The man put his name on the neck of his shirt so he would have COLLAR ID.

My name, Chloe, is a Greek name. It was a name given to the people from the Greek Goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Chloe means: green shoot, fresh blooming, and famous bearers. However, I know my name a different meaning to it all together. I was named after my mother's favorite perfume brand, Chloé. I think this puts a nice twist to my name. I also like to believe that this helps define me. My mom used to tell me that I am sweet and lovely as her perfume. I like to think that's still true.

I want to say that there is only one me that everyone gets, but that's not the case. My personality involuntarily changes around people dependent on my comfortability level with them. There's a wide spectrum of Chloes ranging from Family Chloe to Strangers Chloe. Family Chloe gets it all, every bad pun, stupid question, and weird obsession. I'm a completely different person with my family than I am around strangers. Stranger Chloe is a little more soft spoken. She's definitely nicer and a little shy. It's all in a bad attempt to make a good first impression. 

One situation I can think of when I am apart of a group and am defined by that group is when I'm with my siblings. "The Villazor Kids" becomes this package of 5 people, who all have the same parents, that my mom and dad like to brag about to other parents. I'm no longer just Chloe. I'm the middle child who is following in the foot steps of her older two siblings. It's a little strange, because I lose a sense of self. All of a sudden I'm being compared to my siblings and what they have accomplished and people are asking if I plan on doing the same thing or something different. I have to meet my parents' expectations and more. I have to be Chloe, while at the same time be like my sister or my brother who have already done great things. It's no longer my accomplishments. It's my accomplishments compared to what my siblings have also accomplished, diminishing them just a little bit. 

p.s. Happy Birthday Mrs. Genesky!

What Do You Call a Duck Who Likes Watching Fireworks? A FireQUACKER!

This photograph is entitled Fourth of July and it was pictured by photographer, Wing Young Huie. This photo was taken on the 4th of July between the years of 1997-2000 in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis. 

At first glance, the photo is average. It's a black and white photo that depicts the Fourth of July. Friends or family are going out to watch fireworks in order to celebrate The Declaration of Independance. These friends, or family, have decided to watch the fireworks at a close by lake. There are a few trees and lights on the other side of the lake, or other body of water. That's the big picture, the surface statement. However, this picture is much more than that. Much more. 

If we were place this picture under a literary microscope, the deeper meaning is revealed. The innocent bystanders are being othered by society. In the typical fourth of July setting, it's crowds of people watching the fireworks, but in this picture there are only three. These three people are being othered for one reason or another by society. They are isolated from everybody else. The reason they are being isolated is ultimately unknown, and up to interpretation. The picture is black and white and the people are only silhouettes. The reason for them being sihouetted is so that the viewer can imagine what they want, it leaves the people up to the interpretation of the viewer. The reason they are being othered can be racial, gendered, religon based or anything that comes to the viewer's imagination. At first glance, I assumed the people were a minority race and were isolated due to racial prejudices in America. I came to that interpretation after viewing other works by Huie.

Wing Young Huie is not the only person who depicts the concept of othering in their respective works. Like Huie, Maragret Atwood others some of her characters in her novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Huie others his characters through visuals and interpretation. The people are othered explicitly, but it's up to the viewer's ideals to say why they are being othered. Atwood explicitly others her characters. The characters othered in The Handmaid's Tale are Unwomen. These are women who are infertile and live in the colonies. These characters are othered, because they cannot fulfill the role a women has in Gilead. They are infertile, cannot beat children in a society that values a women's reproductive system. These characters are isolated due to the fact that an unwomen never appears in the novel. They are all in the colonies and Offred never gets the option of meeting one of them, because if she were to it would humanize the group and would defeat the purpose of othering them. 

p.s. Happy Birthday Mrs. Genesky!!