Part 1.
Living in the present world makes one question their sanity as well as the perception of the ideas that the universe presents. Moving forward, I have been alive long enough to comprehend the different aspects of a person’s honesty. In other words, I have taught myself the art of seeing into a man’s heart. To become part of this rigid society, you must formulate a strategy to co-exist, not with the universe but with self. Hence, at times I find myself pondering on the very meaning of society and self-preservation. I imagine a scenario where people were not constructed on any spectrum of needs or wants, how would humanity react? How would it behave? What impact would such an aspect have on the meaning of life?
Materialism is the common denominator of a person’s potential place in the society, where the haves and have nots are clustered on a differential analysis of their abilities. From this perception, therefore, I observed that people are more attached to their different connotations of society’s perception and expectations. Locked away in their tactile emotions, I believe people find it obtrusive to belong and find meaning. Walking with the benefit of a shadow and finding comfort in the presentation of nothings has offered me a clearer understanding of a person through my own eyes. You see, when you take a chance to observe the issues that sit within yourself, then you can fully comprehend the beauty of isolation. The freedom that your mind is provided and the potentials it has in the growth of personality and individuality. However, isn’t solitude the kind of thing that we fear?
The idea of blending with oneself and understanding our emotions presents us with a chance to learn and care. I have always had the expression, love yourself before teaching yourself to love others. By connecting with ‘you’ and walking a mile in your observation from others, makes us question our agendas and points of view on certain matters. Therefore, sited here pondering on the positivity of living as a connected, yet distanced human, begs the question, what has been my contribution to the society? And how can I make my contribution worthwhile?
The world’s current situation with COVID-19 intrigued my emotions and concern in understanding my position in society. Through the social distancing aspect of the community, people, and self, proposed in ensuring the health of oneself and others, this scenario is represented. Isolation by distancing offers people an opportunity to question their attributes and contributions, not only to themselves but others as well.
Part 2.
In Toni Morrison’s Strangers, the second paragraph, after having met the stranger, Mother Something, she mysteriously disappears, and the author left feeling rejected and betrayed. In this section, Morrison presents several points which include the desire for the unknown, the implications that the desire may hold, and the idea of accepting situations. Before the narrator established a connection with Mother Something, she left, leaving the narrator wondering why she would leave. Each day the narrator longs to see her, but to no avail. When the narrator makes inquiries regarding the woman, no one seems to know her, and such a woman had not existed in the area. From this perspective, the dangers of expecting too much from people are presented, and as a result, assumptions tend to be conceived. When the narrator fails to locate the woman, time indicates that he/she had not accepted the situation as it was. Meeting a person and easily making a connection is unusual, and the growing concern for the stranger’s lack of appearance causes havoc in the narrator’s life. Something feels a miss, and the narrator is not satisfied by just expecting the Mother Something to come back. Hence, they go out looking for her; the findings lead to more questions and wonder and them the questioning of their insanity. It would be thought-provoking when such a scenario takes place.
Therefore from the paragraph, a critical question is formulated;
What aspect of the narrator informs on the implications of forming connections?
The narrator, after meeting a woman, an almost immediate connection is established. A relationship, according to the narrator, had been instigated, and therefore, from a promise made, a desire for the promise’s entitlement is acquired. The narrator hopes for another meeting, but when the days come and go, and the woman does not show, anxiety develops. The narrator develops feelings of concern for a stranger regardless of the duration of their meeting. And when people say that the woman had not been heard of nor seen, a complication is formulated. In this aspect, the narrator, worry, turn to wonder, and later on becomes agitated. Feelings of being cheated and betrayed loom. As such, the narrator makes several indications that present the implications of a connection.