An Ongoing Study (Review of “The Sixth Extinction”)

Invention and Arrangement:

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History falls under the nonfiction genre, but it’s a scientific research as well as a narrative. Elizabeth Kolbert tells the history of extinction, starting from prehistoric ages and ending with the present day, in a narrative fashion, presenting her scientific facts and explanations in a narrative fashion.

The Sixth Extinction consists of thirteen chapters. Each chapter revolves around a species that Kolbert researches -- either through investigative, person research, or informational research. Each one of these species is either on the brink of extinction or is extinct. The species and chapters are not ordered chronologically -- the first chapter deals with Panamanian frogs, a subspecies of which went extinct in the wild in 2007 while the second chapter involves mastodons that died out 10,000 years ago -- but rather, ordered in a way that best introduces the subject of extinction. Underlying each of Kolbert’s chapters is research regarding the history of the definition of extinction, theories of evolution, climate change, and other factors -- such as acid rain and ocean acidification -- that contribute to the rapid decrease in diversity today. In the first part of her book, Kolbert mostly follows the work of George Cuvier to explore the definition of extinction -- which did not exist until the early 1800s. As she continues to research the extinction of species such as the auk, ammonites, and coral reefs, Kolbert explains the theories hypothesized by evolutionists such as Darwin and Lyell. The evolutionists and other scientific figures that Kolbert describes or meets are not necessarily involved with the species in their respective chapter; instead, Kolbert connects these people to species with similar ideas or theories. In this way, with every chapter, as her novel and her research progresses, Kolbert adds more and more layers to the issues and the history behind her cause, beginning with the definition of extinction and then building up evidence from the world today that correlates with that definition, to eventually claim that the modern world is in the midst of its sixth major extinction.

After an introduction and a beginning chapter on the rapid decline of exotic frogs in Latin America, Kolbert begins digging into the main topic of her book: extinction. She begins by introducing extinction as a scientific concept that children often struggle with. She draws parallels between these children and several famous historical figures -- including Aristotle, Pliny, and Carl Linnaeus -- to show that evolution is not a concept that can easily be reached by just using logic. To start, she begins by defining extinction. Kolbert follows a group of paleontologists who unearth giant mastodon bones, fossils that “confounded everyone who examined them” (26). At the time, the idea of extinction did not exist, and scientists believed that an enormous creature was roaming about the earth unseen until George Cuvier, a zoologist, hypothesized that species could die out and become extinct. Kolbert visits the museum that Cuvier worked in more than two hundred years ago to examine the same mastodon teeth that Cuvier examined, describing them as “the Mona Lisa of paleontology” (31). She explores both the accuracies and the inaccuracies of Cuvier’s theories, but more importantly, Kolbert recognizes the beginnings of the documentation of extinction, providing solid context and background information for the rest of her novel.

Kolbert adventures to Castello Aragonese, an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, where she looks at the effects of carbon dioxide on the local biosphere to estimate the effects of human waste -- as in fossil fuels, coal, natural gases -- on the ocean environment. She follows two marine biologists to swim an acidified bay and view the effects of carbon dioxide: she finds that a string of organisms have become bleached out, losing their color as they are exposed to more and more carbon dioxide. To add to her personal investigative research, Kolbert researches the industrial revolution, a human development that has contributed “some 365 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere” (113). It is in this chapter that Kolbert begins to explore in particular how human action or inaction impacts the world. Previously, Kolbert only addresses the history of extinction and the natural causes for extinction -- like the meteor that marked the end of the Cretaceous period -- but now she begins to address the effect that humans have had on the environment. It marks the end of the first part of her novel, her discussion of the history and natural causes of extinction, and the beginning of the second part, where Kolbert begins addressing humans and, specifically, the problems that humans bring to the environment: pollution. Here, Kolbert begins to explain why human actions are significant, how they affect the world, and how they are relevant today.

In the seventh chapter of The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert travels to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. To explore the adverse effect of human fossil fuels, specifically carbon dioxide on marine wildlife, Kolbert dives into the history of the Great Barrier Reef, from when it was first explored by Captain James Cook to Darwin’s writings on the reefs to the modern day, where now scientists believe that the reefs “will be the first major ecosystem in the modern era to become ecologically extinct,” a direct result of ocean acidification, which is the ocean’s uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere after prolonged exposure (130). For a moment, Kolbert basks in the beauty and diversity of the coral reef: she sees a variety of sea creatures and understands “what it must have been like for an explorer like Cook to arrive at such a place” (135). However, then she begins to delve into the horrible effects of CO2 on coral reefs, citing evidence from various experiments and researchers, including research from Biosphere 2 and other scientists. She shows just how detrimental human waste and ocean acidification is, and how every piece of human waste directly affects the earth’s marine environments.

The last chapter of her book, Kolbert visits the San Diego Zoo to examine its Frozen Zoo, a storage system containing almost a thousand different species frozen in nitrogen. As she looks at the other zoos around the world who have begun to do the same -- the Cincinnati Zoo’s CryoBioBank and England’s Frozen Ark for example -- Kolbert reflects upon the various, human factors that have compelled scientists to freeze such animals: acidification, poaching, global warming, and invasive species. To conclude her novel, Kolbert brings up environmental issues of the past; for example, she references Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and points out that after its publication, there were some efforts to rescue endangered species. Then Kolbert summarizes her evidence in the novel so far, referencing glaciation, global warming, ocean acidification, and asteroid impacts, which support the causes of extinctions. But then, Kolbert brings up the one factor that was not evident in previous mass extinctions: humans. Kolbert’s sobering conclusion reminds all people that actions have consequences and explores the possibility of a human-caused mass extinction. Moreover, she claims that “by disrupting these systems -- cutting down tropical rainforests, altering the composition of the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans 00 [humans are] putting [their] own survival in danger” (267). After this serious note, Kolbert claims that, even with this situation at hand, humans may possibly be ingenious enough to undo their mistakes, and that there is still hope for the earth’s inhabitants for now.

Style:

The main topic of Kolbert’s book, the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history, revolves around the notion of human pollution and human waste changing the earth’s environment. Although the first half of her book deals with the past and the natural factors for the previous five extinctions, Kolbert emphasizes the detrimental effects of human industry and human actions on the earth; a number of her investigations involve directly researching the impact of human waste and action on various ecosystems. Kolbert travels to examine the rapid death rate among species such as amphibians, coral reefs, birds, and reptiles in places all around the globe, from Panama to the Mediterranean Sea, in an attempt to identify the results of human action and, in some cases, inaction. The main exigence for Kolbert’s research is the rapid declination of species diversity in the world; she establishes in the first chapter of her book that “many [species] are approaching [rapid extinction] levels… [an] estimated one-third of all reef-building corals, a third of all freshwater mollusks, a third of sharks and rays, a quarter of all mammals” destined for extinction today (17). Kolbert investigates all over the globe to determine whether or not a sixth extinction is actually taking place, detailing her research and her journey in her book The Sixth Extinction.

Although much of the information and many of the topics that Kolbert encounters in her research may be complicated, The Sixth Extinction is written in such a way that no background knowledge of biology, chemistry, or history is needed to understand the book’s contents. From the beginning of The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert writes with simple language, explaining her reasoning and explaining the science behind her work thoroughly. Even when tackling more complicated scenarios, such as the explanation of the chemistry behind ocean acidification, Kolbert avoids being pedantic, ensuring that her work and her book is understandable. She starts from the beginning, defining extinction and its history from the second chapter, and walks through necessary explanations from there. The informal language and often colloquial terms and metaphors -- in one instance, she describes Neanderthal clothing as “look[ing] like leather yoga pants” -- in The Sixth Extinction make Kolbert’s work easy to read and easy to understand, specifically catering to those who may not know anything about extinction or global warming (244).

Because of her colloquial language and thorough explanations, Kolbert aims to educate not only scientists and biologists but also people who may have never concerned themselves with the environment and global warming before. Kolbert, in writing a novel that is easy to read for most, writes so that the pertinent issue of human pollution and human effects on the environment will be understood by anyone who reads her work. She covers only the fundamentals of extinction and global warming; her book does not cater to those who want to learn more about extinction, but rather those who do not know anything about extinction. Kolbert reports on all of the relevant topics relating to extinction: the background, history, and definition of extinction, and the signs and factors of extinction today, specifically where human factors affect extinction rates. By bringing in samples and evidence, Kolbert supports her claim that humans are destroying their resources and the fragile ecosystems of the earth; she explores the possibilities of the world being in the beginnings of a sixth extinction, and warns of the dangers of continuing to treat the world the way it is currently being treated, imparting a somber message at the conclusion of The Sixth Extinction.

A majority of Kolbert’s book is based upon reasoning. She provides many facts and much evidence on the history of extinction, first defining extinction, then exploring the factors behind extinction -- both manmade and naturalistic. Then, Kolbert, in the second half of her book, travels the globe to personally investigate such factors; she discovers more evidence for the death of many species, the impetus behind which is the same factors that Kolbert detailed in the first half of The Sixth Extinction, when she defined extinction and its historical causes. After identifying causes of global warming and species declination in the modern day, Kolbert investigates these causes even further, identifying their source: humans. The entirety of Kolbert’s book is a progression: she begins with a foundation based on the explanation of extinction, and then gathers evidence -- some evidence from her personal investigations and other evidence from research -- to support the fact that there is a sixth extinction that the earth is in at this very moment. Her carefully-placed chapters follow a logical progression from the history of mass extinctions to extinction today; and her reasoning provides support and evidence for her final conclusion: that humans, through their pollution and overfishing and other destructive tendencies, are causing the sixth mass extinction.

In addition to her reasoning, Kolbert often employs pathos to highlight the gravity of the situation. To begin her book, Kolbert details the loss and potential loss of diversity that the earth faces and may face; she describes the animals, plants, and other creatures that may die off as a result of an extinction. As she explores the world, Kolbert often describes the places that she visits as well. In particular, she narrates the beauty and the diversity of many ecosystems around her -- such as the Great Barrier Reef, Panama’s rainforest, and European birds -- to evoke a sense of awe in some people who, if they have not seen such sights, will feel a desire to see this diversity and feel a desire to help stop the extinction, and other people who, if they have seen such sights, will understand Kolbert’s fascination with extinction and the diversity of life and also feel compelled to help stop the sixth extinction. By describing wildlife beauty, Kolbert shows what wonderful life would be lost if the sixth extinction takes place. Additionally, in the final chapters of The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert addresses her readers as citizens of this earth; she claims that “since the start of the industrial revolution, humans have burned through enough fossil fuels… to add some 365 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere,” propelling her audience to believe that human actions directly impact the world (113). As people who live on Earth, Kolbert’s readers’ civic responsibility makes them concerned for the life and diversity in their environment. And, as Kolbert finishes her book with a very clear warning, fear instilled in Kolbert’s readers will most likely push them to take action and help fight against the sixth extinction.

Kolbert employs an informal style of writing, often drawing from a colloquial vocabulary, and establishes a narrative type of book. Although she defines many subjects and explores history throughout her book, Kolbert maintains a sense of storytelling throughout her novel. Kolbert’s readers follow her on her trek around the globe; often times, Kolbert adds unnecessary information to make her work less formal and less scientific. As she explores the Amazon, Kolbert describes her “lunch and purchase[s]... includ[ing] bread and cheese and a shopping bag’s worth of coca leaves… bought for the equivalent of about two dollars” (149). These subtle details make Kolbert’s book resemble more of a story than an informative piece, and also make her book much easier to read. While she divulges information, Kolbert also adds her own, sometimes humorous, observations: she describes the food that she eats and the people she meets, sometimes describing the animals she encounters in an informal fashion -- Kolbert meets a rhino, Suci, and views “her prodigious backside” (217). These interjections and casual observations, along with Kolbert’s facts and research, balance out her book and make The Sixth Extinction a much lighter read.

Delivery:

The Sixth Extinction has a subdued yellow cover, with an image of a mastodon skeleton -- fit with two enormous tusks and a long tail -- on its side running across the front page. The mastodon’s tusks are so large they cover a few letters in the title, emphasizing the enormity of the skeleton. The fact that the mastodon is turned on its side makes it seem as though the image were in a fossil catalogue; the image is there not for aesthetic purposes but for scientific research purposes. However, in juxtaposition to the arrangement of the mastodon skeleton, the colors of the book are vibrant: the large navy-blue text of the title and subtitle is sharply contrasted against the dark yellow background and the red-tinged skeleton of the mastodon. Even though the arrangement of the mastodon makes The Sixth Extinction seem like a scientific book, the vibrant colors of the covers add personality to the book, correctly representing the book’s content: scientific, informative research told in a descriptive, narrative way.

        

Inside the book, the text is larger than usual, Times New Roman, widely spaced. Within each chapter are several sections marked off by a blank line between chunks of text, effectively making The Sixth Extinction’s text seem inviting. Rather than small pages of cramped text, The Sixth Extinction looks more like a novel, its large pages and large fonts inviting. Each chapter has the scientific name of its species underneath it in italics. The first line of every new chapter is printed distinctively in all capital letters.

          

The entire text is interspersed with black and white photos from Kolbert’s travels or photos or sketches or charts that explain some of Kolbert’s definitions. There is a black-and-white photo in at least every other chapter, breaking up the monotonous text and clarifying concepts that Kolbert details in her writing; the photos make Kolbert’s book much easier to read.

Kolbert often references outside sources. As she travels across the globe, researching factors that contribute to the sixth extinction, she meets a variety of scientists and researchers. She names all of these scientists -- researchers from America, graduate students from Peru, Australian marine biologists -- and often introduces them as people, rather than sources; she introduces a British marine biologists as having “dirty blond hair that sticks up in unpredictable directions” and an Italian one as having “reddish brown hair that reaches her shoulders” (112). Already Kolbert establishes a familiarity with her sources, integrating them into her story rather than citing them at the end of her book. By incorporating these sources, people, and information into her book in this manner, Kolbert maintains a sense of narration in her book, and The Sixth Extinction reads as a story rather than a scientific piece of writing. The people that Kolbert does reference in her book are all accomplished, credible researchers or scientists. Kolbert either describes her sources’ education or their actions, revealing their expertise and their experience in their fields.

For sources she did not personally meet with, Kolbert adds fifteen pages worth of notes at the end of The Sixth Extinction, where she cites various novels, magazines, and other scientific journals. In addition to those notes, Kolbert adds six pages of a selected bibliography, MLA format, in the back of her book. After her bibliography, Kolbert cites her photos and their sources as well.

Memory:

Kolbert blends science and narrative together in her book The Sixth Extinction. When I first began reading, I expected the book to read like many texts of scientific work. However, Kolbert maintains a light tone throughout her book, adding subtle details -- such as the meal offered at a university or the temperature of the Mediterranean the day she visited -- that make The Sixth Extinction seem more of a narration than an informative text. And throughout her book, Kolbert intersperses some humorous interjections or comments. Additionally, Kolbert crafts metaphors with colloquial language to make concepts easier to understand: she describes putting on a dry suit as “preparing for a space journey” (112).

Kolbert outlines her journey across the globe, detailing her visits to various places, but adds information, history, and background to each location. She crafts a story out of the thirteen species she follows, beginning with Panamanian frogs and ending with humans. With each progressive chapter, she moves from the background of extinctions -- their history and their definition -- through the various extinctions Earth has seen, to the final, sixth extinction, she hypothesizes, occurring now. However, instead of piling on fact upon fact, Kolbert makes sure to add humor and description to balance out her book, making The Sixth Extinction easy to read, like a narrative story, but informative like a scientific research paper.

While the full title of Kolbert’s book is The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert does not actually delve into the aforementioned sixth extinction until the second half of the book. Granted, the first half of The Sixth Extinction offers important background information on the history and development of extinctions; but I expected more exploration of the actual sixth extinction. She does mention CO2 emissions and human pollution as causes to the sixth extinction, but I expected her to explore more solutions to this sixth extinction. She finishes her final chapter on a vague, but hopeful, note, explaining that possibly some kind of “human ingenuity [might] outrun any disaster human ingenuity sets in motion” (268). She jokes that, if all else fails, humans can “decamp to other planets;” this comment seems to contradict her otherwise somber conclusion (268). And often enough, Kolbert does seem to force humor into situations that otherwise do not require humor; her attempts to keep the book light and informal sometimes come off as forced and affected.

           

However, despite its flaws, The Sixth Extinction would be a commendable recommendation to anyone interested in the science behind global warming and extinction. Firstly because Kolbert manages to combine elements of both narratives and scientific writing into one book to make the read more interesting and more manageable, and also because Kolbert writes in such a way that anyone will be able to read The Sixth Extinction. Kolbert goes through a history of extinction, evolutionary theories, and other concepts needed to understand her novel before delving into her evidence for the sixth extinction. Additionally, while there are some complex scientific concepts, Kolbert explains them thoroughly and simply, so one can understand them even without background knowledge in chemistry or biology. Moreover, the subject matter of The Sixth Extinction is relevant to everyone. It is an issue that is ongoing, and will not stop. The Sixth Extinction deals with an issue that applies everyone on Earth, and affects anyone who lives on the planet. Kolbert employs pathos in her book to appeal to the reader’s sense of civic duty, and it is our duty, as people who live on earth, to be knowledgeable about our actions and to take care of the world around us.

          

After finishing The Sixth Extinction, I learned many things. Kolbert walked me through the beginnings of the definition of extinction, thanks to the work of George Cuvier and his discovery of mastodon teeth -- the mastodon skeleton is the image on The Sixth Extinction’s front cover -- and several others. After that, Kolbert explains several theories of evolution from Lyell to Darwin, all while exploring the reasons behind the rapid death of amphibians, the extinction of the great auk, and the mastodon. From there, I learned several factors that contribute to extinction, from asteroids crashing into the earth to ocean acidification and acid rain to invasive species. In addition to facts and statistics regarding extinction, Kolbert employs many other scientific ideas and historical facts to tell her story as well: she explains how human DNA varies from Neanderthal DNA and writes about Icelandic hunters shooting down the last wild auk.

           

Although the way Kolbert combines narrative and scientific writing is fascinating, and although learning about golden frogs and the Great Barrier Reef is intriguing, the main subject of Kolbert’s book is the name of the title: the sixth extinction. Kolbert researches a time-sensitive, pressing issue that directly involves all people today; she warns the world of what may happen -- the death of a number of species, including humans. The subject of her book affects everyone who reads it and is significant both inside and outside the scientific community today. In a literary perspective, Kolbert’s book fits into a newer genre of narrative nonfiction, not unlike Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Dave Cullen’s Columbine. Kolbert researches her material and presents her story in a narrative fashion, but emphasizes the importance and significance of her issue all the while.

A Life Half Lived (Perspective of a Melting Pot & “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates)

In my previous blog post, I mentioned the two sides of my upbringing.

On one hand, I was submersed in the values of an Eastern upbringing, told tales of immigration and struggle and strife, of coming to a country penniless in hopes of opportunity. And on the other hand, I was exposed to the life of other teenagers around me, went to their houses and met their parents -- who were so easygoing and friendly and open -- and went to their parties. It was fascinating to discover how comfortable some of my friends’ families could be with strangers in their houses, to see how much fun they could have; it was fascinating to see the juxtaposition of the two worlds, and to see that both had their merits, their benefits.

And at the same time, I think of it as normal.

And I think that it’s easier for me. I live in a diverse city, attend a (relatively) culturally diverse school. Within a 50 mile radius of my home, you could probably find at least one of the following: an authentic Japanese cuisine restaurant, an authentic Chinese cuisine restaurant, and authentic Mexican, Italian, Ethiopian, and Indian cuisine restaurants and grocery stores.

Except for some time in elementary school, I’ve never really felt like a minority, because my neighborhood was full of minorities. I knew that there were different people out there, I could see that reflected in my own school, but I was never treated differently.

But as my family went on vacations out of town to much more rural areas, I began to realize what most of America really looked like.

I’m not sure why -- or where I learned this -- but as I grow older, I become more and more aware of my race when I’m aware from home, or away from urban areas (where most people of color in the United States live). But as a person of Asian descent, I don’t even face the worst of discrimination.

There’s no way for me to imagine what more stigmatized people may feel like.

I’ve grown complacent here, in a place where diversity is the norm, in an urban city where diversity flourishes on the corner of every block and in every ethnic restaurant; and in the light of the recent election, I’ve come to realize that I’ve taken so much of my life for granted.

As I mentioned before, as I learn more through my US History class, I recognize more of my own desensitization to many problems in the world.  We learn in history that slavery wasn’t considered illegal in America until more than a century after the Declaration of Independence, but rarely do we approach the subject of racism and discrimination today.

Recently, I joined the Muslim Association at my school, and although I am not a follower of Islam, the students’ discussions were positively livid. They had an open discussion about the outcome of the presidential election, and their knowledge of the election and the candidates thoroughly shocked me; I didn’t think that any high schoolers followed politics that closely, but these students knew, and they were horrified.

And also recently, I began reading a book called Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates, a black man living in America, writes a letter to his son, explaining the struggles that he went through and goes through as a black man.

Coates refers to race as a label that people have brought upon themselves, that white people aren't really white people, they just call themselves that to put a barrier between blacks and whites. Coates mentions that some slaveholders of the past believed in the one drop rule, believed that their children with blue-eyes might be considered black even though they look just like their parents. In his book, Between the World and Me, Coates reflects upon his own beliefs about being black. Up until his time at Howard University, he believes that being black has a certain sense of nobility. When he comes to university though, he realizes that there are many variations of black, and that even within the black community there is violence and segregation.

Coates refers to the language of the country as violence. Coates as a young man believes in the earlier teachings of Malcolm X; he questions the effectiveness of nonviolence and why, why why why, these civil rights leaders "love the worst things in life -- love the... tear gas that claw[s] at their lungs...the men who raped them, the women who cursed them, love the children who spat on them, the terrorists who bombed them" (32).  Here, I think of the city of thorns, the largest refugee camp in the world in Dadaab, and wonder, if the people living there were violent, would their stories be told?

And the way the Ta-Nehisi Coates delivers his story is refreshingly visceral. He does not glaze over the details and the emotions; Coates emphasizes the fact that slavery should not be viewed as "an indefinable mass of flesh" (69). He names the individual, gives every person a history and a background and a family and a story. He goes on to recognize each black individual described in his book as a person -- describing their habits and their likes and their dislikes -- and not as a vague problem. He brings emotion to an issue we normally address quantitatively: he does not list the names -- Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tanisha Anderson -- nor does he spew out numbers regarding police shootings.  To conclude this post, here is an excerpt from his novel:

“Prince Jones was the superlative of all my fears... and the plunder was not just of Prince alone. Think of all the love poured into him. Think of all the tuitions for Montessori and music lessons. Think of the gasoline expended, the treads worn carting him to football games, basketball tournaments, Little League. Think of the time spent regulating sleepovers. Think of the surprise birthday parties, the daycare, the reference checks on babysitters....Think of soccer balls, science kits, chemistry sets, racetracks, and model trains. Think of all the embraces, all the private jokes, customs, greetings, names, dreams, all the shared knowledge and capacity of a black family injected into that vessel of flesh and bone. And think of how that vessel was taken, shattered on the concrete, and all its holy contents, all that had gone into him, sent flowing back to the earth. Think of your mother, who had no father. And your grandmother who was abandoned by her father. And your  grandfather who was left behind by his father. And think of how Prince's daughter was now drafted into those solemn ranks and deprived of her birthright -- that vessel which was her father, which brimmed with 25 years of love and was the investment of her grandparents and was to be her legacy.”

East Meets West (Perspective of a Melting Pot)

In third grade, I brought dumplings to school for the first time. I’d cut them into halves and tucked them into my blue containers in my blue flower lunch box and I was proud. I loved dumplings and I’d never brought them to school before.

During lunch, as I was eating, one of my friends said, “Ew, what is that smell?” and I stayed quiet because I didn’t know what it was.

The second time I brought dumplings to school, another one of my friends said, “Who farted?”

The third time, my only Indian friend -- the only Indian person in the whole school -- leaned in and whispered to me, “I know what the smell is,” and she pointed to the dumplings in my plastic blue container.

There was no fourth time.

In retrospect, I realize that almost my entire elementary school was white. I was the minority. I was the token Asian student. However, I didn’t realize that until I went to a larger middle school, where there were other Asian students.

It wasn’t difficult. I was never bullied or singled out. But after elementary school, I realized that I was different and I became very self-conscious of the actions of my mother and myself.

I’ve come to realize that, even with my Eastern upbringing, there are some aspects of my family and of my values that are rooted in more Western philosophies. In America, my family has brought the best of both worlds -- East and West -- together in a mélange of ideas and ideals that neither are too conservative nor too liberal.

My parents pushed me. I would study hard over the summer -- a time when the rest of my friends were relaxing -- working on problems on the level of the grade I would be entering. And those habits were ingrained in me; just this previous summer, I found myself checking out a Calculus and US history textbook over the summer to prepare for the school year.

I’ll be the first to admit that the work was grueling. The endless practices that I was pushed into for piano and violin were the reasons as to why I became so good at those instruments, but were also the reasons as to why I eventually quit. There is something to be said about doing something for yourself, and learning for yourself whether or not you enjoy something. There is something about being pushed to do something you may enjoy to the point where you no longer enjoy it. The summer work assigned to me was awful and I will never forget having to make flashcards for my multiplication tables in second grade.

When I reached high school, I found new friends. Some of them weren’t remotely interested in school or learning; I soon became jealous of them -- their easygoing demeanor, their casual vibes, and their nights out -- and tried to fit in with them. To an extent, I did. I started going out more, started using more words they used. And now, I have a little of both worlds, studying some nights and going out others.

I think being exposed to both a more Eastern upbringing at home and a Western lifestyle outside makes me a more well-rounded person. There are times when moderation is difficult: often times, the excitement of going out with friends will be all too alluring compared to a night spent studying, and I’ll give in, hang out with my friends instead of working. And other times, the workload of a high school student will seem endless, and I will lose myself in the work, unable to break the cycle.

And there is something to be said about living in a fusion, in a melting pot of ideas, where cultures blend together like oil paints on a palette. It’s such a unique position, to be able to experience the best of both worlds, and it’s something I’ve taken for granted.

I can go over to a friend’s house, order pizza and watch movies on Netflix, chat casually with their parents and say hello to their dog, and then, the very same day, I can come home and eat an authentic, ethnic meal prepared from scratch by my parents. It is the greatest kind of juxtaposition.

And for me, it’s normal. It’s a part of who I am; these Eastern philosophies and this Western upbringing make me into the person I am today, and for that, I am grateful. I am grateful for my parents, of course, and my friends. And since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I might as well say that I am thankful for the place that I call home -- a safe place -- the opportunities with which I’ve grown up with, the people I have around me, and the life that I live today. It’s not perfect, and I am thankful for those flaws as well; these flaws,these people, these cultures, these beliefs, this place around me make me who I am, their reflections evident in my personality and my identity today.

On World War II (Thoughts on Liberty and Desensitization Revisited)

During the second World War, Ernie Pyle was an American journalist who served as a war correspondent. He covered many stories of American involvement in Europe and North Africa. Prior to the war, Pyle was already an established journalist; he’d written for many magazines in the states before. During the war, Pyle covered news from all troops, but focused mostly on infantrymen, whom he believed were the most courageous and resolute of all American troops.

On June 6th, 1944, the Allied forces invaded Normandy Beach, signifying the beginning of the ending of the war. The shore and the countryside were secured by Allied powers, but the first day of the invasion – which later came to be known as D-Day – was one of the bloodiest days of the war. As a report, Ernie Pyle went to Normandy Beach following the first day of the Allied invasion to write about the success of the operation as well as reflect upon its casualties. Both the tactical success of the beach and the staggering loss of soldiers served as the exigence to Ernie’s reflections on WWII and D-Day. His thoughts culminate in a series of three D-Day columns.

In his piece, Pyle touches upon both the emotional and factual aspects of the war. He describes the carnage before him in a rather detached and desensitized way; he simply lists what he sees and offers little emotional narrative other than a few choice words such as “vast,” “startling,” and “lonesome.” When describing Normandy Beach, Pyle simply lists the things and the wreckage on the beach. He uses variations of the phrase ‘there were’ to list the things scattered on the beach. He says that “there were… trucks… there were tanks… there were jeeps… there were big derricks… there were LCTs… there were boats;” this anaphora emphasizes both the vastness of the wreckage and the clinical way that Pyle approaches the situation.

Additionally, Pyle completely avoids describing gore. Instead, he refers to the lost men as parts of machinery, “expended and sufficient,” as if they were just tools to be used and pieces to be discarded. Pyle lists the soldier’s personal paraphernalia but does so in the same clinical, factual way. He sees “the socks and shoe polish, sewing kits, diaries, Bibles, hand grenades,” but fails to add any emotional insight to his objective point of view. Moreover, Pyle repeatedly uses the phrase “I don’t know” and “I have no idea,” adding to his desensitized tone and lack of emotion.

To his audience, Pyle’s underrepresentation of gore and emotion must have been a relief from the stream of media and news covering the war. To readers at home, news of the war was constantly saturated with pathos and lurid violence, startling images of death and destruction.

And yet, Pyle’s seemingly emotionless piece evokes as much emotion as the other news pieces provide – if not more. After seeing so many graphic depictions of the war, people in the States became desensitized. The same arguments and the same appeals to emotion over and over again became trite. Pyle’s detached tone and his numbness – his lack of feelings – towards the scene on Normandy Beach understate the gravity and the emotional weight of the situation. But this lack of emotion is the very thing that forces his audience to realize that there is emotion in this situation. The invasion of Normandy Beach – D-Day in particular – remains one of the most graphic and emotive moments out of the entire war; and yet, many people stateside back then – and even now, after seeing so many graphic renditions of the infamous operation on television and in movies – couldn’t truly understand the weight of the situation.

By using a clinical and objective tone, Pyle evokes a very complicated response from his audience. He describes things that would normally be used as props in an appeal to pathos – things like personal photos, religion, innocent animals – in an objective way to evoke emotion from the audience, instead of forcing emotion onto the audience. Pyle’s readers will come to terms with their own emotions when faced with the stark reality of the situation; Pyle only gives his readers a skeleton of what really happened, but he focuses in on specific details – “bloody, abandoned shoes,” “a pocket Bible with a soldier’s name in it,” “a banjo,” “bank abandoned pages [meant for] writing… letters.” Given this, his readers bring their own emotions to the situation, extrapolating from what Pyle gives to them.

In a previous post about the contradictions in America, I mentioned that there comes a sense of desensitization that follows an overexposure to something. There is a multitude of psychological and biological studies that prove and disprove this idea, but often times, I see that I, myself become desensitized to these things. And yet, as I read more and more, I recognize when my own emotions and thoughts have become numb due to overstimulation; identifying the problem is half of the solution, and now I can work to push these barriers and acknowledge serious problems as they are.

Pyle's writings can be found here, here, and here.

Sources:

www.pbs.org/weta/reportingamericaatwar

www.biography.com/people/ernie-pyle

www.mediaschool.indiana.edu/erniepyle

www.history.com/world-war-ii

All photos from here.

Don’t Give Up the Ship! (Thoughts & Review on US Naval Academy)

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. I participated in a Candidate Visit weekend, which was an opportunity for me to actually spend two days living in the dorms at the USNA shadowing another student, which at the USNA is referred to as a midshipman.

The campus of the US Naval Academy is often referred to as the Yard. I’m not sure why, but regardless, the Yard is a beautiful place to spend four years. As soon as I drove onto it, I saw dozens of midshipmen wearing PT gear, running through green lawns and on russet brick paths. The school itself is framed by the Atlantic ocean, and is full of lush greenery and trees. When I arrived on a late Thursday afternoon, I was ushered into Mitscher Hall for an introduction and briefing. Tired and jetlagged, I bid farewell to my parents after more than an hour of watching videos of plebe summer and listening to the admissions process at USNA.

I was escorted down another wing, and as I lugged on my things – a suitcase and a rather heavy backpack – I was introduced to the company that I would be staying with: first company.

The midshipmen at USNA are assigned to one of thirty coed companies. In my time at the USNA, I would come to learn that one’s company represented one’s family. As one midshipman told me, family is who you’re forced to bond with. I discovered that most midshipmen spent most of their time with their company – which makes sense. As I walked through the Yard, to the housing buildings, and into first company, I found midshipmen joking with each other, plebes sticking their heads into other plebes’ rooms, plebes joking with upperclassmen. As strange and hierarchical as some customs were – such as plebes addressing upperclassmen as Mr. or Ms., and plebes marching around corners and saying ‘good afternoon, sir’ – there was a sense of camaraderie within the company, even across the four classes.

Inside of company one, all the hallways looked the same. All doors were polished wood, labeled with the names of the midshipmen who resided within the room. Every room was clean and tidy on account of weekly inspections, and each room had a single shower and sink. Most rooms housed two or three midshipmen.

As a candidate visitor, I was often referred to as a ‘drag.’ I followed my midshipman into the company and was teasingly introduced as the drag to each room of plebes in Company One. I was shocked by the friendliness in every midshipman I was introduced to; the plebes genuinely included me in their conversations and their discussions, something which I had worried about before. I, of course, wasn’t their first drag that year, but I was treated very well. That first night I and a group of other drags were taken to the USNA’s library, where we settled in at the cafe at the back. When we finally came back, I was exhausted after only an afternoon of learning about the rules and regulations for plebes. Plebes had to refer to upperclassmen by Mr or Ms. Plebes had to wear a complete uniform when in hallways. Plebes always had to carry around a book of professional knowledge – ‘pro-no.’ Plebes had to march around corners. Plebes had to greet all upperclassmen in hallways. All students had to check in at the end of the night for something called ‘taps,’ which was essentially attendance to ensure all midshipmen were in their companies at lights-out.

I brushed my teeth and set up a cot on the floor of my midshipmen’s room and quickly settled in. The room was rather cold – I was forced to wear a sweater to bed – but the midshipmen I roomed with were accommodating and kind. I fell asleep within minutes.

The next day, my midshipmen were awake before I was. They had to follow a very regimented schedule. Here is an example of a daily schedule of the life of a midshipman:

5:30 a.m. Arise for personal fitness workout (optional)

6:30 a.m. Reveille (all hands out of bed)

6:30 - 7:00 a.m. Special instruction period for plebes

7:00 a.m. Morning meal formation

7:15 a.m. Morning meal

7:55 - 11:45 a.m. Four class periods, 50 minutes each

12:05 p.m. Noon meal formation

12:10 p.m. Noon meal

12:50 - 1:20 p.m. Company training time

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Fifth and sixth class periods

3:45 - 6:00 p.m. Varsity and intramural athletics, extracurricular and personal activities; drill and parades twice weekly in the fall and spring

6:30 - 7:15 p.m. Evening Meal

8:00 - 11:00 p.m. Study period

Midnight. Taps for all midshipmen

That day I went to morning formation with my plebe, where each company stood in formation to report in – in uniform. We went down to breakfast in the enormous hall, where midshipmen of all classes mingled regardless of company, and then to class. In the mornings, the air at the USNA was cool and crisp, refreshingly sharp as we walked to class, surrounded by a sea of midshipmen in their blues.

At the USNA, all midshipmen have their tuition and cost of living paid for; in fact, midshipmen, as employees of the government, are paid monthly stipends. All midshipmen had the same black bookbags and laptops, and they all wore the same black uniform to classes.

The classes I attended were all taught by military personnel of some sort: I went to Cyber, a class on computer security, calculus, and English.

The USNA offers a variety of classes and clubs, but I found the core classes to be rather interesting. Calculus in particular was my favorite class – partially because I could understand the material, and partially because I too learned in the class. The instructor covered Taylor polynomials, teaching the class in a very interactive, hands-on way. The classrooms were well equipped and rather modern.

Unlike breakfast, lunch is mandatory. Midshipmen line up in formation before the meal, and stand at attention before tucking in. At lunch, all midshipmen sit with their assigned company.

After a filling lunch, my midshipman took me on a run through the Yard. Unlike many other public or private schools, during my time at the USNA, I saw many students taking advantage of the beautiful Yard and the physical activity time offered. There were midshipmen running along the bay in PT clothes, midshipmen swimming in an indoor pool, midshipmen fencing, midshipmen doing yoga and midshipmen playing football. I couldn’t help but think, even though their lives are very regimented, they balance between school and sports; midshipmen are required to play sports at their time at the USNA. Even during my short time at the USNA, I came to recognize a certain rhythm in the lifestyle of these students. The midshipmen told me that the first few weeks were always the hardest, but when I visited in October, the plebes had mostly acclimated to the school already; there was a cadence that every midshipmen followed, one that sang of both activity and productivity.

Prior to the candidate visit, I wasn’t really sure what I had expected: perhaps a very regimented school with very serious, dedicated midshipmen.

In part, yes, I did find that the students there were hard-working and motivated. Looking at an example of a schedule is evidence enough. Shadowing a plebe showed me firsthand how intensely these students worked. They went to classes every day, physically worked out every day, and came back to their dorms only to memorize military and naval knowledge for daily quizzes. The stress and the workload of these students – and maybe all college students in general – was unbelievable; one of the midshipmen I dormed with came close to a mental breakdown when I was in the room. She had to turn in an online homework assignment due at 12pm and snapped out at a few of her fellow plebes in the room who were trying to help her. All of the plebes involved in the situation were very kind, but the stress that they were forced to take on often grated their nerves, causing them to lash out at their friends and fellow plebes. Seeing as I visited in the beginning of the year, I can’t even imagine what their lives would be like as finals approached.

I was at liberty to visit any of the plebes in Company One, and I often did. However, most midshipmen in their rooms were on their laptops, working on homework or studying. Lights out is at 11pm but one of the midshipmen in my room stayed up until 2am working on homework assignments. I slept at 11pm and woke up the same time they did, but still was tired. On top of their homework and naval knowledge, the midshipmen were often physically strained as well. Midshipmen are required to pass a fitness test – the PR – every semester; there is no room to slack off at the USNA.

But, there were definitely moments where the midshipmen could have their own fun.

The plebes in Company One ordered out on Friday night. Plebes aren’t allowed to leave the Yard or spend nights away from the dorm (unless they have the liberty, which is referred to as a ‘weekend’), so the plebes in Company One decided to have their own fun. They ordered Japanese yakisoba and dumplings and sat on the floor in one of the plebes’ rooms, sitting around and chatting as they ate. I, along with a few other drags, was included. More than anything, that night I felt like I was part of something much more intimate than a gang of freshmen students; these were plebes, this was a company, this was a family.

That same night I followed my group of plebes to a concert at Alumni Hall. The USNA got Hunter Hayes, Andy Grammer, and American Authors (pop artists) to perform in a concert specifically for the midshipmen. Although no alcohol was allowed at the concert – or on the Yard in general – the midshipmen definitely had their own fun; after a long week of schoolwork, they were allowed to have fun at a concert and let out their stress.

I vividly remember discussing the topic of personality with one particular plebe. She told me that she believed, before attending candidate weekend, she thought that there would be no room for her personality at the USNA. She, as I had, believed the USNA was full of dedicated, hardcore students working rigorously to achieve their goals. And yet, coming to the USNA disproved that notion – for both her and myself.

The regimented scheduling at the USNA may seem like it would encroach a student’s freedom of choice; suddenly, attending the USNA takes away your power to make decisions: your classes are chosen for you, your clothes are given to you, your sleeping and eating times are dictated. I thought that the USNA was only for people concentrated on getting into the military, but many midshipmen told me that they only planned to pursue the mandatory five years of service before returning to civilian life.

Even though each dorm room must follow cleanliness regulations, there were personal touches: corkboards and polaroids, love letters and prom photos. Even though the USNA requires that each midshipman take core classes, the midshipmen are free to choose from a plethora of other extracurricular activities and clubs: Glee club, dance, yoga, Arabic club.

The midshipmen that I was assigned to told me that she believed it was worth it. At the USNA, midshipmen graduate with no student debts, a guaranteed job, and leadership experience. At the same time, it offers a very productive, very balanced lifestyle. I’m not sure if it’s the lifestyle for me, but the candidate weekend has offered me insight into a world that I thought I knew.

The Yard

Students heading to class

The Dining Hall

Students wearing their blues