Glad You Didn't Get Plastic Surgery, Kookie

What is the meaning of true beauty? Some people may think that true beauty is just physical appearances in their everyday lives. People can encounter pretty or handsome faces just by driving down to a grocery market to buy some groceries. But is true beauty all and only classified for "beautiful" physical appearances? I think not. 

There is so much more to the meaning of beauty besides physical qualities, such as internal characteristics. Kindness or acts that portray a positive image of the person is beauty. What's the necessity of plastic surgery when you come with your own unique set of beauty? People need to understand the fact that beauty doesn't always come with literal physical qualities. Innermost qualities is what matters. If a person appears to be a beauty and acts like trash, how would you explain that? The interior core of a person is the key to beauty that people are missing out on. Many people try to change their physical appearance through surgeries or literally removing themselves from the rest of the world. The unjust and discriminating society is shown as truly cruel when it causes people to be ashamed of their looks. What's the point of having a pretty face when the inside is rotten? "...Barbie, in feminist terms, is definitely her own person"(Prager 354). Everyone is unique and should stick to being who they are instead of trying to change and always trying to fit into the stereotypical cliques of society. Maybe people should try to visit the 'inner beauty salon' instead of regular visits to literal 'beauty parlor shops'.

Kookie's Masked Vs. True Identity

Masks serve as a means of protection. Masks are worn in order to not be found and so that one can be hidden from certain things. In both volumes of Maus, characters wear masks in order to disguise themselves. In volume 1, the scene depicts how Vladek and Anja are trying to prevent themselves from being seen by the Nazis. "'I was a little safe. I had a coat and boots, so like a gestapo wore when he was not in service'"(136). By disguising themselves as Poles, the individual characters tried to be represented with one group's identity. Why did Jews have to be the ones discriminated against society? Blending in within one specific group helped Vladek and Anja to feel a bit safer and judged less from society. Jews aren't a type of race but people who believe in a specific religion. Not any group in society should be judged to the point where people feel so cornered and desperate that they have to wear masks in order to feel a sense of protection.

In volume 2, Art is wearing a mask looking very depressed and unsure of what to do. "'Lately I've been feeling depressed'"(41). All Spiegelman wanted was to be able to gain information and share his views of the Holocaust to the rest of the world. Once Maus became a big hit to the public, people just wanted more and more. Spiegelman didn't know what to do because of his guilt towards his father. It seemed as if he was just making money off of his father's story. By wearing a mask, he tries to hide himself from the rest of society. The mask gave him a sense of protection and a break from his thoughts. Spiegelman portrays that masks can't hide a person from the world for a long time but they can give people a sense of protection and safety for a little while.

Don't Be Traumatized, Kookie!

What is trauma? Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can cause a person to have deep injuries either mentally or physically. One of the most traumatizing events in world's history is of The Holocaust. Artie constantly brings up his unending questions and interests about The Holocaust that his father has been through. How did he survive in the end? Was it just luck or pure acts of intelligence? Trauma has a big impact on people's lives. A person who undergoes a very traumatizing event may turn into a totally different person. After the horrors of The Holocaust, Vladek has certain systems of keeping his sanity in place. From counting pills to being obsessively neat and organized, Vladek constantly tries to keep his mind busy and constantly has to be doing something. "'I cannot forget it...ever since Hitler I don't like to throw out even a crumb'"(Spiegelman 78). His memories of The Holocaust will haunt him forever and he will never be literally "free". Every moment in life will be revolved around the details of the past. This is why people who survive such traumatizing events are simply not the same as before and are very sensitive to their surroundings. Even while living in the present, for Vladek, the methods of having to eat so little and survive during The Holocaust still impacts him. Chapter 4 in Maus II, is titled "Saved". Even after the Americans came forth and helped stop the Nazis rule, the flag of freedom portrayed in the book is only a background image. The recurring images, flashbacks, and memories will always be a burden that the survivors will have to carry around for the rest of their lives. Trauma leaves a person in shattered pieces. Trauma holds the human in place and simply never lets the person escape the vivid memories of the horrendous situations.

What Should Your Role Be In Society, Kookie?

There seems to be a constant conflict between men and women with the thought of men dominating over women. Kingston depicts a male-dominated society in her writing. Many people feel the need to express that men always have the say over women and such. However, at times, men are not the actual ones who are oppressing women but it is a power of tradition that women carry throughout their lives. "But I am a useless, one more girl who couldn't be sold"(Kingston 52). Kingston's mother constantly makes her feel as if she doesn't mean anything to the world and this makes Kingston feel meaningless unless she became an amazing warrior like Fa Mu Lan. In this case, Kingston's mother is more of a dominating figure over her rather than specific men. Men in her writing was portrayed in a helping manner throughout her battles and wars. Yes, women can be strongly sexist as well, however in this case, I think that her mother is trying to gain the potential title of "the mother of a perfect child". Many parents these days believe that sending their kids to a very good university gives them the title of an amazing mother, but after gaining the title of this so-called superiority, what comes next? Of course parents stress how important it is for their kids to get 4.0 GPA and perfect score on the SAT and ACT. The point is that they don't really get how stressful and burdening it is for their kids. Many students might indeed feel as if true domination lies within their mothers or fathers. Yes, males can be depicted as very oppressive and dominating to women even to this day, however, men might not be the only "oppressive" ones in the world today. Kingston felt as if getting straight A's wasn't even satisfying to her mother. People always want more and more and more and their hunger is never satisfied. People must understand the importance of no oppression. Both the feminist article by Bell Hooks and Maxine Kingston's writing expresses how they don't want any oppressing sides. How nice would it be if the world had no oppression or dominance over anything or anyone?

This Is Kookie Jar

How does one live a compassionate life? People live their lives not truly understanding the environment that they are surrounded in. They unconsciously walk through their daily lives without much thoughts, just like how David Foster Wallace depicts in his fish story. It is very ironic that people are surrounded with same things in their lives, but they don't truly understand their surroundings and just take them for granted. We, humans, must be aware and conscious of our environment. People must start to take control of their thoughts and give compassionate actions to others in the "water". Instead of living our long and orderly-structured lives, Wallace teaches the audience about a new perspective that all people can have in life. Just by thinking about other people's perspectives can change a person's attitude to a big degree. "Maybe that person is in more of a rush than I am." Just a slight thought like this can cause a person to act differently and think more positively. 

Humans have a built-in hard-wired default-setting inside their bodies since the day they were born into this world. Life tends to make people slip naturally into the habit of being irritated or frustrated. People judge. People think negatively. People become angered easily. People believe that the world revolves only around themselves. Thinking that they are the center of attention in the world is the reason why people only think about themselves and never think about other people's perspectives. We are all too self-centered and too absorbed into our thoughts. Wallace says, "It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out"(Wallace 238).We all need to take the time to understand the fact that in this world, we are not the only busy and frantic ones, but others are just as busy and frantic. It's not going to be easy to try to not fall into the natural habit of the built-in default-setting in ourselves, but the effort to do so will be the first small baby step in changing the world to be filled with more compassionate people.

You're not the only person fighting a hard battle.

The world needs to be filled with compassionate people.