Shambhavi's Shells

     The inequality faced by women in stories such as Pachinko , Cat in the rain , and Story of an Hour was not only forced upon them, but in a way it was reinforced by the women's misconceptions of their place in society.      As many are aware today, the oppression against women has been something enforced by society, especially men and patriarchal beliefs. What some may not know is that women have also brought the misconception upon themselves. In Pachinko , Sunja was constantly told by the women around her that she needed to devote herself to her husband “otherwise another woman will”. Yangjin, Sunja’s mother, herself was devoted to Sunja’s father, and enforced this thought process on Sunja too. To someone young and innocent, another woman’s words, especially someone the young girl looked up to, would be taken heavily, and possibly influence her mindset and perspective. In Pachinko , Sunja later meets Kyunghee, who has been in a patriarchal relationsh...

      Under a diving board at what seems to be a community center, I bump into a girl who appears to be around 5'10 in height, East Asian, slender, with long black hair, and wearing a school's swim and dive merch. "Oh I'm so sorry, my name is ....." "I'm sorry could you repeat that?"      No response.     The mysterious girl turns around and walks into the locker room where I follow her but cannot seem to find her.     On my way up the stairs to leave the community center I see the girl again, this time at the top of a flight of stairs. I run up the stairs towards her but she walks away and turns a corner and now I've lost her again.     I walk out further to a set of bleachers where again at the top I see the figure of the girl. This time I ask the janitor nearby. "I keep running into this girl but every time I approach her she disappears."     "Look shes up on the bleachers"     As I tu...

       "Stop shaking your leg; you'll shake the luck out" ( Crying in H mart ) these are words I've heard too often.     I grew up in a fairly Indian household where superstitions were a part of my daily life. "Don't cut your nails at night" or "Don't shake your legs" was something that I heard often and even unconsciously follow to this day.      While reading Crying in H mart , the author's mother reminded me of my mom at times, especially with how she brought up superstitions and other reminders to make sure Michelle, the author, presented herself the best she could.      While this quote at first might not be seen as beautiful, the words Michelle's mother uses are not something complex that has multiple meanings and takes hours to understand, rather they are simple words that come from a mother worried for her daughter's luck and future.     When this line first came up, I felt more connected to the book tha...

     With this being the first 12 AP blog, I think introducing myself and talking about the origins of my name would be a better way to start the school year.      So the name Shambhavi (Shum-ba-vee). Having a unique name already distinguishes me from others. My name usually isn't something that people are able to pronounce correctly the first time. Instead, I'll get a few mispronounced versions of my name before the right pronunciation.      As a child, my appreciation for my name was much lower than it is now. I wasn't used to being the only unique name in between other Toms, Sallys, and Jims. In third grade, I chose to go by SGS which is my initials rather than my full name, which I wasn't able to continue for more than a week because of my teacher. Growing up my parents told me how my name was chosen, but the weight and significance of the name took longer for me to understand.      Shambhavi: the name of a...

      As we know of Mr. Faust, who makes a deal with the devil ultimately exchanging his soul for money, fame, and success, it's well known that the deal Faust made was intentional, unlike Dorian Gray.      It is true that Dorian sobs in front of his portrait wishing that he remained young while the portrait aged, but Dorian never sat in a room and made a deal face to face with the devil. Dorian's wish was granted, but he himself was unaware of what the conditions of his wish were, ultimately ruining the very innocence in him that Basil adored.     I've heard from multiple people how they can't stand Dorian Gray, but sometimes we forget that Dorian's character was built off of Lord Henry's ideals. Lord Henry chose to influence Dorian because of Dorian's beauty and innocence. With this, it is safe to say that Dorian's wish to remain young was created by Lord Henry and as Angelina noticed "Lord Henry and Basil are like the devil and angel ...

     In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, we're introduced to a character known for his charming beauty, or as Basil sees him - a work of art. Our first impression of Dorian Gray is his beauty, but later we get to see his true personality. All the characters in the novel are quick to judge Dorian as "good" because of his looks, which raises the question of if we should appreciate art at its base value without any consideration for the creator.      The author himself, Oscar Wilde, warns the reader that "those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril". Was this Oscar Wilde's way of telling us that ignorance is bliss? Should we also use the same innocent lens that Basil looked through? Or should we strive to have a deeper knowledge of the things we appreciate?     To me, there is no certain answer, rather I'm compelled to raise more questions. Say the ignorance of not knowing a certain artist's personality or past brings the vie...

      As my year of AP 11 English is coming to an end, I realized the number of people, pieces, and authors there are that supported me throughout my journey in AP 11. It's impossible for me to talk about AP 11 without giving these catalysts to my improvement my utmost gratitude.      I (ironically) am deeply indebted to Cathy Park Hong and her piece "The Indebted". Growing up being told by others that I am indebted to America for giving me opportunities made me feel like I needed to give back somehow, but you were the first author to tell me that my feelings of indebtedness should be pointed towards my ancestors, not America. After reading your piece "The Indebted", I started following you on, and as expected, you opened my eyes to the injustices, achievements, and overall lives of people of color. I learned both how deprived and successful people of color have been in America, forever changing my perspective of the country. Similar to "The Indeb...