With Valentine’s Day somewhat around the
corner, cards, candies, and bears will be popping up with the phrase ,“Be
Mine.” What would qualify
something (in this case a person) to be the property of someone else? By this definition, by “being
someone’s” it means that you have strong feelings for one another and cherish
that other person. To be someone’s
completely, you give up your heart and soul to them and love them
unconditionally. You give yourself
up to that person and you belong to them and they belong to you. That ownership correlates to a sense of
self because you have a bit of that person in you and a bit of you is attached
to them. On the other hand, Holly
Golightly in Truman Capote’s Breakfast at
Tiffany’s famously said, “People don’t belong to people. I’m not going to let anyone put me in a
cage.” Holly thinks that by being
in love with someone that you belong to them and she is against this is idea so
she keeps ignoring that it is true.
When you love someone, you DO belong to them and it can’t really be
helped. Think of the songs, like
Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” which say that people belong to other people because
they love them etc., etc.
The definitions of ownership for people
and objects are different. For
objects they’re things that enhance your life or things that you need. Lot’s of things have places where you
can write to whom the object belongs like coats or calculators. That’s putting a name on something and
making a statement that it belongs to you. But with people its different. You can’t put your name on someone else (well actually
people have in the forms of tattoos but that isn’t what I mean) so that
everyone knows that they belong to you.
People can’t be claimed in such a way, however they can be claimed in
the ways of the heart. I know that
sounds corny but it is true.
Your belongings don’t define you. If you have very little doesn't mean
you’re poor and having a lot doesn’t mean you’re affluent. Instead actions, thoughts, and opinions
define who you are and contribute to your sense of self. I don’t think that belongings have
anything to do with your sense of self.
Your sense of self comes from who you are, how you view yourself, what
you think as well as the people you surround yourself.
Sophia,
ReplyDeleteI liked how spent a significant portion of your blog talking about love and the ownership lovers feel for one another. It was different than the other responses I’ve read so good on ya. Despite the fact that it wasn’t that long, I thought your response was very thoughtful. Also you and I concluded on a similar subject. Both of us seemed implied that society can be too materialistic and not put enough emphasis on what’s on the inside. After all, as you said, the external tangible belongings of ours’ say very little about. It’s all about what’s on the inside that counts.
Doug
Sophia, the great part about this is that your voice is clear, strong, and articulate. I appreciate that you took a risk and focused on love. For this to be a better and longer essay, you've got to go whole-hog into that risky argument. In other words, if you're going to talk about love, then you better really talk about love--and don't stop with pop songs. Give me 400 words on love and ownership. Cite great lovers in history and literature. Tell me how ownership works and doesn't work for them. Tell me about contemporary adolescents. Tell me about Mr. and Mrs. Obama. And forget the final paragraph--it's like you were feeling guilty for talking about love so you tacked it on. Pick your topic and go with it.
ReplyDelete