"Nicki Minaj Crashes Hip-Hop’s Boys Club" by Brent Staples

I read a second article by Brent Staples, this one called "Nicki Minaj Crashes Hip-Hop’s Boys Club". I personally think that the title is unclear. Just from reading the title, I thought the article was going to be about Nicki Minaj showing up uninvited to an all men's hip-hop club. After reading the article it was clear to me what his motives were when he used that title, but at first glance I do not think it is descriptive of what the article is about. Staples's opening paragraph is not as catchy or all-encompassing as in his other article, "Inside the Warped World of Summons Court", but it does introduce the idea of hip-hop as an influential and ever-growing aspect of pop culture.

In this article, Staples explains Nicki Minaj's rise to fame, and her unexpected and contradictory spotlight in a man's world. His stance in this article is that while it's too early to tell whether Minaj will bring something new to the table as far as lyrical creativity goes, she should be admired for opening new doors for women around the world. He seems to digress a bit towards the middle of the article, where he starts criticizing large corporations and capitalism. In my opinion, this decreased the effectiveness of his argument because it was off topic and I could not relate to it on a personal level. That part was even boring to read.

Even though I'd say that the paragraphs about the radio DJ's verbal battle with Nicki Minaj was the only evidence in Staples's argument that men do not appreciate the introduction of women into the hip-hop industry, the article was still fairly effective. It did not, however, provoke an emotional response from me. This may be because he did not use enough inflammatory words, or as much slang as in his other article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/opinion/sunday/nicki-minaj-crashes-hip-hops-boys-club.html?_r=2&ref=brentstaples

"Inside the Warped World of Summons Court" by Brent Staples

On June 16, Brent Staples wrote an article for the New York Times challenging the fairness and legality of the summons court in New York City. In this article, he quotes statistics, judges, and summonses to prove his point that the summons courts in lower Manhattan are corrupt.

Right from the beginning, the title of this article is eye-catching, and intriguingly- yet appropriately- foreshadows what the article is going to be about. Staples begins with a sentence that clearly expresses his stance on the topic. He then quotes a judge from the Brooklyn Criminal court, who says she cannot remember a time when she convicted a white person. I believe this statement is a bit of an exaggeration, because it is just statistically unlikely that of the 500,000 summonses issued in the city every year, absolutely no white people would be rendered guilty as charged.

Staples includes one man's experience of getting ticketed for a completely worthless reason to try to provoke a reaction from the reader and appeal to them on an emotional level. He uses rhetoric when he asks the question, "And if they are out to get you... what can you do?" He also uses words such as "bogus" and "petty" instead of less attention-grabbing words.

The article is well written and mostly believable, mostly due to the tone Staples sets and his word choice. Overall, I think that this article probably provoked a response from many of its readers, which is what Staples was trying to do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/opinion/sunday/inside-the-warped-world-of-summons-court.html?_r=1&ref=brentstaples

Death of a Salesman Themes

The title forces the reader to wonder throughout the entire play when and how Willy is going to die, and what will happen to his family. The whole story is Willy trying to hold on to what little sanity he has left, while everyday his family grows more scared and angry. Willy finally loses it all and kills himself by crashing his car. This is the climax of Death of a Salesman, and the music in the stage directions add drama to the last scene.

Very few people attend Willy's funeral, contrary to his desire to have a big "salesman" funeral. This gives rise to the first major theme, desertion. Many people had deserted Willy during his lifetime, including both his father and his brother.

Since Willy never had a true family during his childhood, he was always striving to create the perfect family that he envisioned in his mind. His constant strive for perfection made it hard for him to enjoy his life. Biff, Willy's favorite and most perfect son in his mind, ultimately left him disappointed. Happy did the same. Perfection and desertion are two main themes of the play.
I think that Death of a Salesman teaches us that life has both good and bad times that everyone must face, but we cannot let these obstacles get in the way of our happiness and living our lives.

Fourth Look at Death of a Salesman

Willy runs into Bernard, one of Biff’s friends when he was younger who used to live in his shadow. During their encounter, Willy learns Bernard is now a successful lawyer who is about to present an argument in front of the Supreme Court. I think Willy is extremely surprised at how well off Bernard turned out, and he deeply wishes that his sons, Biff and Happy, could've been more like him.

The two talk about Biff, and Bernard expresses his feelings for him. Bernard gives Willy wise advice about how life can be really hard sometimes, and expresses his belief that Biff's life changed course due to Willy's visit to him in Boston after he failed math. This deeply upsets Willy. We haven't found out why yet, but I suspect we will soon.
At dinner, Willy acts sort of mentally insane, and says things with suicidal undertones. He experiences a flashback of the night Biff came to visit him in Boston, where Biff walked in on his father cheating on his mother. That was the life-changing event that Bernard was telling Willy about, as at that moment, Biff lost all respect and hope. The man that he had looked up to throughout his childhood was nothing but a cheating coward. Biff had come to tell his father that he had let him down and failed math. He thought so highly of him and only wanted to make him proud, but once he learned the truth I think he just didn’t have the motivation to finish high school and go to college.

I don’t think Biff was right to completely give up on his life just because Willy let him down. He could've finished school and made a better living than his father had ever provided for him. At the end of dinner, Biff and Happy rush off with two women, leaving their father all alone at the restaurant. Willy gives all the money he is carrying with him to the bar tender. I think that foreshadows his death.

Third Look at Death of a Salesman

Biff seems to be undergoing a change in the beginning of the second act. He is starting to grow up and piece his life together so he can help his father in his mentally handicapped state. I think Willy's expectations of his son are a little bit too high. After all, he puts all of his hopes into Biff getting a job. So what happens if Biff doesn't come through? Willy always thinks about the way he wished his life turned out, imagining his kids' success and helping him in his time of need. I think that these expectations are what is killing him, as his desire for things out of his reach is hurting him inside and making him not want to live.

The family's bills are piling up, and after Willy is fired and Biff's proposal is rejected, there is no income to pay the bills.

It's somewhat confusing when Willy has flashbacks and memories of the old days, as they mix right in with the scene without any real defining factors. But it is getting easier to tell when the author is using the present and when he's using past events. Right after Willy was fired, he has a flashback of the day his brother asked him to go to Alaska with him. He turned him his offer down because he wanted to earn a living as a salesman. I think he looks back with regret, as now his brother is a successful man leading a luxurious life, while Willy is now unemployed and has no way to support his family.

Second Look at Death of a Salesman

Willy envies his older brother, Ben, who moved away to Alaska and became wealthy. Willy's extreme jealousy is due to the fact that he had the opportunity to join his brother, but declined it to become a salesman, which has proved to be a less-than-satisfactory job. Ben also got to meet their father, unlike Willy. I think that this has affected Willy's parenting skills. Not having a father figure during childhood makes it hard for him to be a good father. He had no guideline or idea of how he should act. Willy favored Biff when his sons were young because he was such a great athlete. He neglects Happy which is not good parenting.
Linda Loman loves her husband, despite everything he does to her. She always stands up for him no matter what. I think she loves him a lot more than he ever loved her. He is rude to her, always yelling and screaming at her. But she overlooks this rude behavior, and I think she loves him more than he ever loved her. She thinks he is the most incredible man, having worked hard in his life to provide for his sons. He did work hard, but I think Linda gives him too much credit. He could've gotten another job that would've supported the family much better, but his pride stood in his way.
I'm proud that Biff decided to come home and help his father in his time of need. Biff has decided to change, as he knows that Willy would have done anything for him when he was still capable, and he owes it to him to help out a little. Inside, Biff still seems to be a kid trying to figure out his life. But he is taking the right steps towards adulthood. 

First Look at Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman used to be the most proud father. His older son, Biff, was the star of the football team and everyone loved and respected him. His younger son, Happy, is financially successful and married. But Biff seemed to develop a big head, thinking everything in his life was going to be easy, just like football. But his grades began to sink, and scholarships were hard to come by. He still hasn’t figured out what to do with his life, nor has his brother, Happy. 

Both boys’ lives are empty. Whenever Happy is lonely or upset, he gets with a woman, but never stays with her. Yet deep down, he really wants a family. Happy seemed to be more neglected by Willy during his childhood, living in the shadows of Biff’s glory. As an adult, Biff is unemployed and living on a farm. He doesn’t seem to be happy or content with his life. 

Willy is now old and depressed and also dissatisfied with his life. When he was younger and first began having financial problems, he started sleeping with another women while he was on the road. I think he did this because he was ashamed that he could not provide enough for his family. He felt like he wasn’t worthy of them. From then on, his life seemed to continue in a downwards spiral down of depression.