Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Connecting Worlds
Although the story takes place in the nineteenth century and seems very far removed from our lives --- we don't have our feet bound, we're free and mobile --- do you think we're still bound up in other ways; for instance, by career, family obligations, conventions of feminine beauty, or events beyond our control such as war, the economy, and natural disasters?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
51 comments:
Society will always place a binding on everyone forcing them to go along in order to get what they desire. Foot binding is similar to many other practices that current day Americans may participate in such as a marriage or other religious ceremonies as well.
I think we are still bound up in many different ways. Like one we are all suffering a great bound in Iraq with the war over control of the oil. Another bound we have is with the law it keeps the smart people from doing their hobbies for example skating in public areas. Schooling is another bound we have, since if we don't have any education we wouldn't be able to get a job that a person wants. Jobs are a bound that is very helpful to have, for if we don't have a job we wouldn't be able to afford anything we want.
I think were bound in society in many different ways. Most just arent't seen by most people. Government has a lot to do with this. Although we do have many different job opportunities. This allows most to work through their hardaches to make a living. Todays freedoms are better than any other country so we have to be thankful for this .
I believe society will always have people do what they want them to. I think that even though they were in the 19th century were still bound with simiar things. Like religious practices.
Anytime you have a group of people, you are going to have similar views on what you think is "right" to do. We seem bound by marriage, getting a job, and going to school. We could just as well not get married, or not get a job, or not go to school, but that would go against our American bindings!
I think we are very bound up, only in a much different way than in the story. We still struggle with the war in Iraq, over crowded classes, and people getting judged by their looks. That has become a very big issue in our time. If you don't look "perfect" you will get categorized and they will let everyone know when they see something wrong with the way you look. So yes we still struggle very much with many different things.
Just because we are a world away doesn't mean we aren't bound to certain things. There are many examples in our every day lives that makes us "bound". For example, we all have to go to school, even though we don't want to. We are bound to education. Also men and women are "bound" to a certain look, women are to be thin while men are to be muscular.
well, I do think that we do need to be in control of our lives, but we dont have control of every single aspect of it, and if we did then life would be very easy. Women need to look a certain way and so do guys but people arent bound up in it that much.
Society will always creat bounds and restrictions on the lifes of everyone. Obligations in the work place, social activities and time waisting narcissistic acitivites create many bounds -- perhaps more than the chinese in the 19th century.
Absolutely we are bound up in other ways. They may not be physical like wrappings around our feet, but they certainly exist. We're bound by other limitations such as the financial resources we have available, and our social conception of "beauty." As for natural disasters, wars, and things of that sort, they existed then (nineteenth century China), and they still exist to this day.
I think that it is similar now than the 19th century. Foot binding is similar to marriage, ceremonies, and religions. Also that everyone has thier problems but we all suffer the same.
Our lives are similar...And In many ways different.
Our Society burdens us as much as their society burdened them, I'm not saying we had the same problems, but we make due with what we got, as did they.
They didnt have cars, but they also didnt have car crashes.
They didnt have guns, but they also didnt have drive by shootings.
I'm done talking...
Doorstop Out
I like to think positive about being bound. The government binds all the people in the U.S by setting laws to help keep the country running strong. Without these laws we wouldn't be americans. Being bound isn't always a bad thing.
Every society has ways that their people are bound. Although we may not have to wrap and disfigure our feet as young girls that does not mean we are not bound in other ways. Women frequently have plastic surgeries to create that "perfect" appearence and girls spend hours doing their make up and hair to get ready for the day. Many times people allow their career to take over their lives leaving little time for family and friends. Being bound is not just a thing that occurred in nineteenth century China, it still occurs today just in different forms.
Well everybody is bounded in this country, this country has been controlled by mainstream. So basically its either you provide by today society ruling or your not going to make it so far in today’s world. People in America really don’t have any say in what this nation is going to do, we just do as we are told because this country is not ran by the people of America its ran by are government, perfect example the draft.
Of course we are all bound by society, but I think that in the US, and in the current time period we're at, it's a lot better than China back in the 1900's. Everyone is still bent on looking good, and being "Beautiful", but it isn't as big of an impact as it was back in 19 century China.
Well, I think we are still bound by society in many ways, but being a woman in the United States now is much different than in 19th century China. Women now have all the same opprotunities as men, they don't get married to someone who is chosen for them, and they don't have to stay in a house for their entire lives. We have freedom to get an education and jobs of our choosing. That being said, people will always be bound by obligations, whether they are to their families or society.
Ya, I think we are bound up in many different ways, Although they may not be physical like the binding of feet. We are bound by limitations such as "beauty" and at times, family.
as for natural disasters, they happen everywhere and can happen at anytime. wether its the 19th century or 10 years from now.
Their will pretty much always be stuff out of our control . but if we try we can ma by acquire victory. here is a quote from GORDON B. HINKLEY . "Things will always work out".
Every society has many diferent ways that their people are bound. Just because we dont have to bind or wrap pur feet as young girls that does not mean we are not bound in other ways.Today Women are constantly getting plastic surgeries done to become what they consider just that so called "perfect" look or body. Girls spend hours getting ready, and spending money to stay in the now fashion. There are so many diferent ways.
I believe our society is bound by many different factors. One factor is our obsession with other people's perception of ourselves. As a society, we constantly worry about what people think about us, and sometimes find ourselves doing things to make our overall personality better.
i think that we are deffinatly
bound by other limitations such as financial resources, family and life itself . Like the 19th century people are still bound to things like forced into religions also problems in the society.
Although we do not live in the 19 Century, or China for that matter we are still bound to certain things in our lives. True, we are not bound up physically (footbinding) and we are not bound to staying in one room almost our whole lives, but, we are bound by our careers, family obligations, and even the conventions of feminine beauty. For example, once married, two people are compelled to stay together for life. This also means that they must compromise. Each person has to give up certain things in order to make the marraige work. This creates a bond between the two people, or, in other words a binding.
Yes, I think that we are bound up in many ways that we have grown to know as daily life. We may not recognize it, but society puts pressure on us everday to be a certain way, to look a certain way, to act a certain way. We as people so easily fall into trying to accomplish what they want from us that we dont even realize we are doing it.
Even though horrific traditions like foot binding took place in China about 200 years ago, we are still to this day bound by other things that have almost the same effect as foot binding did on others. "Traditions" today can hurt us, cause us extreme pain and effect us physically, emotionally and mentally. Sound familiar? In the novel, it is very obvious that foot binding caused Lilly and her sisters so much pain and suffering. Today, things like politics, the economy, social status, racial descrimination and society in general can cause us simmilar pain and suffering. We are so bound by looks, color, styles and so much more that most of us would go to the extremes (plastic surgery, eating disorders, etc) to please others or reach a "higher level".
Reguardless of the story taking place in the nineteenth century. There are still alot of similarities. Such as what we do everyday. Women and girls always have and will depend on makeup to get them through the day. And it makes us feel and look beautiful. And in China feeling beautiful to them was having small and bound feet.
And then also in society there are things that are inevidable and that we can't control. Just like foot binding in a way. Because if a girl didn't get her feet bound she's basically worthless. And no one wants to be worthless. So they'd end up binding there feet even if they really didn't want to.
Well yeah, even though our feet are not bound, we are still bound by things such as marriage, work, school, etc.
Yes, we are bound up as people in the United States today. Even though we don't do foot binding, we are still cought up in our appearance mostly. For example anorexia, as unhealthy as it is, many people fall victim to it because they are engulfed with all the celebrities in magazines, so when these people have like 1% body fat, they look in the mirror and still see a fat person. So, Americans will always be bound up with one fad or another.
Society always and will always have a binding on peoples lives.No we aren't bound by the feet but we're bound in many other ways.
Woman in our society are always judged on looks.If you don't look this way your not pretty,if you don't own this your not good looking.Its all a bunch of crap.Woman do have different looks.Some clothes do look good,but thats not what its all about.Their personalities matter.How they think,feel and react to everything aeround them.Thats why so many woman these days are self concious.Anway,thats one example of how society binds our people.the one that bugs me the most anyway.Other than that,yes we're all bound up in our lives and don't have much choice in what happens.Our small choices only contribute a little to how our lives go.
We're definitely bound. People constantly feel the need to act, look, and dress a certain way. The media puts so much pressure on people to look good, wear nice clothes, and act "normal". It's hard for someone to live a life they want because there will always be something there to hold you back or restrict you. Even if we're not being held back by people, we can be held back by ideas or events. For example, someone who works many hours under a harsh employer may feel like they have no time for family or relaxation. Complete freedom can never exist because of this.
I think we are still bound in other ways. In China, a girl’s future depended on having or not having her feet bound, and today with education we have to choose to go or not to go to college, and our future depends on that decision. Also, we are bound by “beauty”, and today girls care a lot about their appearance. People are also bound by their jobs, they spent many hours working, and they barely have time for their family.
I don’t think we are any more bound to anything then they are. The have to go to work the same as we do, and they have family the same as we do. I think that there women are maybe more bound then ours are. Sure our women may bind themselves to being beautiful, but they take it a step further to total mutilation of their bodies. SO I think that we have the same responsibilities as they did, if they maybe didn’t have more.
There will always be similarities between the present and the past. We as a society have not fixed problems that affect millions on a daily basis, such as: racial discrimination, social status and cliques. In some cases people feel the need to change their personality and their appearance, just to fit into an accepted group. So yes, we will always be bound unless we break the pattern.
I think we are bound on some levels. We are even bound on things we say, regardless of having "freedom of speech" we are still bound of saying what we wish. people will go with the croud with anything that happens. we do have more and better freedoms in this day in age though.
Yes I think that even though we do not bind our feet, we are still bound in other ways. For example, if a student in school wants to go fishing during one of the days during the week he/she can't, because he/she is still bound by having to go to school. Another example would be, If you want to drive to go to a football game, school event, or what ever; then they need gas. In order to have gas for your vehicle, you must work. So you can't go and do things because you are bound by work.
Barring the fact that we do not live in either the nineteenth century, or China, our lives can have many common threads with Snowflower and other Chinese women of the 1800’s. In the modern world the media restricts you to many things, for example you have to look, dress, and act like celebrities to be accepted by society. You can also be bound financially, forcing you to limit your dreams and aspirations. There are many bindings in Western culture, possibly even more than in nineteenth century China.
Although were not bound physically I think were bound in other ways. The government binds all the people in the U.S by setting laws to help keep the country running good. Without these laws we wouldn't have what we do in America. Being bound isn't always a bad thing, but its not always good either.
well i what i gots to say is that the chinease were facinated by story telling because thats all they knew like in the old days thats how they tauhgt there morals threw stories
I really think that this is an interesting thought. I believe that the culture we live in does have many “bindings” that are hard to attain. One can be bound to the thought of the American dream like so many other citizens, feeling like you must reach the highest point in riches and life to have succeeded. We can also be bound up with War, for if the country would neglect the thought of war, the country could become very weak in the eyes of many other nations. A final “binding” in modern-day society is the actual judgment from the world towards one’s own appearance, success in school, and other every day activities. I truly believe that although we are comparing today with 19th century china, we can still see how the process of “binding” has still appeared in modern day U.S. culture, and even the world.in
I think that we are bound up in many ways. One of them is Darfur and Iraq. They are always in some kind of war, there is never a rest. Another one is some women are always putting make-up on. They are afraid to show what their face really looks like because some people will make fun of them.
i think we are bound up in some ways definetaly in more common or conventional ways then the chinese were but i think we are still bound up by society and our outlook on what sucess is and what it takes to be succesful. Money cars and big nice houses are all things defined by success when really success is achieving your goals in life or exceeding in whatever you do.
I don't believe that we're bound by beauty, careers, or anything pertaining to lifestyles because you can live you're life how you want to. Disturbing events such as war, economic crashes, and natural disasters bind us up and damage most of our lives but these things can be, more or less, prevented now than in the 19th century.
You know, i think that we are bound up in alot of differn't ways like for instance the job/career everyone is so worried about the job they have or are trying to get becuase they want a good life and be able to support thier family in every way possible, but unlike the 19th century(foot binding) their lives were all decided on the way their feet look and what their lives are going to consist of like money, jobs, housing and even home lifes. Also we are bonded up in the war we get so into the war that we really dont realize that we should have been out of there a long time ago but look we are still there and we haqve a lot of siolders die everyday for pretty much nothing yes there is a reason for them being there but not a good enough one to have our family killed by a burning car or a suiceied bomber, ext.So ya i guess you can say that we are bounded up in ways that the 19th century people would nbever understand and they were bounded up in things that we will never understand.
I believe that every society is bound in the same ways good and bad. They are bound by religious beliefs, natural disasters and in every society people impersonate one another. For example, every person has there role model that they idealize or try to act like. one way society is bound is by natural resorces for example the United States is bound to the Middle Eastern countries is for there oil.
Yes we could possibly be bound in many diffrent ways just like in all those areas you said. We are forced to do things to get to where you want to be and reach goals that you want to meet. Beauty is always judges in the current era. People are judged on their appearence every day.
its somthing that believ in, and when a country belivs in somthing ther more likly to do it for example foot binding thay think that by doing that thay will have more luck on getting a man. good thing we belive in other thing not like foot binding... ?? or doo we!!!!
Yes because every one around you tells you whats good and not and make you think that what you like to do or make isnt cool or right.
Re-corrected>>>>>>>
You know, I think that we are bound up in a lot of different ways like for instance the job/career everyone is so worried about the job they have or are trying to get because they want a good life and be able to support their family in every way possible, but unlike the 19th century (foot binding) their lives were all decided on the way their feet look and what their lives are going to consist of like money, jobs, housing and even home lives. Also we are bounded up in the war we get so into the war that we really don’t realize that we should have been out of there a long time ago but look we are still there and we have a lot of solders die everyday for pretty much nothing. Yes, there is a reason for them being there but not a good enough one to have our family killed by a burning car or a suicide bomber, ext. So I guess you can say that we are bounded up in ways that the 19th century people would never understand and they were bounded up in things that we will never understand.
Recorrected.
Society will always place a binding on everyone forcing them to go along in order to get what they desire. Foot binding is similar to many other practices that current day Americans may participate in such as a marriage or other religious ceremonies as well. Many Americans view foot binding as a preposterous practice. However, the every day life of an American is appalling to most foreign countries. The way Americans eat in general is unheard of. We minus well bathe in a vat of grease and cholesterol. If you look at Japan for instance, and their habits of eating, their life spands are considerably higher than that of the U.S. Another taboo is the way we dress. Many people flaunting their mammaries around furrows the brow of many nations. I also believe our language habits have become filth. The average American speaks with terrible grammar and a disrespect for cultures that differ from their own (I am basing this off of my own experience entirely.)
Post a Comment