike. My experiences talking to Pedro at El Centro prompted me
to question what my moral obligations were to the students with whom I interact. As a
result of the conversation, I began to ask myself how I felt when I was involved in similar
circumstances. Also, I questioned whether socially constructed borders, such as the
US/Mexican Border, could justly prohibit a citizen from surviving or providing for their
family. In essence, I questioned whether my privilege as a healthy and educated individual
affirmed my moral obligation to others that were in some type of need, as I wished that
they would do the same for me, given our roles were reversed.
By applying Kant's moral theory and psychological egoism I understand that I
have a moral obligation to other people. Through Kant's moral theory, an individual
accepts that humans have intrinsic value. Since humans have value in themselves it is fair
48
�to say that all people ought to be treated with respect and all people ought to treat other
people with respect. In Kant's second categorical imperative, he claims that we must
‘‘always treat humanity, whether in our own person or that of another, never simply as a
means, but always at the same time as an end’’ (MacKinnon 80). Kant means that as
humans we have value in ourselves and we cannot use others, as they have intrinsic value
also, as disposable objects in order to fulfill selfish goals. Kant's moral theory suggests
that treating people in a way that makes them a means as well as an end is ‘‘also a source
of human dignity’’ (MacKinnon 81). In other words, Kant agrees that it is in a person's
self interest to treat others as an end.
Under the guiding ideals of Kantian Ethics the principles explain that I have a
moral obligation to people that I may or may not know. For example, Kant's second
categorical imperative explains that since both Pedro and I have intrinsic value, it is my
job as a moral agent to treat him with the same respect that I might treat my family, since
no individual quantitatively has more or less intrinsic value. Kant's theory maintains that
doing the 'right' thing only has moral worth if it is done just for the sake of being moral.
Contrary to consequentialism, Kant's theory claims that only the motive and act
of a moral situation are important in evaluating whether an act has moral value. Kant
established that as long as a person has what he called ‘‘good will’’, the act is moral
regardless of the consequence. Kant explains that if an act that is carried out when the
motive of the individual is to achieve a self interested objective, the act has no moral
worth.
It seems that some aspects of Kant's moral system and those of psychological
egoism are inconsistent with one another. This misconception is dispelled through Kant's
concept of a rational, moral community and his distinction between reason and emotion.
While Kant's moral theory stresses the importance of the society to the individual, it is
the psychologically egoistic individuals that make up the society. As a result, Kant would
say that it is the duty of the society to achieve goals that would benefit the community as
a whole. Since the community would be made up of the psychologically egoistic
individuals their goals would very likely benefit themselves and the society.
Kant also argues that all humans are capable of rational thought and because of
this we have the duty to treat others with respect, as we would want that respect in return.
Every individual has a rationale that warrants dignified treatment from other rational
beings. Under this premise, it would be in one's own self interest to respect the thoughts
of another individual, if one wanted the same respect for their thoughts.
Since humans are psychological egoists they have to fight against their inherent
thoughts that compel them to only act in their own self interest. Kant believes that in a
case where a person actively works against these thoughts, they are moral agents. In
49
�reality they may only be trying to appear moral.
It is in that individual's self interest to act in a way that appears moral to avoid
society's censure or to avoid a guilty conscience. Kant maintains that since we cannot
control our emotions, they cannot dictate the actions we make in moral situations. Rather,
we ought to make use of our rationality when we are faced with a moral situation. A
psychological egoist would reason that we cannot make emotionally biased decisions
when confronted with a moral issue. While a psychological egoist may be inclined to
consider the self interested benefits of his or her decisions, they may not always be
shortsighted and utterly selfish.
When confronted with a difficult moral problem a psychological egoist would
agree that one cannot base their decision on emotion. In fact, a follower of Kantian ethics
and a psychological egoist might reason that an individual ought not to act in a way that
follows a human's instinctual emotional reaction. In Godwin Sogolo's article, Human
Nature and Morality, Sogolo declares that it is within an individual's capacity to ‘‘override
their genetic predispositions [to act selfishly]’’ (Sogolo 53). For instance, one might
experience happiness by eating chocolate. However they are capable of denying
themselves the satisfaction of eating the chocolate, as it is unhealthy for them. To a
Kantian follower or a psychological egoist it would be better for an individual to apply
impartial reasoning to evaluate the best outcome, whether it be pleasurable to that
individual or not.
A psychological egoist is a person that is naturally inclined to think in a way that
would serve his or her own self interest. Psychological egoism is a descriptive term
rather than a prescriptive term; people ought not to act in an ethically egoist manner, but
all humans have the proclivity to think egoistically. People deny being psychological
egoists, because they assume that an individual that thinks in this way will have no
incentive to do good things for other people; this is not so. In this situation, we must
consider the differences between acting selfishly and acting in one's own self interest.
Many times what is good for me, or in my own self interest, is also good for other people.
I would want to act in a manner that is helpful to my goals, but I would not want to
alienate those around me to get to my goals, which would be acting selfishly. In a
situation where I was in need of help, I would want others to help me.
I would not want a bad act to be on my conscience, for that would not be in my
own self interest to feel guilty. I believe that though we should not always act in a way
that benefits ourselves, it is an inherent human quality to do it. As we fight against the
human inclination to act selfishly we can also realize that many times when we do act in
our own self interest it benefits others as well. Sogolo flawlessly explains this anomaly by
explaining that ‘‘...if a person's desire were to proceed from ‘‘X’’ with ‘‘X's’’ actions
50
�directed toward the interest of say ‘‘Y’’, it is a blend of egoism and altruism’’ (Sogolo 44).
Sogolo affirms that if an individual were to willingly act in their own self interest, while
consciously benefitting another individual, the act has moral worth under Kantian ethics.
Of course an individual could not subscribe to both the moral theories of Kantian
Ethics and Ethical Egoism, because their ideals are inconsistent with one another. Ethical
egoism is a prescriptive term that describes how an individual ought to be. The theory
claims that all individuals ought to always act in their own self interest. The ethical egoist
does not believe in performing duties that are not beneficial to themselves. This is very
nearly the opposite of a Kantian follower's idea of acting with morality.
A Kantian follower would find that acting in one's own self interest has no moral
value, because it does not consider the worth of other individuals or simply doing what is
right for the sake of being moral. To Kant, performing a duty need no more reason to be
done than the fact that it is a duty. Jonathan Harrison explains in his article, Self-Interest
and Duty, that ‘‘ doing my duty makes me happy’’ (Harrison 23). However, a Kantian
follower would then make the claim that the reason a duty should be performed cannot be
solely for the purpose that it makes that individual happy. They would argue that a duty
should be performed simply because it is what is right. The psychological egoist and
Kantian follower would accept that a duty ought to be done because it is right, but they
might also recognize that the particular moral act will also have positive consequences for
themselves.
In his article, Harrison supports the claim that psychological egoism and Kantian
ethics can be combined to prove that one has moral obligation. He explains that it is an
unconvincing argument for an ethical egoist to claim that he or she would like to perform
'good' acts, but cannot because these acts may not produce a positive outcome for the
individual (Harrison 23). Harrison explains that an individual may subscribe to
psychological egoism for a more convincing argument. A psychological egoist would
recognize that performing a 'good' act is a duty and though the act may conduce desirable
consequences for that individual, those consequences are not the only reason for doing it.
As in psychological egoism, most acts of ethical egoism do produce benefits for
society and not just for one particular individual. However, there are instances of
inconsistency within the ethical egoist 's theory. Ethical egoists are compelled to always
act in their own self interest when contemplating a moral issue. In certain circumstances,
the theory does not work. In a situation where it is in the self interest of an individual to
behave in one way and it is in the self interest for a different individual to do the opposite,
the system falls apart. In this situation, the individuals will never come to a compromise,
because it would not be in either of their self interest. Consequently, there would never be
an end to the conflict.
51
�Psychological egoism in contrast is not plagued with this type of situation,
because it is not a prescriptive theory. Placed in the same situation as the ethical egoist, a
psychological egoist would not have to act in his or her own self interest. The
psychological egoist may be inclined to think about what act would be in their self
interest, but they would not necessarily act in that way. It is within the psychological
egoist's capacity to reject his or her ideas to act selfishly. The psychological egoist
would likely reason that it would not be in their longterm self interest to quibble with the
other individual, and would then decide to make a compromise. It is even possible that the
psychological egoist might adopt Immanuel Kant's ideals to guide him or her to the moral
course of action in the situation.
In the event that an individual acts in their own self interest, the consequences
are not limited to only be beneficial to that individual. The Abraham Lincoln anecdote
suggests that egoistic acts, for the most part, have moral worth. The narrative explains
that as Lincoln was driven over a bridge, he heard the squeal of piglets. He ordered his
coachmen to stop so that he could rescue the drowning piglets. After saving the piglets, a
friend of Lincoln noted that his heroic act was uncommonly selfless. Lincoln is quoted
saying in response ‘‘...that it was not for the sake of the pigs that he acted as he did.
Rather it was because he would have no peace later when he recalled the incident if he did
not do something about it now.’’ (MacKinnon 34 ).
From Lincoln's situation, the audience can distinguish the correlation and differences
between psychological egoism and Kant's moral theory. After performing what seemed
like a completely altruistic act, Lincoln admits that in reality he was acting in his own self
interest. Clearly Lincoln believed that the piglets had value; whether intrinsic or
instrumental. From this belief he recognized that, in the future, he would have been
compelled to feel guilty about not saving them; which was not in his self interest.
Now that the principles of both Kantian ethics and psychological egoism have
been defined, the reader can begin to understand why I have a moral obligation to help the
ESL student, Pedro. I believe that Pedro has intrinsic value and it is my duty to treat him as
such. I am obligated to appreciate my time with Pedro, but not just so that I can receive the
required credit for community service. Kant would say that even if I teach Pedro perfect
English, if I have not done so for the right reasons, the act has no moral worth.
Since I am psychologically egoistic, I cannot help but think of the possible
benefits I will receive from helping Pedro. For example, not helping Pedro would be
mentally taxing for me. I would worry whether anyone was helping Pedro to survive in
the uncomfortable environment he is in. I would wonder whether his children were
receiving adequate meals and education, because they are the future adults of the world
and my peers. My conscience would be filled with the thoughts of Pedro's well being.
52
�This type of stress would not be in my self interest. Though I may not like to admit it, I
would like to appear to be a moral agent.
While I would contemplate what benefits I would receive from providing Pedro
with comfort, I would also want to consider that treating people as if they had intrinsic
value is my duty. Since I accept Kant's second categorical imperative, I would agree that
while my acts will benefit me in the future, I don't have a choice but to treat Pedro with
dignity. Pedro is a rational being that deserves the same respect that I would bestow upon
any individual. To that end, it is my duty to treat Pedro with dignity.
Kant's moral theory and psychological egoism play an important role in proving
that I have a moral obligation to people outside of my society. It is not within an
individual's right to deny another the natural freedom of life. Beyond that, it is a citizen's
duty to help those that are struggling to an extent where the less fortunate can help
themselves. The people that have not been able to relate to another human being in their
struggles may not be able to fully comprehend what their moral obligations entail. For
me, these experiences with the people at El Centro have exposed my mind to the
hardships that they are facing. My involvement in the organization tunes me in to just one
of a citizens moral obligations; the moral obligation to make people feel comfortable in
an educational environment.
Works Cited
Harrison, Jonathan. ‘‘Self-Interest and Duty.’’ Australasian Journal of Philosophy. Vol.
31. 1 May 1953: pp. 23-29.
MacKinnon, Barbara. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth Cengage
Learning. 2009, 2007. Belmont, CA. Print.
Nagel, Michael. “Mind the Mind: Understanding the Links Between Stress, Emotional
Well-Being and Learning in Educational Contexts.” International Journal of Learning
16.2 (2009): 33-42.
Sogolo, Godwin. “Human Nature and Morality: The Case of the IK.” Philosophy and
Social Action 11.(1985): 41-54.
53
�The Punishments of the Bacchaeans
Caroline Geling1
To punish someone is to subject them to some type of pain, confinement, or
death, as a consequence of some offense, transgression, or fault they have committed.
Euripides’ The Bacchae contains multiple types of punishments for different actions.
Some appear to be completely justified; however, others seem too harsh. In this paper I
will examine the actions and punishments of the characters Pentheus, and his mother,
Agave, by Dionysus. I will defend the fact that Pentheus‘ punishment was well deserved
while Agaves’ punishment was too extensive.
Euripides’ tragic tale, The Bacchae, is an unfortunate and gruesome story of a
young and beautiful god who craves revenge upon those who revolt against his divinity.
This youthful god, Dionysus, has come back to his place of birth, Thebes, to prove that he
is truly half human and half divine. His desperate need to prove this to the people of
Thebes stems from his anger for the way his mother, Semele, had been treated in the past.
Not only was Dionysus upset with all the citizens of Thebes, but he was especially
infuriated by the refusal of his cousin, Pentheus, the new King, and Semele’s sisters to
accept him as divine.
Dionysus is only a god because Semele, a mortal and the daughter of former
King Cadmus, was a mistress of Zeus, the almighty god. She became pregnant with
Dionysus but her mortal family refused to believe Zeus was the father. Semele’s sisters
Ino, Autonoe, and Agave simply thought Dionysus was a bastard. While pregnant,
Semele was actually killed by the thunder-bolting glory of Zeus in his divine form.
However, Zeus saved the young Dionysus. Dionysus grew up to travel the world and
foreign lands, gathering a cult of female worshippers along the way. He eventually
returns to Thebes with his cabal to carry out revenge on the house of Cadmus while
disguised in human form. He begins by sending the women of Thebes to Mt. Cithaearon
where they fall into a frenzy of madness, dancing, and hunting. While this is happening,
King Pentheus decides to declare a complete ban of any worshipping of Dionysus.
Pentheus stumbles upon Cadmus and the great prophet, Teiresias, as they are
traveling to the mountain to be with the women, although they are not under the same
1
Written under the direction of Dr. John Danisi (Philosophy) for LC 9: Minds, Machines,
and Human Beings.
54
�spell. Pentheus gets extremely angry and hostile, demanding that they do not worship
Dionysus. “I happened to be away, out of the city, but reports reached me of some
strange mischief here, stories of our women leaving home to frisk in mock ecstasies
among the thickets on the mountain, dancing in honor of the latest divinity, a certain
Dionysus, whoever he may be!” (Euripides, 215-220) “By God, I’ll have his head cut
off!”, says Pentheus to the two men (Euripides, 240).
Pentheus attempts to capture Dionysus, and he is extremely confident in this
decision. He desires to chain him up; however, he is a god and soon escapes this foolish
treatment. Dionysus used his divine powers to cause a tremendously damaging
earthquake and fire that brings the palace to the ground. Finally, through a face to face
confrontation, Dionysus ends up manipulating Pentheus into coming with him to see the
possessed women. Dionysus convinced him to dress as a woman in disguise. This is
where Dionysus’ plan of severe punishment comes about. He brings young Pentheus to
the mountains and boosts him up into a tree where the women spot him. Low and
behold, Pentheus is ripped to shreds and torn of his limbs by his own mother, his aunts,
and the rest of the women.
The audience of the play is most often shocked by Dionysus’ relentless
punishment of Pentheus. It is rather unexpected and can also appear as harsh,
considering it was his own mother who murdered him. However, there are multiple
reasons and plenty of proof that Pentheus did, in-fact, deserve this type of punishment.
Pentheus was an extremely young, “beardless,” King (210). He “acts out of a kind of
unteachable, ungovernable, ignorance of himself and his necessities; he is prone to
violence, harshness, and brutality,” and he “wantonly, violently, refuses to accept the
necessity that Dionysus incarnates,” as stated in the introduction to the play
(introduction).
Although he is the King of Thebes, Pentheus is merely childlike. He displays all
the qualities of a young and foolish man. He is extremely boastful yet vulnerable at the
same time. His stubbornness and his inability to accept Dionysus as a god are due to his
complete and utter ignorance of himself, and where he stands as a mortal. The fact that
he is a young man and extremely foolish is no excuse for his behavior because he was
warned multiple times by the people of Thebes: including Teiresias, the chorus, and his
own grandfather, Cadmus. Teiresias says:
But you are glib; your phrases come rolling out smoothly on the tongue, as
though your words were wise instead of foolish. The man whose glibness flows
from his conceit of speech declares the thing he is: a worthless and a stupid
55
�citizen. I tell you, this god whom you ridicule shall someday have enormous
power and prestige (267-273).
Teiresias even tries to explain that Dionysus is truly a god; he is the god of the
liquid wine, the gift for the suffering of mankind. He says, “Mark my words, Pentheus.
Do not be so certain that power is what matters in the life of man; do not mistake for
wisdom the fantasies of your sick mind. Welcome the god to Thebes; crown your head;
pour him libations and join his revels” (309-313). Pentheus is too close-minded and
foolish to take any of these warnings into consideration. He says, “I see: this is your
doing, Teiresias. Yes, you want still another god revealed to men so you can pocket the
profits form burnt offerings and bird watching” (255-258). Pentheus will say anything to
prove himself right and ignore the truth.
Cadmus, his grandfather, agrees that Pentheus is acting foolishly. “Your mind is
distracted now, and what you think is sheer delirium. Even if Dionysus is no god, as you
assert, persuade yourself that he is” (332-334). Pentheus had even seen his own cousin
Actaeon die a dreadful death for boasting “that his prowess in the hunt surpassed the skill
of Artemis,” (339-342). Cadmus begs “Do not let this fate be yours” (342). However,
Pentheus is still a reckless fool and does not listen. Teiresias, after hearing that Pentheus
wants to capture the god, says, “you do not know the consequences of your words.
Cadmus, let us go pray for this raving fool and for this city, too, pray to the god that no
awful vengeance strike from heaven” (358-363). That is just what happens; there is an
awful vengeance strike from heaven and it is the punishment of poor, foolish Pentheus.
The Chorus of foreign women collectively states that Pentheus is being,
“inhuman, a rabid beast, a giant in wildness raging, storming, defying the children of
heaven” (542-545). The women go on to beg of Zeus “descend from Olympus, lord!
Come, whirl your wand of gold and quell with death this beast of blood whose violence
abuses man and god outrageously” (553-557). Dionysus himself even tries to warn
Pentheus upon meeting him at the palace. He says, “You do not know the limits of your
strength. You do not know what you do. You do not know who you are” (504-507). He
continues “I go, though not to suffer, since that cannot be. But Dionysus whom you
outrage by your acts, who you deny is god, will call you to account. When you set chains
on me, you manacle the god” (515-519).
Pentheus was so naive that he refused to recognize Dionysus’ divine powers
when Dionysus caused the earthquake and fire that brought the palace down. After he
had chained Dionysus up, Dionysus escaped because he is divine and incapable of being
captured. “He razed the palace to the ground where it lies, shattered in utter ruin-his
reward for my imprisonment” (633-634). Dionysus was easy on Pentheus, at first, for
56
�refusing to believe he was a god. However, Pentheus was too unteachable. He deserved
to be killed because of the multiple warnings he had been given. Even though it was his
own mother, Agave, who was ripping him apart, it was not too harsh. Regardless of
being young and foolish, he was a king and should have acted less ignorant. He knew
that the gods were supreme and all-powerful, but he just refused to believe in Dionysus.
Agave received a punishment from Dionysus as well. Even though her actions
were in favor of the god, he still punished her again. Dionysus said:
upon you, Agave, and on your sisters I pronounce this doom: you shall leave this
city in expiation of the murder you have done. You are unclean, and it would be
a sacrilege that murderers should remain at peace beside the graves (1322-1327).
Another reason Dionysus would like to punish Agave is for her lack of instilling Thebian
values and cultures on her son. She had all of Pentheus’ life to teach him how important
the gods were but she evidently did not.
All of this may be true; however, there is immense evidence that Agave was not
in her right mind during the murder of her son, Pentheus. The women of Thebes seemed
to be under some sort of spell or trance; they would dance, sleep, wander, and “nestled
gazelles and young wolves in their arms, suckling them” (700-701). This was not exactly
normal behavior. To the audience it seems as though the women are being controlled by
a higher power, or by the god. However, the women are simply intoxicated by the wine
and so possessed by Dionysus. The messenger went on to describe the scene he was
watching by the mountains, “At this we fled and barely missed being torn to pieces by the
women.” He saw the women, with their bear hands “tear a fat calf, still bellowing with
fright, in two, while others clawed the heifers to pieces. There were ribs and cloven
hooves scattered everywhere, and scraps smeared with blood hung from the fir trees”
(738-741). According to this messenger, “everything in sight they pillaged and
destroyed” (733-753). This clearly shows that these women are being controlled by
something.
Before Dionysus brings Pentheus to his death in the mountains, he says to the
women of Thebes, “Agave and you daughters of Cadmus, reach out your hands! I bring
this young man to a great ordeal. The victor? Bromius. Bromius- and I. The rest the
even shall show” (973-976). This shows that Dionysus is not really giving the women a
choice; he demands that they reach out their hands and partake in this great ordeal. The
Chorus cries out to them, “sting them against the man in women’s clothes,” ... “O Justice,
principle of order, spirit of custom, come! Be manifest; reveal yourself with a sword!”
(980-992).
57
�When Dionysus had Pentheus up in the tree attempting to spy on the women,
Dionysus’ voice, like the god that he is, came down from heaven and said, “Women, I
bring you the man who has mocked at you and me and at our holy mysteries. Take
vengeance upon him” (1079-1081). The messenger who described this event said, “And
now they [the women] knew his cry, the clear command of god. And breaking loose like
startled doves, through grove and torrent, over jagged rocks, they flew, their feet
maddened by the breathe of god” (1088-1092). Clearly, Agave, who is possessed by
Dionysus, is working out his actions and demands.
The messenger also claimed that Agave was “foaming at the mouth, and her
crazed eyes rolling with frenzy. She was mad, stark mad, possessed by Bacchus” (11221124). Agave was possessed; and, as such her actions were caused by the breath of god,
not her own conscience. The messenger explained that Agave “seems to think it is some
mountain lion’s head which she carries in triumph through the thick of Cithaeron” (11411143). Agave was so possessed that she literally believed her son was a lion; and
accordingly, the god used her to tear apart that lion and proudly carry the head. When
she got back to Thebes, the Chorus asked her, “And Pentheus, your son?” and she
replied, “Will praise his mother. She caught a great quarry, this lion’s cub (1194-1196).”
Agave was so proud that she wanted to show her son the lion she killed; she had no idea
her son was dead, by her hand. “And my son. Where is Pentheus? Fetch him” (12111212).
Agave had no recollection or where he was killed or why. She did not even
know she was at the mountain or what she was doing there. “But we- what were we
doing on the mountain?” (1293-1294). She experienced the greatest grief when she
realized her son was dead. After being told that she must be exiled and suffer forever she
said:
O Father, now you can see how everything has changed. I am in aguish now,
tormented, who walked in triumph minutes past, exulting in my kill. And that
prize I carried home with such pride was my own curse. Upon these hands I
bear the curse of my son’s blood (1331-1336).
Agave is bound by Dionysus to suffer great punishments; yet the entire murder was out
of her hands. It could not, then, be her fault. Her punishment was too excessive
considering she was possessed by Dionysus and had no control over her actions.
My opinion is that Pentheus deserved his terrible fate and did nothing to stop it,
even though there were many chances along the way. I also believe that Agave did not
deserve her harsh punishment as a consequence of her actions; she had no say in them.
The play clearly showed that Pentheus was warned of the power of the gods, not only by
58
�the people of Thebes, but by Dionysus himself. It also showed how Agave and the other
women were possessed by the gods. I interpreted it as Dionysus controlling these women
and commanding them to kill Pentheus. By examining the dialogue I came to the
conclusion that Pentheus fully deserved his fate; however I also concluded that Agave’s
punishment was too harsh, considering her state of mind.
Works Cited
Danisi, John. “The Bacchae.” Reflective Tutorial. Wagner College. Staten Island, New
York. 15 Oct. 2010. Lecture.
Euripides. Euripides: Bacchae. London, UK: Createspace. 2009. Pages 142-220. Print.
59
�The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Nothingness:
Utilizing the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre to Better
Understand Kundera’s Novel
Zachary Weinsteiger1
Throughout Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being the reader is
confronted with the opposing personalities of the core characters. These can be separated
into the two opposing sides of “lightness” and “weight” and, on a more basic level, sex
and love. Kundera’s narrator tells the reader that the novel was born from a concept of
Nietzsche; however a close analysis of the characters shows that rather than being merely
a musing on eternal return it may be read as a tale of individuals grappling with Sartre’s
concept of “Being for Others.” In a sense each character is seeking to reaffirm his or her
own existence through varying uses of others. For example, Tomas grapples with his
existence by constantly reaffirming his physical existence in his sex acts with others.
Tereza grapples with her existence in her love for Tomas, or more accurately her desire to
be loved by Tomas. Sabina grapples with her existence both through the physical act of
intercourse and, moreover, by utilizing shame as a means to affirm the self. The desires
and behaviors demonstrated by these various characters can all be traced back to Sartre’s
concepts of “Being for Others,” the bulk of which is to be found in his essay Being and
Nothingness. Thus it can be argued that to fully understand Kundera’s characters and the
novel on the whole, one must first have a clear understanding of the ideas posed by JeanPaul Sartre.
One can make the claim that Kundera must have been in some way or another
influenced by Sartre’s works because they were contemporaries. Born in 1905, Sartre
began publishing his thoughts and works in 1936, causing a stir in the world of
philosophy. Kundera himself was born in the year 1929 and therefore grew up in a world
that was being introduced to Sartre and his philosophy. Through his obvious interest in
and knowledge of Nietzsche and his works, it can be seen that Kundera was thoroughly
interested in the realm of philosophy, particularly existentialism, and would have been
well versed in the writings of his contemporary philosophers. Sartre passed away in 1980,
a mere four years before the publication of Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of
Being. Thus one can assume that Kundera would have had Sartre on his mind while
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Ann Hurley (English) for EN291: Freshman Honors
Literature Seminar.
60
�writing his novel and, subconsciously or otherwise, he would incorporate Sartre’s “Being
for Others” into the work.
The concept of “Being for Others” stems first and foremost from the concept
that without the boundaries set by others, one is, on one level, perfectly free, however
without any sort of set self-identity: “Man is the quest for self-identity, substantiality,
permanence, stability, objectivity. Yet to win these would be to lose the very freedom of
man… the price of freedom is vacuity; the price of self-identity is external
determination” (Fell 67). Mankind seeks to define themselves, to reaffirm their existence,
but by doing this through others they limit their freedom by becoming a determined
object by being seen by the other. This is Sartre’s concept of “The Look”: “This relation
in which the Other must be given to me directly as a subject although in connection with
me, is the fundamental relation, the very type of my being-for-others” (Sartre 341). In
other words, when another is present, our relationship to them sets up boundaries. “The
Look” is the concept that how you are perceived by a person constructs what you are in
essence. Thus the existence of others limits us and our freedom by manufacturing a
deterministic self, constructed by the views of others, but in doing so also gives the
desired self-identity and reaffirmation of existence. So one finds oneself in concrete
relations with others as a means of affirming existence and self-identity, and from this
stems the emotion of attachment known as love:
Thus, in love, I want to remain an object for the other, but at the same time I want
to be a limiting object, an object which the other will accept, not once and for all,
but again and again, as limiting his transcendence. The lover wants to be ‘the
whole world’ for the loved one. Neither the determinism of the passion nor the
detached attitude of elective affinity can satisfy the lover. He wants to be the
occasion, not the cause of the passion (Salvan 87).
Mankind seeks others, and love, in order to have a set means with which to constantly
reaffirm the self. The loved one provides a point of reference, which will always
acknowledge and affirm the existence of the other by using them as a point of reference
for themselves: “Whereas before being loved we were uneasy about the unjustified
protuberance which was our existence… we now feel that our existence is taken up and
willed even in its tiniest detail by an absolute freedom… our existence is justified”(Sartre
483-484). We seek others for love because they see us in a way we wish to be seen: “The
Other holds a secret- the secret of who I am” (Sartre 475). Put basically, since others are
what determine the self of the individual, as the self is defined by others rather than the
individual himself, we seek in love an other who sees us in a way which we find
favorable. When one has found a person who sees him or her in a way in which one
61
�wishes to see oneself, one forms an attachment, known as “love”, and uses the other as a
means of constantly reaffirming that self that exists in them as a reference point.
Setting love aside, another means through which we affirm our existence is
through the act of sexual intercourse: “I make myself flesh in order to impel the other to
realize for herself and for me her own flesh. My caress causes my flesh to be born for me
insofar as it is for the Other flesh causing her to be born as flesh." (Sartre 508). Through
the coming together, the fusing, of two bodies we only reaffirm more concretely the
existence of our own physical bodies. Coming so close physically allows us to observe
more closely our physical barriers and thus the barriers of the self. One proves oneself to
be a physical entity in order to prove the physical existence of the other. Sartre claims
that this is the basis of sexual desire. Furthermore we may reaffirm ourselves through the
concept of shame: “Shame…is the apprehension of myself as a nature although that very
nature escapes me and is unknowable as such.” (Sartre 352). Put simply, shame stems
from our inherent self-consciousness that arises from being looked upon by others. One
feels shame because one knows that others are perceiving them and making one an object
which may be seen unfavorably. This is a very brief explanation of a few aspects of
Sartre’s overall idea of “Being for Others” but, for the purpose of allowing one to better
grasp the characters and their actions, it serves its purpose.
Beginning with Tomas, one should first look at his relationship with Tereza.
Tomas fell in love with Tereza for the simple reason that it made him feel powerful:
He had come to feel an inexplicable love for this all but complete stranger; she
seemed a child to him, a child someone had put in a bulrush basket daubed with
pitch and sent downstream for Tomas to fetch at the riverbank of his bed
(Kundera 6).
He comes to love her because of how he is reflected in her. The individual comes to love
because they wish to have a frame of reference in which to see their self-identity.
Through Tereza, Tomas saw himself as a protector. He had immense power over this
“child” and thus he became attached to her, for he expected, as in all love according to
Sartre, that she would constantly reaffirm this to him. In a loving marriage he would
forever become a powerful protector over her. Later the narrator claims that “Their love
story did not begin until afterward: she fell ill and he was unable to send her home like
the others” (Kundera 209). Specifically because of her weakness he came to love her. Her
weakness made him all the stronger and reaffirmed this again and again.
Despite Tomas’ love for Tereza, he is also extremely promiscuous. This stems
from Tomas’ wish to reaffirm his own existence physically. He uses sex as a means of
manifesting his own physical existence. As a surgeon he knew the body inside and out,
but what he didn’t know was others. He sought constantly to discover others in order to
62
�reaffirm himself: “So it was not a desire for pleasure… but for possession of the world…
that sent him in pursuit of women” (Kundera 200). He wanted to define the world around
him in relation to himself through the act of physical love, through which he could both
define others and himself as separate physical and conscious entities:
What is unique about the “I” hides itself exactly in what is unimaginable about a
person. All we are able to imagine is what makes everyone like everyone else,
what people have in common. The individual “I” is what differs from the common
stock, that is what cannot be guessed at or calculated, what must be unveiled,
uncovered, conquered (Kundera 199).
This is Tomas’ whole reason for promiscuity. He is in search of the “I,” his “I,” in the “I”
of others. He seeks to discover what is unimaginable about others because in doing so he
is testing his own boundaries. By testing his boundaries sexually he is able to better see
himself as an object in existence.
Tereza exemplifies, perhaps more so than the rest, Sartre’s concepts of love.
Tereza grew up under the rule of her mother, a woman who lacked shame when it came
to her body: “Your body is just like all other bodies; you have no right to shame… In her
mother’s world all bodies were the same and marched behind one another in formation”
(Kundera 57). This instilled in her a fear of sameness. Her existence lacked any sort of
validity or justification if it was simply the same as any other. This fear manifests itself in
her nightmare:
I was at a large outdoor swimming pool. There were twenty of us. All women. We
were naked and had to march around the pool. There was a basket hanging from
the ceiling and a man standing in the basket. The man wore a broad-brimmed
hat shading his face, but I could see it was you. You kept giving us orders.
Shouting at us. We had to sing as we marched, sing and do kneebends. If one of
us did a bad kneebend, you would shoot her with a pistol and she would fall dead
in the pool (Kundera 18).
This nightmare exemplifies Tereza’s fear of sameness. As her mother had taught her, the
women that were around her were essentially the same; interchangeable from one
another. Tereza walks in formation, afraid of any slight failure as it will lead to her being
tossed aside in favor of the others, or, in the terms of the dream itself, shot. Tereza
counteracts that fear by seeking the love of Tomas. While Tomas loves her because her
weakness makes him into a strong protector, she loves him because she wishes him to be
there to reaffirm her uniqueness, her self-identity. But Tomas’ infidelity causes her
distress. Because love is attempting to maintain the attention of another solely on one’s
self, Tomas’ apparent focus on other women causes Tereza much suffering: “‘For months
now your hair has had the strong odor to it. It smells of female genitals. I didn’t want to
tell you, but night after night I’ve had to breathe in the scent of some mistress of yours’”
63
�(Kundera 235). The scent on Tomas haunts Tereza so because it means he has been
focused on other women rather than her. Instead of continually reaffirming Tereza’s self,
Tomas only strengthens her worries of sameness.
It is interesting to note here Tereza’s relationship with Karenin. When Tomas’
attentions are out of reach of Tereza, she finds solace in Karenin’s look. Karenin, being a
dog, allowed Tereza to feel important, as in the dog’s eyes she was the master. But more
telling is what Kundera claims about the nature of love in analyzing the relationship of
Karenin and Tereza:
It is a completely selfless love: Tereza did not want anything of Karenin; she did
not ever ask him to love her back…Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is
that we yearn to be loved, that is we demand something (love) from our partner
instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but
his company (Kundera 297).
This is almost exactly Sartre’s point. Love is masochistic because one demands that the
other limit their freedom by only viewing them. With the dog nothing is demanded, it is
just a pure unconditional love between two beings. Tereza isn’t asking the dog to love her
back, to give her the affirmation of self-identity, but merely to keep her company.
Thus Tereza reached a point where she needed to affirm her own existence in a
different way and this manifested itself in her encounter with the engineer:
In the light of the incredible, the soul for the first time saw the body as something
other than banal; for the first time it looked on the body with fascination: all the
body’s matchless, inimitable, unique qualities had suddenly come to the fore.
This was not the most ordinary of bodies… this was the most extraordinary body
(Kundera 155).
Through her sexual adventure with the engineer, Tereza is able to reaffirm to herself her
uniqueness. She sees her body distinctly apart from the bodies of others by manifesting it
through sex with the engineer. Here Sartre’s philosophy stands out in Kundera’s own
words: “She did not desire her lover’s body. She desired her own body, newly
discovered, intimate and alien beyond all others, incomparably exciting” (Kundera 161).
She discovers her own body, that physical level of self, through this sexual act.
Sabina uses a slightly more bizarre concept in order to reaffirm her existence to
herself. She uses shame before others as a means to remind her of her own existence.
She manifests this in her grandfather’s bowler hat:
The lingerie enhanced the charm of her femininity, while the hard masculine hat
denied it, violated and ridiculed it. The fact that Tomas stood beside her fully
dressed meant that the essence of what they both saw was far from good clean
fun… it was humiliation. But instead of spurning it, she proudly, provocatively
64
�played it for all it was worth, as if submitting of her own will to public rape…
(Kundera 87).
This “public rape” falls in line with the concept of shame. Shame is what one feels when
they become acutely aware of the others perception of you, particularly when the
perception is less than desirable. Sabina present herself as weak and ridiculous before
others to attain that feeling of shame. Naturally, she is also having intercourse with these
others, which is a means of affirmation, but this must be noted. She wears the ridiculous
outfit of lingerie and hat and stands before a mirror with another in order for her to feel
more acutely, on a different level than love and sex, her relation to other people. The
feeling of shame reminds her of her own being, her own existence apart from, yet
dependent upon, others. She refuses to accept love, due entirely to its limiting effects, and
sex is not enough for her to fully comprehend her self-identity, therefore she adds into her
sexual acts the element of shame.
In these ways we see how Sartre’s philosophy has affected, perhaps even been
the source of, the behaviors of Kundera’s characters. All of them share the same
existential woe. They all struggle with the same feelings. They go about resolving this, by
reaffirming their existence, physical or otherwise, in a variety of ways which reflect
Sartre’s ideas on the topic of “Being for Others.” Was Kundera consciously trying to
make his characters reflect these thoughts? One cannot know that. What one does know
is that Kundera lived in the time of Sartre. It is inconceivable that a man as well read as
Kundera would not have had a thorough knowledge and understanding of the
philosophies of Sartre, particularly since Kundera shows himself to be an existentialist.
Works Cited
Fell, Joseph. Emotion in the Thought of Sartre. New York: Columbia University Press, 1965.
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. New York: Harper & Row,
Publishers, Inc., 1999.
Salvan, Jacques. To be and not to be: An analysis of Jean-Paul Sartre's Ontology. Detroit:
Wayne State University Press, 1962.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology.
New York: Washington Square Press, 1992.
65
�Here, There, and Everywhere
Morgan Grubbs1
What is a moral obligation? The dictionary defines the word obligation as: “a
binding promise, contract, sense of duty” (dictionary.com). Logically, a moral obligation
would be a code or standard of morality that we are bound to uphold. Of course most
people feel a sense of moral obligation to family and friends. People go to extraordinary
lengths to protect and provide for their loved ones. One has to ask, how far does this
“contract” extend? Who does the umbrella of moral obligation cover? Are the members
of our community covered? What about the members of our state? Our country? What
about total strangers living halfway around the world? Do we have a moral obligation to
people we will never meet?
I believe we do. John D. Rockefeller said it best when he stated, “Every right
implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation, every possession, a
duty”(brainyquote.com). As citizens of the world, and especially citizens of America, we
have a debt to our community- both locally and globally. In this essay, I will use Peter
Singer’s article, “Kantian ethics”, and the theory of Natural law to support the statement
that as humans we have a duty to help people, regardless of their proximity or relation to
us.
Our experiential learning for LC8 was to assist in English as a Second Language
classes at an organization called El Centro del Inmigrante. Quickly I (along with another
student, Kellie Griffith) was given the opportunity to help three women, Elvia, Gloria and
Dominga, learn to read and write. I have forged friendships with all three women but I
have made a special connection with Elvia. She is an amazing woman who came to the
United States from Mexico about three years ago. She cannot read or write in Spanish or
English because she never had the chance to receive a formal education. Although Elvia
is learning quickly and is one of the most clever and intelligent women I have ever met,
she is very hard on herself. One week, Elvia and I were working one on one to learn some
new and challenging words. She became very frustrated and told me that she was stupid
and couldn’t do it. It was not the first time I heard Elvia use self-deprecating language.
Our lessons over the past few months have been peppered with her self-doubt and
criticism. I am always quick to remind Elvia that what she is doing is hard, it is
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Sarah Donovan (Philosophy) and Dr. Margarita
Sanchez (Modern Languages) for LC8: A Journey to Different Worlds.
66
�frustrating and challenging and all around difficult. Elvia has absorbed society’s message
that because she cannot speak English, she is stupid. Tragically, I see this belief mirrored
in a five-year-old girl named Hilda.
I work with Hilda on Wednesdays at tutoring sessions where I help her complete
her spelling homework. Hilda’s parents cannot help her with the homework because they
do not speak English. Hilda can understand English very well but she still has a bit of a
problem speaking it and obviously with writing because she is five. One day, we were
working on writing the letter “K.” Hilda became frustrated and said, “I’m stupid. I can’t
do this.” I was shocked to say the least. I realized that at the tender age of five, Hilda
already believed that because she was living in America, and she could not speak English
as well as the children in her class, she was stupid.
Elvia and Hilda are two people that American society has made to feel
that they are “stupid” because they do not speak English. Some people may ask, so what?
Why should I care? It relates back to the idea of a moral obligation. What is our moral
obligation to Hilda and Elvia? Is mine different from someone who has not met these two
inspiring women? Peter Singer would say no.
In his article “Famine, Affluence and Morality,” Singer takes the position that if
we have the power to do something to stop suffering, we should do it, regardless of
proximity or knowledge of whom we are helping (Singer). Most people would label what
I am doing for Elvia and Hilda as “charity work.” Singer, on the other hand, would
disagree and say that I am merely doing my duty as a person. Singer would go even
further and say that every single person in the world should be trying to help Elvia, Hilda
and others like them. It could be as simple as not endorsing or promoting harmful
stereotypes like the ones that Hilda and Elvia are affected by. Of course it’s great if
people are inspired to do much more, but everyone should at least do a little bit. It’s our
duty as global citizens.
The debate between duty and charity is one that is not often thought
about. The notion that we, as humans, have an obligation to help strangers is a foreign
concept for most Americans. In our “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” society, helping
others is considered a generous or kind thing to do. If you told most people that they have
a duty or that they must help strangers they would be shocked and maybe angry. It makes
one wonder, why is the culture of giving in our country apathetic and sometimes even
hostile? Why are the priorities of our nation so skewed? Rob Reich would say that it is
inevitable for people to feel indifferent about charity due to the culture of giving in our
nation.
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�In his article, “The Failure of Philanthropy,” Reich discusses the reasons why
people don’t give or are apathetic about giving. He says, “…because American policies
governing philanthropy are indifferent towards helping the poor, American individuals
and institutions likewise fail to funnel their money to those in need” (Reich, 29). People
look, whether consciously or subconsciously, to their government to find what they
should value. Therefore, when the government does not spend their money on the poor
and needy, neither do the American people. When the government does not make giving
to charities a priority, society does likewise.
In Kantian ethics, there are two categorical imperatives, or two
commands that are the foundations for Kant’s theory of morality. The second is to treat
humanity as an end and not a means. Basically, because humans are humans they have
intrinsic worth, or value in themselves. This value is not based on and cannot be changed
by a person’s usefulness or how much they are loved by others (MacKinnon, 80). This
relates to our moral obligation to strangers. If we keep in mind someone’s intrinsic worth
when we consider what we “owe” people, our conclusion should always be that we
should help our fellow man, even if we don’t know them. People are viewed as being
valuable because they are people, not because they are someone’s brother, someone’s
husband, or someone’s daughter. Strangers should have just as much value to us as our
immediate family. Elvia and Hilda should be valued because they are Elvia and Hilda,
not because they are brave, not because they are smart, but because they are who they
are. Others should help them because of this value. Things that are valuable deserve and
require work and care by others.
In his article, “A Duty to Be Charitable,” Peter Atterton discusses
Kant’s first categorical imperative. The basic premise of Kant’s first categorical
imperative is that in order for an action to be moral, it must be able to be universalized.
Basically, if everyone did the “action,” the world would be better off. Atterton uses this
imperative to argue against a society that doesn’t value giving. He said it is possible to
conceive a world where the universal law is that no one helps those in need. However, the
imperative would be broken because eventually it would contradict itself. Atterton says,
“…may a situation might arise in which the man needed love and sympathy from others,
and in which, by such a law of nature sprung from his own will, he would rob himself of
all hope of the help he wants for himself” (Atterton, 137). If a man doesn’t want to give
to charity and he universalizes the law then if he is in need and wants help from a charity,
the law contradicts itself. Therefore Atterton proves that giving to those in need is
supported by Kantian ethics.
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�Natural laws and natural rights are laws and rights that transcend
society, cultures and written laws. They are privileges that we have as human beings that
cannot be given or taken away by governments. Our country has deep roots in this
theory, it is cited numerous times in our Constitution and our Declaration of
Independence. All people have certain rights that they are entitled to, regardless of race,
religion, gender, age, socioeconomic class or sexual orientation. The basic train of logic
to support natural laws and rights is: humans are of the same species. Humans are born
with the same basic capacities, and therefore, all humans should be treated equally. If we
have a moral obligation to help any member of humanity, we have a moral obligation to
help all of humanity, because all men (and women) are created equal. Elvia, Hilda, and
the other people at El Centro have the same rights as everyone else living in the world
and deserve to be treated accordingly.
In conclusion, we have a moral obligation to help complete and perfect
strangers because they have intrinsic worth, they have natural rights that we cannot take
away, and because it is our duty as a human being to help them. My work at El Centro
has helped me to better grasp this concept and to understand that all people deserve the
best life possible, even if I will never meet them.
Works Cited
Peter Atterton. “A Duty to Be Charitable? A Rigoristic Reading of Kant.” Kant-Studien
98.2(2007):135-155.
“John D. Rockefeller Quotes.” Quotes and Quotations at BrainyQuote. 2001. Web. 15
Nov. 2010. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_d_rockefeller.html>.
MacKinnon, Barbara. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
“Obligation | Define Obligation at Dictionary.com.” Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings
and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Ask.com, 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obligation?&qsrc=>
Reich, Rob. “The Failure of Philanthropy.” Stanford Social Invocation Review, Winter
2005.
69
�Dissident Voices Against the Injustices of the School
Experience of the LGBT Community
Elle Brigida1
Schools are microcosms of society in which the ideals and morals of an entire
generation can be shaped. In high schools and universities, the heterosexual students
exhibit the homophobia of society at large. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
students, combining to make the LGBT community, face prejudice and discrimination
every day not only in the United States, but worldwide. Other students verbally and
physically assault them, deface their property, and in extreme cases, murder them. Their
harassment leads to fear, dropping out of school, and truancy. Recently, several gay teens
in the United States committed suicide as a result of bullying from their peers.
Sociologists offer many different solutions to homophobia in schools including
bibliotherapy and no tolerance policies from the administration. Student run
organizations, however, are the key to promoting tolerance and awareness. Organizations
such as the Gay Straight Alliance and the Day of Silence raise awareness within the
school community from students to other students. For tolerance to prevail, the attitudes
of the students must change in order for society as a whole to become a more accepting
and safer place for the LGBT community.
Although society has become more accepting of the LGBT community, some
still exhibit homophobic attitudes. “Diversity and Inclusivity at University: A Survey of
The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans (LGBT) Students in the UK” is a
nationwide study of the campus climate based on survey data from 291 LGBT students
from 42 universities across the UK. According to the data, homophobia on campus is still
a significant problem despite the implementation of new equality laws on campus. The
survey asked questions such as “Since you have been at university have you ever been a
victim of homophobic harassment/discrimination?” and “Have you ever deliberately
concealed your sexual identity to avoid intimidation?” Although only 23.4% of those
surveyed reported being victims of homophobic harassment, 54.3% have deliberately
concealed their sexual identity to avoid intimidation. Therefore, Ellis asserts that
although most LBGT youth have not been directly harassed, the threat of violence and
rejection causes them to conceal their sexual identity. However, direct harassment is also
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Patricia Moynagh (Government and Politics) and Dr.
Erica Johnson (English) for LC7: Dissident Voices in Politics and Literature.
70
�prevalent in universities in the UK as well as in the United States. Some of these
incidents occur in residence halls: “My second year, I moved, and the one person out of
two that the university selected to share my flat in the second year was very homophobic,
saying things like ‘better dead than gay’ and threatening me several times” (Ellis 730).
Tyler Clementi was a victim of such residence hall abuse. Tyler Clementi was a
freshman at Rutgers University who recently jumped off a bridge a day after authorities
say two classmates surreptitiously recorded him having sex with a man in his dorm room
and broadcast it over the Internet. One student was his roommate, Dharun Ravi, and the
other was a floor mate, Molly Wei. Ravi and Wei have been charged with invasion of
privacy. They face up to 5 years in jail and expulsion from Rutgers University.
Verbal harassment often occurs in high school environments as well. In “The
Ideology of “Fag”: The School Experience of Gay Students”, Smith argues that speech,
whether as verbal abuse or homophobic graffiti, leads to antigay activities that stretch to
the school as a whole. Smith asserts that “verbal abuse both is and initiates attack” (Smith
309). The gay student acquires a gay identity through what Smith calls the ideology of
“fag.” According to Smith, “the gay students’ stories show the school’s complicity in the
everyday cruelties of the enforcement of heterosexist/homophobic hegemony” (309).
Among these stories is the story of one student whose principal told him that “if [he]
didn’t keep [his] sexual preference under wraps [he’d] be suspended” (Smith 314). When
he refused to be silent about his sexual orientation, he was suspended for “being rude and
insubordinate.” The administration of school systems should be encouraging students to
be open about their sexuality, not to hide it. If the administration does not accept the
students for who they are, the other students will continue to harass them. Another
student discusses an incident in the lunch room: “he walked by and he tripped me and my
tray and said something like ‘a faggot needs to be on his knees” (Smith 320). Derogatory
remarks such as these reflect the ignorance of the bullies. Bullies must be educated in
order to become more tolerant.
The harassment does not stop once the homosexual students leave school. “It’s
not that they would [merely] threaten me, they would do it when I was walking home.
They would get me from behind. Just to jump on me and kick me, and no reason for it,
just the fact that I was different” (Smith 319). The entire world feels unsafe to the gay
student. Some students feel so unsafe and alone that they resort to killing themselves.
For some students, adults are more hurtful than their peers. For Student #2, an
openly gay artist and recent graduate of art school in New York City, “homophobia was
bad for me when I was a teen more from the other students’ parents. Most kids knew I
was gay just because and then when I was 15 I came out in school. They never said
71
�anything to my face, but I felt it. There were many times when there were parties, or we
had to do assignments in groups and I couldn’t go to some of the kid's houses because
their parents didn’t like the fact that I was gay.” Student #3, who is “certainly not
homophobic”, discusses his parents’ anti-gay sentiments. “Asian parents are against gay
people too. It’s just a fact. Especially Asian fathers. My dad along with most Asian dads
just thinks it’s not natural. It’s just how they grew up. The government in Vietnam back
then would kill you if you were gay or jail you because Communism can be messed up.”
One could argue that the conservative older generation will not change their views.
However, the youth of America and of the world at large can promote tolerance within
their generation.
Homosexuals are not the only ones who are targeted. Even self-identified
heterosexual men who “were only people perceived to be fags” (Smith 319) because of
their effeminate characteristics are harassed because they are different. At Wagner
College, if a student is in the theatre department and acts effeminately, students assume
that student is gay. However, that is not always the case. For example, student #1, a
Wagner College freshman, who is described by his fellow students as “eccentric” and can
be seen sporting nail polish and a fedora, identifies himself as a heterosexual male.
However, students harass Student #1 merely because they think that he is gay. When
discussing his high school experience, student #1 said that “it was hard because people
would assume that I was gay and I would think ‘Who are you to tell me what I feel?’” He
also shared harassment he endured even in middle school: “I’ve had people come by my
house and yell at my parents words like "FAG". It’s not very nice. It was on the night of
my middle school prom when that happened.” In this way, those who merely appear to be
gay are harassed as well.
Interestingly enough, bullies are not always heterosexuals. Some openly
homosexual males have exhibited spiteful attitudes towards those who they deem
homosexual as well although they have not “come out” yet. Sexuality is not something
that can be decided by others. However, student #1 has had many experiences in which
others have decided that he is homosexual without asking him about his own sexual
preferences. It seems that in this age of openness about sexuality, in the theatre
community especially, other people assume the sexuality of others before finding out for
themselves. As Caitlin Ferchaw, a senior theatre performance major at Wagner, puts it,
“When you’re in theatre, every guy is gay until proven straight.” However, this
assumption can be harmful to those who are not yet open about their sexuality or in the
case of Student #1, the opposite of what others assume. For example, he discussed an
incident of harassment from an openly homosexual student: “This school’s usually really
72
�accepting. It kind of bugged me that “he” of all people would be the one to say something
rude. We all went out to karaoke in the city one night. My cousin was there standing right
next to him and he screamed out ‘Student #1, You’re Gay!’ like he was trying to make
me realize something about myself. He’s ignorant and he’s actually gay so it says
something. Ignorance knows no preference.”
Some students do not attribute bullying to their sexual preference and see it as a
rite of passage of high school. Student #2 discusses his school experience: “Well I went
to high school in Colombia, but I went to a private American school, so I am a product of
the cross of both cultures. I wasn’t overtly teased about my sexuality during high school,
I was bullied as most boys are, but it wasn’t specifically because I was gay and I did my
fair trade of bullying to be honest.” Student #3, a heterosexual male student at the
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, attributes bullying to the likeability of the gay
men who are bullied. He compares his experience with two different homosexual male
students in high school: “This random time in the hallways after school Mike was
walking by and this group of kids yelled “fag!” as they walked onto the floor and he was
walking down the stairs. People just don’t like Mike and that’s the reason why people
might use him being gay as a way to insult him. No one does that to Paul and Paul is very
open about it. He doesn’t really hide it from people and people love Paul. They’re just
two different people who are both gay.”
However, this bullying can have grave consequences. Most recently, several
homosexual teenagers have committed suicide due to bullying from their peers. Seth
Walsh, 13, committed suicide after years of being bullied. Even before Seth came out as
gay, family and friends say, he was perpetually picked on for his mannerisms and his
style of dressing. Seth's grandparents say the breaking point came after what they believe
was a bullying incident in a local park on Sept. 19. The police interviewed several of the
students who teased Walsh but determined their actions did not constitute a crime, news
reports say.
Asher Brown, also 13, shot himself after being harassed at his middle school in
Houston. The 13-year-old's parents said they had complained about the bullying to
Hamilton Middle School officials during the past 18 months, but claimed their concerns
fell on deaf ears. David and Amy Truong said they made several visits to the school to
complain about the harassment, and Amy Truong said she made numerous phone calls to
the school that were never returned. The school reports that no complaints were made.
Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old in Indiana, hanged himself Thursday after being
bullied. He never told anyone he was gay, but his classmates acknowledged that he was
teased because students assumed he was. His friend Jade says the bullies would call Billy
73
�“gay and tell him to go kill himself.” Karen questions, “You actually heard people tell
him go kill yourself?” She answers “yes”. An incident that occurred the day before
Billy’s suicide is most concerting. His friend James Kriete was told by Billy’s sister “He
had a chair pulled out from underneath him and told to go hang himself.” Kriete says,
“I've been bullied and that could have been me. That's all I keep thinking about, that
could have been me” (Hensel).
Although the bullies did not murder these victims with their own hands, their
harassment has a direct correlation with their deaths. These incidents are reminiscent of
the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Matthew Shepard was an openly gay freshman
at the University of Wyoming. He had previously gotten his jaw broken by a man who
found out he was gay at a bar. In 1998, at the Fireside Lounge, Shepard met two men,
Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney who led him to believe they were gay.
However, they were not gay and in reality, hated Shepard for being who he was. They
beat Shepard unconscious and left him hanging from a fence to die. Wyoming legislature
had previously crushed bills outlawing discrimination against gays and lesbians making it
impossible to charge Henderson and McKinney with a hate crime.
The common link between these cases is the inability or unwillingness of the
authorities to do anything to prevent hate crimes and harassment. Anti-gay discrimination
and bullying is reported to the administration of high schools and colleges across the
county and nothing is done to prevent the untimely death of these gay teens. In 1998,
Henderson and McKinney were not charged with a hate crime. One would think that laws
against hate would have changed over a decade later. However, discrimination against the
LGBT community is allowed throughout the United States. School administrations do
nothing to protect their students. According to Guillermo Riveros, an openly gay artist
who attended art school in New York City, “the biggest example of homophobia right
now is that governments are giving the opportunity to people that for whatever reasons
think they have a right to decide what others can or can’t do. If the government wanted to
do something once and for all about homophobia it wouldn’t leave things up for
discussion. It’s been years of talking about equality...civil rights movements, a holocaust
at this point a government, all governments should just say everybody gets the same
rights and nobody can discuss it.” The government must take a stand for gay rights and in
turn the rights for all of its citizens. After the devastating amount of recent suicides
something must also be done to promote tolerance and awareness in schools.
In recent years, students have stood up for their rights to be protected by their
schools from bullying. Jamie Nabozny, as a middle schooler in Wisconsin was tormented
for his sexual orientation. Students urinated on him, pretended to rape him during class
74
�and when they found him alone kicked him so many times in the stomach that he required
surgery. Nabozny reported his harassment to school officials who did nothing to help
him. He sued his school for failing to protect him from antigay abuse and with the help
of Lambda Legal, a prominent legal association meant to protect the civil rights of the
LGBT community, won his case in a federal appeals court. In July of 1996, for the first
time in history, a federal court deemed the school responsible for the safe school
environment of all of its students including those in the LGBT community.
Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” discussed the
difference between a just and an unjust law. A law is just if it uplifts human personality
and a law is unjust if it degrades human personality. The absence of just laws is the same
as the existence of an unjust law in the case of antigay discrimination. Laws must be
instated which protect the rights and safety of gay citizens because these just laws would
uplift human personality and not degrade it. King also asserted that doing nothing to
prevent violence is no better than participating in acts of violence. Therefore, the
administration of schools, who do nothing about antigay bullying, are as responsible as
the bullies for the abuse gay teens sustain.
However, sociologists offer a variety of approaches to promoting tolerance in
schools and society on a larger scale. In “Bibliotherapy for Gay and Lesbian Youth:
Overcoming the Structure of Silence,” Jonathan W. Vare and Terry L. Norton promote
creating an environment that is friendly towards the coming out process of gay and
lesbian youth through literature. Vare and Norton argue that “schools are social
institutions that mirror the beliefs of society at large”(190) and therefore mirror the
homophobic views of society as a whole. Bibliotherapy is healing through literature. Vare
and Norton assert that “carefully selected and monitored books can help foster positive
change in the attitudes of adolescents struggling with self-identity” (191), in this case,
gay and lesbian adolescents. They lay out the basic rules of bibliotherapy for gay and
lesbian youths including the idea that “books should affirm homosexual identity and
orientation by depicting the presence of gays and lesbians as a normal part of life” (192).
They conclude by recommending books for teachers to introduce to students. Finally,
they assert that appropriate books promote sexual exploration and affirm the identities of
gay and lesbian teens, ultimately working towards acceptance rather than silence.
In “Constructions of LBGT Youth: Opening up Subject Position,” Talburt
asserts that educators must listen to the queer youth. She worries that the adult
perspective on the risks facing LGBT youth are not compatible with the actual social life
of LGBT youth. The lives of LGBT youth are as unpredictable as those of heterosexual
youth. Therefore, Talburt asserts that their means of crafting identities may not be
75
�recognizable according to the representations adults have of queer youth. As adults seek
to foster a safe environment for LGBT youth, Talburt asserts that they must listen to the
voices of the LGBT youth they seek to assist and realize that LGBT youth will
continually generate new meanings for their identities.
Student-run groups like the Gay-Straight Alliance are an important step towards
tolerance in schools. The Gay-Straight Alliance is a student organization that is intended
to create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about
homophobia. Since the Gay-Straight Alliance’s founding in 1988, in Concord,
Massachusetts, over 4000 schools have started their own Gay-Straight Alliances. The
Gay-Straight Alliance is a place of comfort for those who feel alone in the “coming out”
process. They host events such as Gay-Straight Alliance dances and socials where
students from other schools can meet and find support. Most importantly, they promote
tolerance within the school community with events such as the Day of Silence. On the
Day of Silence, students, gay and straight alike, take a vow of silence to bring attention to
anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment at their schools. The power of silence
is central to Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie. Kambili, the protagonist, remains
silent throughout most of the novel. It is only when she begins to find her voice that she
can form her own identity. Similarly, the silence of the LGBT community represents the
struggle that LGBT teens face to develop and accept their own identity, an identity which
other ignorant students decide is “wrong.”
Student #2 thinks that student run tolerance groups are a step in the right
direction. “I think things will get better as long as new generations embrace breaking the
same cycles, if they stick to the same thing, they’ll be the same old generations and
following their mistakes.” Groups like the Gay-Straight Alliance are breaking the old
cycles of intolerance and prejudice. Education must start in schools for the entire world to
change their intolerant views.
The students at Wagner College recently spoke out against the harassment
surrounding the recent suicides of gay teens across America with a candlelight vigil.
Throughout the day, students wore purple to signify their solidarity in fighting hate and
intolerance across the United States and especially on college campuses. At night,
students came together to pay their respects to those who committed suicide with a
performance from the school’s all-female a capella group, Vocal Synergy, and readings
of the stories of the teens who committed suicide. The vigil commenced on the steps of
the Student Union with everyone in attendance singing “We Shall Overcome.” However,
not all students participated in the vigil. Most students in attendance were members of the
theatre department or involved in music. Representatives from the sports teams were
76
�lacking. Some even laughed at those students congregated on the steps of the Student
Union as they walked by on their way to dinner. Although not everyone was required to
attend the vigil, those who did not attend should have been respectful to those in
attendance who were paying their respects to teens who had committed suicide. It does
not matter if those teens were gay or not. They deserve the respect of everyone, not just
the theatre community. Although the vigil was a step towards tolerance, if not all students
attempt to be open to understanding and continually decide to be ignorant, no progress
can be made.
The vigil brings up an interesting question. Why wasn’t everyone on campus in
attendance? Besides scheduling conflicts, apathy seems to be the most prevalent reason.
When asked why he was not in attendance, Student #1 answered, “I do not know. I just
didn’t. If I had, I would not have been as moved as everyone else though. I was pretty
neutral about the whole thing.” How can one be neutral when gay teens all across the
United States are taking their own lives? Suicide is not something to be apathetic or
neutral about. However, the majority of the world seems to share this apathetic attitude. If
one does not act, one is actively participating in discrimination. When one does nothing,
one passively consents to the harassment and ultimate deaths of gay teens across
America. What else must be done for the youth of America, not just those that are part of
the LGBT community, to wake up and take a stand for the equality of all students?
Maybe their favorite television show was more important than commemorating the death
of students who, aside from their sexual orientation, are just like them.
Works Cited
Alexander, Bryan. “Seth Walsh, Gay Boy Bullied into Suicide, Remembered - TIME.”
Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews –
TIME.com. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023083,00.html>.
Ellis, Sonja. “Diversity and Inclusivity at University: A Survey of The Experiences of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans (LGBT) Students in the UK.”, Higher Education 57.6
(2009): 723-739.
Friedman, Emily. “Tyler Clementi, Victim of Secret Dorm Sex Tape at Rutgers
University, Commits Suicide - ABC News.” ABCNews.com - ABCNews.com:
Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive
Interviews – ABC News. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/victim
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�-secret-dorm-sex-tape-commits-suicide/story?id=11758716>.
Hensel, Karen. “Teen Suicide Victim Hangs Himself from Barn Rafters.” WISHTV.com
Indianapolis, Indiana News Weather & Traffic. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/east_central/teen-suicide-victim-hangs-himselffrom-barn-rafters>.
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78
�Extracting the Spider Webs of a Subway Lost in History
Klevi Tomcini1
An efficient public transportation system is necessary for a community to prosper. Public
transportation is difficult to achieve, but “good transportation and communication are a
basic necessity” (Jacobs, J. 1961, 340). Aside from the Staten Island Ferry, the public
transportation system of St. George is poor. The Federal Association of Staten Island
Transportation (F.A.S.I.T.) wishes to solve issues of Staten Island’s poor public transportation system. Through a grant, the Federal Association of Staten Island Transportation will provide an efficient transportation system for residents, attract more
commerce to areas in Staten Island, and improve the living standards of its residents. The
money for the grant will be spent on completing the Verrazano Narrow Tunnel, which
will link the 95th street Brooklyn R-Train station to Staten Island. Installation of this
system will promote an increase of jobs and improvement of life for the residents of the
area. The implementation of the train will allow residents to have the opportunity for
better jobs and lifestyle.
Background – F.A.S.I.T Mission
Transportation is a vital aspect for a community to mature. F.A.S.I.T. wishes to
create a transportation system, which would allow St. George to mature over time as a
vital area, not only in Staten Island but New York City at large. Staten Island is a
congested area with high movement of automobiles. This is largely due to the low usage
of the public transportation system. Due to the poor condition of the public transportation
system within Staten Island, the public transportation system is not used in Staten Island.
The difficulty of commuting within Staten Island, has caused commerce to suffer,
specifically in St. George. Many people have difficulty getting to certain places in Staten
Island. For example, residents in Brooklyn would rather go to the theaters located in
Manhattan, rather than St. George’s Theater despite the fact that it could be closer. This is
due to the ease of transportation to Manhattan. With a development in the transportation
system, St. George will experience a high amount of commerce coming into the area.
This project will improve the living standards of 13,185 people in St. George
and affect the lives of 65,882 residents of the North Shore where other stops will be
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Abraham Unger (Government and Politics) for LC 14:
Society and the City.
79
�implemented. St. George has a large population of minorities; the median home market
value of St. George is $282,465. St. George is densely populated and a historic area. St.
George is one of the less affluent neighborhoods in Staten Island. The majority of St.
George's population speaks English with some Spanish speakers. The issue of
transportation is relevant not only to St. George but throughout Staten Island. A subway
system linking Staten Island to Brooklyn will greatly benefit the area in economical and
social terms. Although a subway system connecting Staten Island to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
is expensive, it can also provide an efficient transportation system for residents, attract
more commerce to areas in Staten Island, and improve the living standards for residents
of Staten Island.
Introduction
Transportation is a vital aspect in the maturing of a community. For the most
part, New York City has one of the most efficient public transportation systems in the
world. It is, however, incomplete and would be better “if they ever finished it” (Page,
M. (1999)., p. 404). The Verrazano Narrow Tunnel was a project, which linked Brooklyn
to Staten Island through a subway, which ran underneath the Verrazano Bridge, which
was never completed. Staten Island is often referred to as the “forgotten borough of New
York City” with many of its problems leaning “towards transportation” (Anderson, J.
2010 ). The original plan to address this problem was first proposed in 1912. The RTrain, which was developed in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn solely extended to the 95th Street
station to accommodate the expansion of the system into Staten Island. Staten Island is a
congested area due to the low use of public transportation. This is directly linked to the
poor conditions of the public transportation system in Staten Island. Due to the difficulty
of moving within Staten Island, commerce in specific areas has greatly suffered. One of
these areas is St. George. Using land for public transportation is an "investment, which
reduces congestion and spatially stimulates the demand for residential land
consumption," which in turn will help the economy of an area (Wheaton W. C. 138). St.
George is considered to be the transportation hub of Staten Island due to the ferry. Other
than the ferry, the transportation system in St. George “needs infrastructure to succeed”
in economical terms (Anderson, J. 2010). Fifty-four percent of St. George’s population
uses public transportation. This shows that there is an emphasis on a need for an efficient,
strong public transportation system in order to meet the demands of the residents.
Although a subway system connecting Staten Island to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is
expensive, it can also provide an efficient transportation system for residents, attract more
80
�commerce to areas in Staten Island, and improve the living standards for residents of
Staten Island.
Literature Review
Primary Sources
The Advisory Committee provides plans for future zoning, transportation, and
development actions in Staten Island. It provides data about St. George and the North
Shore. The data was collected by the Community Advisory Committee and presented
through a Power Point presentation in Snug Harbor Cultural Center on November 5,
2010. The study exhibits ways of improving transportation connection in Staten Island. It
explains problems that the North Shore faces such as congestion and a lack of commerce.
Some projects it proposes for the future are the North Shore Railroad, Bus Rapid Transit,
Heavy Railroad, and Light Rail Transit. Each of these projects exhibits similarities to the
extension of the Brooklyn bound R- Train. These projects are costly, but hope to achieve
a similar goal, which is to improve the community they wish to serve. The presentation
focuses on solving Staten Island issues with improvement of their public transportation
system.
The Advisory Committee uses census data such as the population of the North
Shore, the average amount of commuters in the North Shore, the median home value
market in the North Shore, and vacant footage of the area. This study speaks specifically
about the North Shore and advocates for transportation improvements that Staten Island
officials are focusing on. There is a strong use of census data, which will be used
throughout the grant proposal. It relates to the other articles by providing the framework
of the area the grant proposal will be focusing on and provides the population that will be
used in the grant proposal. Also, it depicts how lack of transportation impacts a
community and must be improved by projects seen in the Brooklyn Historical Railway
Association article (Advisory Committee. 2009).
Staten Island Transportation Task Force examines Staten Island’s need to
improve the public transportation system in various communities such as St. George. The
author uses primary data, which focus strictly on Staten Island. According to the
presentation, through the renewal of roadways and the development of a public
transportation system, the life for the residents will be improved and the area will attract
commerce. This author examines the government stimulus package to support projects of
public transportation in Staten Island. According to the presentation, the Federal
Transportation Bill also supports transportation projects.
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�Through the presentation, the author states that roadways will be improved for
quick transportation with buses. The railroad systems will be installed on the shore of
Staten Island. The Staten Island Ferry will be improved as well. Multiple bus services
will be added near St. George which will be much more efficient. This is significant due
to the fact that it offers a connection for the Narrow Tunnel projects. The projects in turn
will provide jobs, which can boost the economy. The author concludes that the
transportation system must be quick and efficient for communities such as St. George.
This study depicts how much money is available for Staten Island through the
government stimulus package. It supports the need for a transportation system in Staten
Island. It is related to the other articles by showing how transportation should be
implemented in Staten Island and how it is possible, such as the development of a train
system. It shows how projects seen in the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association article
can be constructed and would be beneficial if constructed and is also supported by
Wheaton’s article (Staten Island Transportation Task Force [SITTF], 2008).
The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association (BHRA) is a non-profit
organization, in which most of the work is done voluntarily. BHRA is an engineering
organization, which is certified in electric railroad construction. It provides articles that
exhibit information on the connection of Staten Island to Brooklyn through the Verrazano
Rail Tunnel using the R-Train. The tunnel has already been built with an investment of
$4.3 million dollars. This tunnel would allow the R-Train to connect to St. George as well
as the Staten Island's Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) railroad branch and the Staten Island
Railway. The tunnel has not been used since it was originally constructed. It was seen as
“hope and a hole in the ground” according to newspapers at the time.
This article provides newspaper articles that were written at the time about the
tunnel, which was supposed to connect Staten Island to Brooklyn, and it even provides
the blue prints to the project. This article depicts information on the abandoned tunnel
and the forgotten plan. It reveals the funds that were placed for the project’s completion.
The article relates to the other articles by showing how some plans, which were forgotten,
can be important to a community in the future. The organization discusses how
transportation can be costly but can provide needed jobs. Additionally, it shows how
communities view transportation as hope and a beneficial investment, as demonstrated in
Wheaton’s article. (The Verrazano Rail Tunnel The Brooklyn-Richmond Freight &
Passenger Tunnel, 2008).
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�Academic Sources
Wheaton examines the benefits of urban transportation in reference to real
estate investments in his article Residential Decentralization, Land Rents, and the
Benefits of Urban Transportation Investment. As a result of the development of an
efficient public transportation system in an area, the rent and cost of homes will increase.
Development of urban transportation also brings up the commercial center’s prosperity.
A neighborhood evolves and becomes economically prosperous if there is an efficient
transportation system. Wheaton uses government ideas of transportation and describes
the best way it should operate. He focuses on the aspect of money for real estate
investment and commerce purposes. The author specifies that highways are important in
terms of an efficient public transportation system.
Wheaton uses a mathematical approach to describe how an efficient
transportation system is directly correlated to the economic value of an area. He supports
his assertions with mathematical evidence, which explains that real estate and commerce
will increase if an area has a successful public transportation system. Wheaton cites
multiple amounts of references from the political, marketing, and urban development
sectors. The author concludes that investors are needed in developing a successful urban
transportation system in addition to the government. By doing so, the value of a
neighborhood will increase.
This article argues that the impact urban transportation has in an area. House
cost and rent in St. George are relatively low with the development of an efficient urban
transportation this would change. According to the article, urban transportation also
brings up the commercial centers in an area. St. George is having trouble with business
and an efficient urban transportation system could help boost business in the area. This
article is related to the others by showing a benefit of public transportation in terms of
commerce. It shows that public transportation can benefit a community. Mamon and
Marshall’s study proves that public transportation is needed in low-income communities.
This article focuses on inducing revenue to these areas with public transportation.
(Wheaton W. C., 1977).
Schenker and Wilson examine the relationship of mass transportation towards
the demand of mass transportation in twenty-three states. The authors of this article have
performed statistical studies that exhibit the importance of public transportation in
metropolitan areas. The findings of this article show that public transportation is related
to an area’s economic value and racial context. Schenker and Wilson use regression
analysis to depict a relationship of the transit demand and the population of an area.
Schenker and Wilson use the population of metropolitan areas such as New York,
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�Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Miami to depict the need of transportation and how it
is correlated to the economic income of a family. In areas such as New York and
Chicago, which have the highest population of many cities, public transportation is
utilized to a great degree. The need for public transportation is high in metropolitan areas
due to the urgent need for transportation to jobs. Work place and residential distance area
are closely related; this connection indicates a great need for public transportation in
urban areas. Race in an area is correlated to the need of efficient public transportation.
Minority classes tend to use public transportation much more than Caucasians, due to the
economic income of minority classes. Public transportation is an alternative way of
moving for these classes at a cheaper cost than automobiles.
Schenker and Wilson use mathematical formulas to analyze the need of various
forms of public transportation in certain areas. There is a great implementation of census
data in terms of the population, economic revenue, and race in the areas they study.
Schenker and Wilson use twenty-three cities in their study and eleven variables to exhibit
a need of public transportation in these cities. These cities include New York,
Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. The variables they use include
economic income, density, race, car ownership, dwellings, and need of transportation for
work, rush hour commuters, and area. Schenker and Wilson discuss that public
transportation is in high demand in major metropolitan areas. The need of public
transportation is correlated to many things. There is a cross basis relationship between the
variables the study mentions and the need of public transportation. Income revenue and
race in an area depict the level of need in an area more so than other variables.
Schenker and Wilson reference a variety of cities and the use of public
transportation and the variables that effect the use of the public transportation system.
The article provides variables seen in St. George such as race and use of automobiles, and
how public transportation is related to them. The authors depict the need of public
transportation in the working class, as well as the minority class, which make up the
majority of St. George. Schenker and Wilson show data on how public transportation can
benefit a community in terms of its family economical income. The context of this article
is related to another by Mamon and Marshall’s article but it does not take into account the
reason why some may choose automobile transportation rather than public transportation.
The Use of Public Transportation in Urban Areas: Toward a Causal Model
examines the proportional use of public transportation and automobile use. Mamon and
Marshall study the purpose as to why some individuals may choose to use an automobile
rather than public transportation and vice versa. The authors analyze public policy
towards urban transportation systems. They use a number of interdependent variables and
84
�propose a model, which states how they are interrelated. Occupation and income level
have a direct effect towards the choice of using public transportation. The income level of
an area has the greatest effect on an individual’s choice of using the public transportation
system. Low paid jobs in low-income areas tend to have a high volume of public
transportation. The effective distance of a job is related to the public transportation
system that is used.
Mamon and Marshall use mathematical formulas for their research method.
Throughout the article Mamon and Marshall cite many known scholars, mainly
Goodman, who conducted a study on transportation and variables that affect the use of it.
The sex, occupational status, income, employment density, residential density, number of
automobiles owned in area, and mode of transportation are variables seen in their study.
They use information from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration a great deal as
this is what their study was conducted for. The authors conclude that income level of an
area is the main factor of using public transportation.
The article shows that a low-income area is a factor of public transportation. St.
George is a low-income area with a large minority population. The population tends to
use public transportation more than others and also provides a reason for an efficient
public transportation system in St. George. It is related to the other articles since it
advocates a public transportation system to benefit the poor. Schenker and Wilson’s
study is very similar to this article but it does not take into account the reason why some
may choose automobile transportation rather than public transportation. It can relate to
why automobile use can be a problem and how a public transportation system should be
advocated to be used more in an area. (Mamon, J. A. & Marshall, H., 1977).
Fund to Solve Issues of Transportation in the Island
First and foremost, the cost of the project must be addressed. F.A.S.I.T. is
looking to receive a grant sum of $60 million dollars. The project was placed at a “cost of
$60 million” for completion (Johnson, D. A., (1996), p. 205). Although this is costly, the
property will be given to the MTA once the construction is completed. Once the system is
in place, "profits from public transportation can be high when it is needed and easily
compensate for the cost "of projects such as the Narrow Tunnel completion (Merewitz,
L., 1972, p. 83). In order for this project to be completed, the MTA and the government
must allocate funds for the project. A community relies on the fact that a “transportation
decision is reflecting the impact of governmental programs on general urban
development” which in turn improves the living standards of residents. (Fagin, H., 1964,
p. 141). The potential revenue will be high for New York City, as property value, rent,
85
�and property tax will increase. The income level of residents is expected to increase
which is in correlation to the income tax of the area. Residents would also accept higher
taxes to help pay for the project if “funds are well liked, high-prestige actives, are more
easily accepted”, residents would accept higher taxes for an improvement of their public
transportation system (Ross, B., 2009, p. 40). If the funding provided by the MTA runs
out, which usually happens with these types of projects, F.A.S.I.T. plans on appealing to
the local business organization. F.A.S.I.T. strongly believes that local business
organizations will support this project. Public transportation tends to “increase
investment, reduces congestion, and spatial stimulates the demand for residential land
consumption” once it is developed (Wheaton, W. C., 1977, p. 138).
Staten Island has an array of problems that the F.A.S.I.T. wishes to address and
solve. The home market value of property in St. George is relatively low in correlation
with the rest of the island. The connection with St. George to Brooklyn will change this.
With the "investments in transportation, an impact in the land market value" will be seen
in an increasing rate (Wheaton, W. C., 1977, p. 142). Investments on a public
transportation system will improve the life of Staten Island residents and land cost of the
area. Land cost would increase a great deal in Staten Island if the Narrow Tunnel Project
is completed. Real estate investors “saw great benefits to be reaped” once the tunnel was
completed (Johnson, D. A., (1996), p. 203). New York City is greatly known for its
public transportation system, but neglects its highest “borough in tax revenue”
(Anderson, J. 2010). A public transportation system in Staten Island will “shuttle
residents between residential neighborhoods to midtown office districts” which will allow
the employment levels to increase in St. George (Kotkin J., (2005), p. 94).
Retail stores in St. George have suffered and have not seen high amounts of
commerce in the area. With an improvement of an urban transportation system, potential
customers will stay in the area due to the ease of transportation. St. George is a dense
area but residents do not have a transportation system to commute other than the ferry.
Many residents use the ferry due to having no other transportation system, which is
efficient. If another transportation system is provided, usage of that system would be
high. Through various studies, it has been seen that “density is a major indicator of mass
transportation use" (Schenker & Wilson, 1967, p.367). If the area has an efficient public
transportation system more people will stay in the area. St. George’s main goal is to
attract commerce and wish to see “more hipsters come into St. George and gentrification
take place” (Hanks, K. 2010). With improvements in public transportation, it will serve
as an “attraction to a younger generation” who need a public transportation system to
move around. (Ross, B., 2009, p. 39)
86
�Staten Island is a very congested area. This is due to the high amount of
automobile ownership. Staten Island has a ownership rate of “2.4 cars per family”
(Anderson, J. 2010) Many choose to use personal automobiles rather than the public
transportation system due to the poor upkeep of the public transportation system in Staten
Island. There is a "negative correlation between automobile ownership and mass
transportation ridership” this tends to be seen in areas with a poor urban transportation
system (Schenker & Wilson, 1967, p.364). Staten Island needs to improve its
transportation system in order to address to this problem. According to the Staten Island
Transportation Task Force a public transportation project would “relieve congestion” in
the area (Staten Island Transportation Task Force [SITTF], 2008). With the continuance
of the Narrow Tunnels project, the transportation issue will be solved. Through the
improvement of a public transportation system, the use of automobiles will decrease in
Staten Island.
Movement within Staten Island is difficult due to Staten Island’s poor
transportation system. The F.A.S.I.T. will help solve this issue with connecting the
Narrow Tunnel subway line into Brooklyn. According to the New York Times during
1912 the subway system linking Brooklyn to Staten Island would "be of great value to the
district” (Hands, M., 1912). Public transportation systems act as a necessity in an area in
order to prosper and to significantly improve the life of residents. President Johnson has
stated, "the life of a city depends on an adequate transportation system"(Lyndon B.
Johnson, 1967). St. George is a dense community in that "number of families per unit has
often been cited as important determination of mass transportation demand,” this will
require an improvement of the transportation system in St. George. (Schenker & Wilson,
1967, p.364) With the improvement of a transportation system, the movement within
Staten Island will increase, resulting in an increase in levels of commerce in St. George.
The Population That Will Benefit
St. George has a highly diverse community. According to governmental census
data of the year 2000 , Caucasians make up 29.2% of St. George's population and total at
19,087, African-Americas make up of 22.3% of St. George's population and total at
8,636, Asians make up 6.4% of St. George's population and total at 2,571, Hispanics
make up 18.9% of St. George's population and total at 7,317 the remaining is categorized
as others (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). St. George's family income median is $54,351
dollars and is “correlated directly to use of public transportation" due to the area having a
low median income(Mamon, J. A. & Marshall, H., 1977, p. 26). According to the New
York Time’s Class Matters the lower middle class earns between $50,000 and $70,000 a
87
�year and they have been reported to use public transportation to a greater degree. (Class
Matters, 2005, p. 25)
St. George has a high use of the public transportation system “54% of St. George
uses public transportation” (Advisory Committee. 2009). While the median home market
value of homes in Staten Island are seen to be above $400,000 “the median home market
value of St. George is $282,465” (Advisory Committee. 2009). Being that St. George is
densely populated and is known as a historic area, this area requires a high use of public
transportation and “St. George is densely populated and a historic area” (Advisory
Committee. 2009). A public transportation system will benefit the lower middle class by
providing means to get to their ends, which is daily transportation to work. It will
improve the living standards of the residents as well as the income of the residents by
saving on such nuisances like gas and tolls. The residents would also have rapid
transportation to outside boroughs, even Manhattan. The ferry may take a half an hour to
get into Manhattan, but the “ferry service runs every twenty minutes in peak hours”; this
would indicate that taking the subway to Manhattan may be quicker (Advisory
Committee. 2009).
Strategy for Speed in Staten Island Left here
Funding for the transportation improvement of Staten Island must come from the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA is asked to fund this project due to
their contribution to public transportation in New York. The MTA is a public benefit
corporation which "provides quality rail and bus services to New York City and State,”
this includes providing rail service to Staten Island. (MTA, 2010) F.A.S.I.T. is requesting
$60 million dollars from the MTA. It was estimated that to complete the Narrows Tunnel
Project it would “cost $60 million” for completion (Johnson, D. A., (1996), p. 205).
Funding for this project can also be supported by the stimulus package, which was given
out to states across America. With the stimulus package, “over $190 million in direct or
displaced funds go to Staten Island” which can be used to improve the living standards of
its residents. (Staten Island Transportation Task Force [SITTF], 2008). Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed the Senate Bill 375 in 2008, which gave transportation projects
top priority for funding. This shows that transportation is a main priority in many other
cities and should be one for Staten Island. Schedule planning will be strictly followed for
this project. This is in order to make sure everything goes according to plan and
construction does not part from schedule. An orderly schedule related to "time-cost is
detrimental in maintaining a cost effect model" in order to reduce cost of a project
(Dodson, 1969, p. 377). The Narrow Tunnel underneath the Verrazano Bridge is already
88
�constructed which would link Staten Island to Brooklyn. The tunnel underneath the
bridge is already completed, but lacks the connection of the two boroughs. The original
investment of “$4.3 million was spent on the Narrows Tunnel project”, this makes the
project much easier since the tunnel has already been built. (The Verrazano Rail Tunnel
The Brooklyn-Richmond Freight & Passenger Tunnel, 2008). The tunnel will be used for
the subway system by simply placing the tracks and fully connecting the system together.
This will be much simpler then connecting the two boroughs without a tunnel. The
original plan for the tunnel would “enter Staten Island midway between St. George and
Stapleton” the tracks were in place to be connected for Staten Island. (Feinman, M. S. &
Darlington, P., n.d.)
Mission Impossible Must Be Achieved
The Staten Island transportation system is “among of the longest and slowest
anywhere”, and with improvement of the system “it would fundamentally change Staten
Island itself” (Yates M. 2010, January 25) Federal Association of Staten Island
Transportation's main mission is improving the living standards of Staten Island
residents. St. George is an extremely important district in Staten Island due to the ferry
terminal. When tourists take the ferry, they tend to not explore the area in part due to not
having an efficient mode of transportation to get around the island. With the
improvement of transportation, it would be easy for tourists to move around the island
and explore its beauties. When one travels "comfort and convenience relate to use of a
public transportation system", by providing an efficient public transportation system that
tourists and residents would have conveniences in traveling thus stay in the area longer.(
Barff, R. & Mackay, D. & Olshavsky, R. W., 1982, p. 377). F.A.S.I.T. specializes solely
in improving transportation for Staten Island. For that purpose, it will be well suited to
implement a project to accomplish that task.
F.A.S.I.T. was founded on the principles of solving the Staten Island public
transportation system crisis. For many years, the organization has advocated for the
improvement of transportation for Staten Island. Staten Island has the highest tax revenue
for New York City, thus should not be neglected when it comes to public transportation
as it has in the past. F.A.S.I.T. proposes this grant in order to solve a crisis, which Staten
Island has been facing for many years. We believe in ending this crisis once and for all.
Staffing the Best for Staten Island
The staffing for this project will focus on specialized training and experience.
The staffing which will be necessary to accomplish this task will vary. F.A.S.I.T. believes
89
�in using Staten Island residents in order to stimulate the employment rate in Staten Island.
By doing this, we will ensure the arrival of each worker on time with no delays in work.
Overtime, if needed will also be much easier due to workers living close to the working
site. Staten Island residents will also be more motivated by the project than others. We
will seek at least thirty general laborers with crane experience, four truck drivers for
goods to arrive in an orderly manner. We will need two experienced supervisors to make
sure that everything goes as quick and efficient as possible. A team of accountants will be
needed to make sure that the funds are not poorly spent and the project does not go over
the expected cost. Three engineers will be needed to make sure that the project is enacted
in a quick and efficient manner as well as flexible hours for the workers. A planner will
be needed to plan out the layout of the project as well as the scheduling of the project.
Dispatchers will be used for communication purposes to workers. A foreman will be
needed in order to give orders to the crew.
Relationships with other Visionaries
Many organizations are concerned with the problems of Staten Island
transportation. Staten Island Economic Development Corporation believes that improving
the transportation system of Staten Island is vital to solve St. George's commercial
problems. A system “connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island using the R – Train will not
only benefit St. George, but the entire island” in commerce and living standards of the
residents (Anderson, J. 2010). F.A.S.I.T. will work with the Staten Island Economic
Development Corporation to solve the problems of transportation in Staten Island.
Downtown Staten Island Council believes that the transportation of St. George needs
more improvement. Kamilla Hanks the executive director states that a subway system
linking Brooklyn to Staten Island “will absolutely increase commerce in St. George”
(Hanks, K. 2010). Northfield Community LDC believes that a transportation system
going into St. George from Brooklyn “will bring economic development to the entire
North Shore” (Sledge M., 2010). The MTA will largely be involved with the project
through funding. A public transportation system focuses on “improving the productivity
and livability of urban areas” which should be the primary focus of a government. (Fagin,
H., 1964, p. 141). The MTA and Island officials “verified that the tunnel was once a valid
plan” (Tacopino J., A Subway? On Staten Island!?. 2010). The Chamber of Commerce
has stated that “they dug out a hole for a potential tunnel” (Tacopino J., A Subway? On
Staten Island!?. 2010). The project is in order and there will be a great deal of
interrelationships with other organizations for providing these services to the Staten
Island residents.
90
�Lengthy but Rewarding
The length of this project should take approximately seven years. This is due to
the need to still fully connect the tunnels to the boroughs, which can take a span of two
years. Once the two boroughs are connected, the system must be connected to the R –
Train on 95th street as well as the current railway system in Staten Island. This is
expected to take three years. After all this has been completed the connection will exist
and there will be a need to implement a track system to the tunnels, this project should
last two years.
Contribution to the Organization
The overall mission of F.A.S.I.T. is to improve the public transportation system
of Staten Island. By accomplishing this project, the transportation system of Staten Island
is expected to have high usage levels as well as general improvements. We will offer the
availability of a transportation system to St. George, which will allow the area to prosper.
For an area to prosper "accessibility of transportation is extremely important for an area";
this will be seen in St. George once the project is accomplished (Dodson, 1969, p. 378).
The mission of the project is to improve living standards of residents. With
improvements in public transportation, "opportunities for employment, recreation,
education, and other activities" will become more readily available (Dodson, 1969, p.
378).
Evaluating the Project
The evaluation of the project should see an improvement in St. George after the
project is complete. Our main goal is to see an increase of commerce, living standards,
and employment in the area. Public transportation has an "effect on income on
employment density" (Mamon, J. A. & Marshall, H., 1977, p. 27). This in turn will
increase the employment rate and commerce in St. George. We will closely study St.
George's demographics specifically in labor force, income, and private sector
employments. We expect that the all of these factors will increase once the project is
completed. This project will immediately fund jobs for the area due to the construction
needed to complete the project. Success will be the main criteria for this project. We will
see how the project has effected the community of St. George. F.A.S.I.T. will distribute
surveys to residents in order to discover the resident’s perspective on the project. The
daily use of the transportation system before and after the project will be observed.
Revenue for the MTA, property sales, rent, living standards, commerce, and employment
increase is expected. We will closely see the percentage of transit riders using the subway
91
�system for work needs. We should see congestion within the Island decrease due to the
use of a public transportation system. Although F.A.S.I.T. wishes to complete this project
as soon as possible there may be delays due to weather, unknown predicaments,
bypassing of rules and regulations, or a increase in the cost of the project.
Conclusion
Although a subway system connecting Staten Island to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is
expensive, it can also provide an efficient transportation system for residents, attract more
commerce to areas in Staten Island, and improve the living standards for residents of
Staten Island. The Narrows Tunnel Project was proposed in the past to address the issues
Staten Island faces. The original investment for this project was $4.6 million dollars. The
tunnel underneath the Verrazano Bridge is already completed. F.A.S.I.T wishes to finish
the project by connecting the tunnel from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Staten Island. Through
this connection congestion is expected to decrease, retail stores are expected to increase
in profit, the quality of life is expected to increase, and employment is expected to
increase. With the help of the MTA, F.A.S.I.T. believes many issues in Staten Island
today will be solved.
XIV. References
Advisory Committee. (2008). North Shore Land Use and Transportation Study. Retrieved
November 5, 2010, from http://www.nycedc.com/NewPublications/Studie/StatenIsl
andNorthShoreStudy/Pages/StatenIslandNorthShoreLandUseandTransportationStudy.asp.
Anderson, J. (2010, October 15). Personal interview.
Barff, R. & Mackay, D. & Olshavsky, R. W. (1982). “A Selective Review of TravelMode Choice Models”. The Journal of Consumer Research. 8(4), 370-380. Chicago, IL:
The University.
Dodson, E. N. (1969). Cost-Effectiveness in Urban Transportation. Operations
Research,17, 373-394. Hanover, MD:INFORMS.
Fagin, H. (1964). Urban Transportation Criteria. Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science. 325, 141-151. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Feinman, M. S. & Darlington, P. (n.d.) BMT 4th Avenue Subway. Retrieved November
7, 2010, from http://www.nycsubway.org/lines/4thave.html
92
�Hands, M. (1912, February 15). Brooklyn Subway Extension Plan. New York Times.
Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY: A
Division of Random House, Inc.
Johnson, D. A., (1996). Planning the Great Metropolis: The 1929 Regional Plan of New
York and Its Environs. 202-212. London. UK: E & FN Spoon.
Hanks, K. (2010, November 1). Personal interview.
Kotkin, J. (2005). This City. New York City, NY: Modern Library.
Mamon, J. A., & Marshall, H. (1997). The Use of Public Transportation in Urban Areas:
Toward a Causal Model. Demography, 14(1), 19-31 Silver Spring, MD: Population
Association of America.
Merewitz L. (1977) Public Transportation: Wish Fulfillment and Reality in the San
Francisco Bay Area The American Economic Review. 62.1/2, 78-86.Nashville, TN:
American Economic Association.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (2010). A Letter from the Chairman of the MTA .
Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.mta.info/accessibility/letter.htm.
New York Times. (2005). Class Matters. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Page, M. (1999). The Creative Destruction of Manhattan. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press.
President Lyndon B. Johnson, “Message to Congress”, Congressional record, March 14,
1967, S3469.
Ross, B. (2009). A Transit Renaissance. Dissent, 39-41.
Schenker, E. & Wilson, J. (1967). The Use of Public Mass Transportation in the Major
Metropolitan Areas of the United States. Land Economics, 43 (3), 361-367. Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Sledge, M. (2010, October 25). Personal interview.
93
�Staten Island Transportation Task Force (2009 June 16). Retrieved October 13, 2010,
from http://www.nyc.gov/html/gmtf/html/presentations.html.
Tacopino, J. (2010, March 10). A Subway? On Staten Island!?. Retrived November 7,
2010, from http://explaintheplan.com/2010/03/10/a-subway-on-staten-island.
The Verrazano Rail Tunnel (The Brooklyn-Richmond Freight & Passenger Tunnel).
(2008). Retrieved November 8, 2010, from
http://www.brooklynrail.net/verrazano_rail_tunnel.html.
Wheaton W. C. (1977) Residential Decentralization, Land Rents, and the Benefits of
Urban Transportation Investment. The American Economic Review. 67.2, 138-143
.Nashville, TN: American Economic Association.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). US Census and Population; NYC Department of City
Planning. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Yates M. (2010, January 25). Take the 'R' Train to Staten Island? It's an Old Idea That's
New Again Staten Island Advance.
94
�The Effects of Hubris
Brenna Dean 1
For people, sometimes a strong feeling just seems to rule emotions they have
and then plays into their actions. But to what extent does it get to be overwhelming and
then occupy their entire life? In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the strong feeling of pride
seemed to take over some of the characters’ actions and, therefore, the results proved to
be devastating. Both Creon and Antigone in the play experienced the overpowering
effects of arrogance and excessive pride on their part, despite whether they eventually
realized it or not. The hubris they let consume them ended with bad results and death,
and they didn’t even know it was coming. Pride is an unforeseen factor in one’s
character and tends to impact future proceedings just as the hubris in Antigone affected
the ending results of the play.
Pride as an overall term doesn’t seem like it could cause such results. However,
pride can come in all sorts of forms. The more known form is when someone obtains
pride from doing something right. But the obsessive more dangerous form, called hubris,
can change outcomes. This hubris can shield one’s view of life and also their feelings on
situations that occur. When a character from a play is put in this position, it is bound to
affect all events there forth. This is exactly what occurs in Antigone; Creon and Antigone
let their pride influence their decisions without knowing it.
Antigone has pride right from the start of Sophocles’ play. Her actions were
motivated by pride for her family and even though she understood they might lead to her
death, she continued with them. Her pride surpassed rational thought and she was just
struck with the feeling that it was necessary that she stand up for her family, mainly her
brother in this case. As she goes on with her ideas she comes across her true beliefs: her
higher allegiance is to the gods rather than the state and King Creon, eventually leading
to her death. She realizes then that her impiety or piety would have no effect on her
destiny, which was already decided for her, but because of how she lives it we must see
her as responsible. To fully understand what happens to Antigone, it is required to know
what happened from the beginning of the Greek play.
1
Written under the direction of Dr. John Danisi (Philosophy) for LC 9: Minds, Machines,
and Human Beings.
95
�First, Antigone defies an edict of the king of Thebes and performs a sacred
burial that was forbidden. She believes her brother, Polyneices, deserves a proper burial
despite the fact that the king clearly states “whoever breaks the edict death is prescribed, /
and death by stoning publicly” (Sophocles 35-36). She discusses with Ismene, her sister,
what she must do for her brother regardless of the rule because she “will not prove false
to him” (46). Her sister replies telling her not to do so, that her ignorance to Creon will
come back to haunt her but Antigone ignores her. At this point, her hubris has consumed
all her thoughts and she will not be pleased until she fulfills her own wishes. Her
ignorance to the law is clearly exemplified when she states, “I myself will bury
[Polyneices]. It will be good / to die, so doing. I shall lie by his side, / loving him as he
loved me; I shall be a criminal – but a religious one” (72-75). She obviously knows the
harm she is doing to herself; yet her pride controls her and she neglects realizing the fact
that it is very possible that she will die doing that deed.
This leads to the next point: she does not know her place in the situation.
Antigone thinks that “no suffering of [hers] will be enough / to make [her] die ignobly”
(97-98). But in realization she doesn’t care what any others think; she is just doing what
she believes is right and hopes that the action which she believes to be pious will be
enough for the gods to help her. Creon knows that Antigone is enveloped in her own
thoughts because “this girl had learned her insolence / before this, when she broke the
established laws. / But here is still another insolence / in that she boasts of it, laughs at
what she did” (480-483). Creon knows that Antigone is proud of her actions and,
therefore, doesn’t know her place in the situation. Her hubris clearly haunts her here
when it begins the downfall of the rest of her life. She “went to the extreme of daring /
and against the high throne of Justice / [she] fell…grievously” (853-855) into her
upcoming fate that Creon would instate for her.
A hierarchy is established between her, the meager inhabitant, and Creon, the
head of the system and of the state. Antigone, however, clearly disregards such chain of
command. Her ideals have her believing that “the time in which [she] must please those
that are dead / is longer than [she] must please those of this world” (76-77). Ultimately,
she believes that her life and her actions therein, belong and are more for the gods rather
than any measly ruler of Thebes. Creon challenges her actions and tells her she must be
punished but Antigone questions, “what law of god [has she] broken” (921)? The gods
have more authority than anyone in her eyes and she thinks falsely of those who dispute
this belief. Antigone asserts:
96
�If [she dared] to leave / the dead man, [her] mother’s son, dead and unburied, /
that would have been real pain. The other is not. Now, if you think [her] a fool
to act like this, / perhaps it is a fool that judges so. (466-470)
She implies that Creon is then a fool to reject her and her view on the situation. By doing
so, her arrogance of pride is seen and Creon decides that her death is imminent.
Lastly, the gender destiny that is emphasized for women is not recognized by
Antigone. Ismene sees that Antigone refutes any such option and tries to illustrate it and
make it clear to her. She tells Antigone that she “ought to realize [they] are only women,
/ not meant in nature to fight against men, / and that [they] are ruled, by those who are
stronger, / to obedience in this and even more painful matters” (61-64). By ignoring her
place and all the points before it, the hubris comes to affect Antigone’s view on
everything. She believes her assertions are the only ones that are true and, therefore, the
rest of her life is mainly built upon her pending death.
Creon also has an overpowering pride from the beginning. The power and status
of being king clouds his mind and soon he obtains an unquestionable feeling of hubris.
He believes his power transcends all and wants his rules to be the greatest values of
Thebes. His hubris seems at times to be worse than that of Antigone’s but he is
eventually able to step out of “the box” and reevaluate the situation. Unfortunately, at
that point, he can’t undo the effects of his pride, but he does realize all the harm he
caused and the fact that he not only ruined other lives, but also his own.
Creon starts his fall into the excessive pride by creating an edict. This edict was
instated because there was a war between Eteocles and Polyneices, two sons of Oedipus
who wanted the throne, and it ended in each of their deaths. Creon saw Eteocles’ death
to be sacred and he was allowed a sacrificial burial, while Polyneices was denied such
amenities. He directed the Chorus exactly what to do with his body:
You shall leave him without burial; you shall watch him / chewed up
by birds and dogs and violated. / Such is my mind in the matter; never
by me / shall the wicked man have precedence in honor / over the just.
But he that is loyal to the state / in death, in life alike, shall have my
honor. (205-210)
Here he tells them to leave his body without any burial and let it rot where it is. The only
ones that he wants to take happiness in Polyneices are the animals that will destroy it.
The power Creon asserts over everyone soon leads to unforgivable endeavors.
By creating the law, Creon is ignoring the unwritten and eternal law of the gods.
The edict obviously counters the god’s law but when the sentry, the Theban who is under
orders to watch the unburied dead from the recent war, tries to explain such, Creon
97
�replies “what you say is surely insupportable / when you say that the gods took
forethought for this corpse” (282-283). The sentry tries to tell Creon that the body
already had a plan that the gods had given it but Creon denies because his pride has only
allowed him to see and believe in his own power. Even Antigone contests by telling him
she does “not believe / [his] proclamation [to have] such power to enable / one who will
someday die to override / God’s ordinances, unwritten and secure” (452-455). The gods
are supposed to be above all and, despite Creon’s thinking, they are also higher than him
and so he cannot overrule them. Haemon, Creon’s son, tells Creon that he is acting
erroneously when he tries to condemn Antigone, the woman who was supposed to be his
wife, to death. He proclaims that “there is no reverence in trampling on God’s honor” to
which Creon replies “your nature is vile, in yielding to a woman” (745, 746). Haemon
tries to tell Creon he is ruining the honor of the gods but Creon denies and tells Haemon
to stop defending a woman.
Creon’s negligence to the eternal law, that gods have all power in the end, leads
to the hubris in the next point. He, conclusively, believes himself to be “unteachable” to
others. He is warned by his own son to “not bear [the] single habit of mind, to think / that
what [he says] and nothing else is true” (705-706). In this, Creon is told by Haemon to
stop being naïve; his ruling is not as high as the status of the gods. As the king of
Thebes, he wants “to talk but never to hear and listen” (758) to what others’ opinion on
the matter at hand is. His idea of being “unteachable” takes his obsessive pride to
another level.
Creon even has the audacity to ignore the well-known blind prophet’s advice.
Teiresias, the prophet, tries to stop Creon from fully divulging into his hubris, killing
Antigone, and affecting the rest of his life. However, Creon only denies what Teiresias is
saying by calling his prophecies lies (201) and telling him he “is a wise prophet, but what
[he loves] is wrong” (1059). Creon is completely disregarding the wisdom of all others,
especially the prophet, by letting his pride take complete control of his actions.
Eventually though, Creon is persuaded by the Chorus to look at what Teiresias
has said and what he has done to Antigone and all others by following only his pride. He
doesn’t even realize that the hubris is consuming his life and decisions until this instant.
He exclaims, “Oh, the awful blindness / of those plans of mine” (1264-1265). However,
now when he goes to redeem himself for the harm he has caused, he will go to find
nothing but horrible results of his ugly pride.
The grave consequences of hubris were going to affect Antigone and Creon
more than previously conceived. The outcome of their lives was going to be based
completely on what they had done before. Death was going to be a very large factor and
98
�sadness was soon going to fill their lives. For Creon, this unforeseen pride was going to
influence the proceedings in an unimagined way because he discounted Teiresias’
warning that “in requital the avenging Spirits / of Death itself and the gods’ Furies shall /
after [his] deeds, lie in ambush for [him], and / in their hands [he] shall be taken cruelly”
(1075-1078) for what he had done. Nothing good was going to come of prior actions in
the play.
For Antigone’s hubris, she is sentenced to death by Creon. He has his servants
“hide her alive in a rocky cavern there, / [he’ll] give just enough of food as shall suffice /
for bare expiation” (775-777). She begins to complain that she was only doing what she
believed was a pious action in the eyes of the gods. She insists that she still needs to live
a complete life, one in which she would be able to wed and have children. Yet, Creon still
sends his niece off.
These actions come back very quickly to haunt Creon because he finally does
realize his hubris, but now it cannot help change the course of events. Haemon discovers
that Antigone hanged herself to her death and he is devastated. He is so upset that he no
longer desires to be alive. Soon after, a messenger is describing that “Haemon is dead;
the hand that shed his blood / was his very own… / His own hand, in his anger / against
his father for a murder” (1175-1179). Haemon’s death than escalates into another
horrible feat: the death of his mother and Creon’s wife, Eurydice. She becomes
depressed by the death of her prized youngest son and, therefore, also commits suicide.
A second messenger has to report to Creon that “the queen is dead. She was indeed true
mother / of the dead son. She died, poor lady, / by recent violence upon herself” (12821284).
Lastly, Creon takes off his crown and decides that all the hardship he has now
experienced is not worth the expense. He had learned justice too late (1270) and was
now “dissolved in an agony of misery… [hoping] that [he] may never see one more day’s
light” (1311, 1332). Creon realizes that his pride obscured his view for so long that its
effects were everlasting, despite his realization of his hand in his actions. He would
forever be remembering this time as the moment when hubris took over and ruined his
family and his life.
As the Chorus stated, “Wisdom is far the chief element in happiness / and,
secondly, no irreverence towards the gods. / But great words of haughty men exact / in
retribution blows as great / and in old age teach wisdom” (1348-1352). Full
understanding and knowledge can make someone happy but not so it disrespects the gods
because “what is destined / for us, men mortal, there is no escape” (1337-1338). Creon
could wisely give advice after he realized his mistakes, but before then only the gods
99
�could predict what was going to happen. The pride in both Antigone and Creon is an
unforeseen factor that impacts the future proceedings of Sophocles’ play.
Works Cited
Danisi, John. "Reflective Tutorial." RFT: Antigone. Wagner College, Staten Island. 2010.
Lecture.
Sophocles. Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. Ed. David
Grene and Richmond Lattimore. Trans. David Grene. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago, 1991. 159-212. Print.
100
���
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Volume 9, Number 2
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1 Whose Life, Whose Choice? - Doctor and Patient Relations / Christina Parello -- 8 Martin Luther King and the Shadow Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement / Stephen Galazzo -- 14 Heterosexual Male Transvestites in America / Lauren M. Wagner -- 21 Lightness and Weight Paradox in The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera / Radislav Meylikh -- 28 The Port Richmond Farmers’ Market Proposal / Andrew Burt -- 40 A Home Run for Civil Rights / Matt Cangro -- 47 The Moral Obligation to People in a Learning Environment / Julia Zenker -- 54 The Punishments of The Bacchaeans / Caroline Geling -- 60 The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Nothingness: Utilizing the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre to Better Understand Kundera’s Novel / Zachary Weinsteiger -- 66 Here, There, and Everywhere / Morgan Grubbs -- 70 Dissident Voices Against the Injustices of the School Experience of the LGBT Community / Elle Brigida -- 79 Extracting the Spider Webs of a Subway Lost in History / Klevi Tomcini -- 95 The Effects of Hubris / Brenna Dean
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