Week Seven

"Hadn't he even let his wife go off and leave him? The day when he learned his wife had left him, the idea of going out in search of her didn't even cross his mind. He let her go without trying to find out at all who she went with or where, so he wouldn't have to go down to the village. He let her go as he'd let everything else go, without putting up a fight." (Tell Them Not to Kill Me!, Juan Rulfo, 286)

Juvencio, the "he" that is being referred to in this passage, is not an ideal, moral person. He is a murderer and a coward. Even worse, though, Juvencio is apathetic.

Apathy, that debilitating attitude that prevents positive change, that makes people feel weak and powerless. Even though there is a big push for those of the rising generation to act and to be a useful part of society, we are still infected with apathy. But I think there's more to it than simply "not caring" about the world around us. Dave Meslin addresses this issue in his brief Ted Talk.

I don't know if I completely agree with all of his points, but I do agree that there are barriers holding some seemingly apathetic people back from doing what they know is right. As young adults, it's easy to overlook the needs of the community or, on a smaller scale, those around you, on a daily basis. We get caught up in homework, tests, social activities, church responsibilities, family responsibilities, and various other obligations. But how often do we take the time to reach out and change the world around us? We tell ourselves it's too hard or that we are inadequate for such a task. These, I believe, are the barriers that Dave Meslin is referring to. 

So, how do we fix this apathy problem? 

 

   To me, it really is as simple as doing. 

But what do you think? Are you going to be apathetic to this blog post or are you actually going to act and respond? It's up to you. 

Week Six

“Then he reproved her, saying that it was imprudent to visit such houses. Villela might learn of it, and then…

‘Impossible! I was exceedingly careful when I entered the place.’” (The Fortune Teller, Machado de Assisi, 48)

It was then that I knew that Villela would indeed see her and that the story would end in death. No, I’m not a super sleuth, I have just read a few morbid short stories in my day. (Favorites: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner.) These two lines say so much, yet so little. On a quick read-through, these sentences would be overlooked, like much foreshadowing is. This particular instance of foreshadowing reminds me of Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth Bennett says that she doesn’t care what Mr. Darcy thinks because she doubts she will ever see him again. Spoiler Alert: she sees him again.

I think that life is made up of overlooked foreshadowing. For instance, at the start of a new semester, I assess the students in my classes and determine who I would or would not like to do a group project with. And I nearly always end up working with those I didn’t want to work with. (The same thing happens with Church callings. “Please, I don’t want to be FHE group leader. Anything but FHE group leader.” The next day: “We’d like to extend a calling to you to be… FHE GROUP LEADER!” You know you’ve been there.)

My point is simple: we miss a lot of opportunities because we overlook foreshadowing in our lives. Obviously Machado’s story wouldn’t have been the same if Camillo and Rita had recognized that moment as foreshadowing. But in real life, I think we could make our lives a lot better if we seized opportunities that may be foreshadowing. In a way, we could almost choose what path we want to take in life. 

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?