"Multiple Intelligences" by Howard Gardner

The essay “Multiple Intelligences” criticizes traditional ideas about intelligence in favor of a more broad view of intelligence. These days, intelligence is largely quantified by test-taking, however, as Gardner points out, this process hardly captures the breadth of intelligences that we find useful in society. Gardner lists and describes the seven intelligences: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Through studies of prodigies and people who have become somehow cut off from particular intelligences, Gardner argues that these intelligences are independent from one another.
I agree with Gardner on the level that understanding the many facets of intelligence should be considered when evaluating someone’s capabilities. At the same time, however, I found the entire essay to be slightly pointless. In the Logical-Mathematical portion, he mentions that for “the gifted individual, the process of problem solving is often remarkably rapid…”(292). This comment made me wonder, aside from mental capacity, did speed matter? Is someone still considered intelligent in a particular category if they’re capable of solving problems but only at an incredibly slow rate? Or if someone is a mediocre but prolific writer or photographer, yet he/she is able to weed through lots of bad writing or bad photography to obtain the good works, don’t we still consider this person intelligent and beneficial to society? In this sense, intelligence seems like a pointless thing to measure anyway, if things like stamina and persistence could be the factors that cause the person to perform well.

“The Car” by Harry Crews

Crews looks back on his life owning cars nostalgically, but he explains that his perception of cars as extensions of himself was unhealthy and it allowed his cars to define and “own” him. I found Crews’ connection between his car and his sexuality to be interesting. When Shirley broke the wing vent while participating in “the first few lovely frantic moments”, Crews didn’t replace it as a trophy to his sexuality. Further, in his memory, he equates the smell of burned hamburgers and hot dogs as one of the most erotic smells, remembering the carhops that left him feeling sexually charged while he leaned against his car and talked about the speed and strength of the car as if “it was my speed and my strength that got rubber in three gears.” (403)
I can relate to the idea that a possession can shape your attitudes towards yourself. After my 18th birthday I got a tattoo. Besides purely liking the tattoo as a form of body art, I attach meaning behind my tattoo, and hope that it will shape my ideas in the future. The tattoo is of a tic-tac-toe board, and is meant to remind me several things. First, my life is not eternal, so the permanence of a tattoo isn’t really that permanent or significant at all. Second, my body is mine, and I have the freedom to play with it and mark it up as I please. And third, since life is ephemeral, I may as well have fun while I can. I could think these ideas without needing to physically ink them onto myself, but I recognize that putting the ideas into a possession help solidify my ideology for myself.

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker

“Everyday Use” is about the relationships between the mother, the narrator, and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. Maggie has burn scars, walks like a “lame animal”, and seems to accept the fact that God has always favored her sister over her. (245) Dee has “faultfinding power”, likes nice things, gets what she wants, and is part of the black rights movement. (246) The most interesting aspect of this essay, I found, was the contrast between the two sisters. Dee wants to be in touch with her heritage, as can be seen by her fondness for the quilts and the churn she wishes to hang on her walls like art, and as can be seen by her adoption of the African name, “Wangero”. However, as the narrator describes, Dee previously cast off her background. “I didn’t want to bring up how I had offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college.” (250) Further, the mother is open to calling Dee “Wangero”, but finds it ironic that her daughter would want to cast off the name that is actually true to her heritage, since her grandmother and aunt carried that same name as well. Maggie highly contrasts Dee: she understands that she cannot always get what she wants, and she is not involved in the fight against “the people who oppress” her (247). Maggie reflects the generation of her mother, where “colored asked fewer questions than they do now” (246). Part of Walker’s craft as a writer is to use the contrast between Maggie and Dee to point out the tensions between different generations of black people in America in the 1960s and 70s. Maggie and her mother seem in awe of Dee, while at the same time feeling as if she is “forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.” (246)

"Night Song" by Stephen Kuusisto

“Night Song” is about the author’s, Stephen Kuusisto, memories as a blind child. His memories were mostly defined by sounds, sometimes touch and smell, and sometimes by blurry patches of color. His memory of the city, for instance, was defined by the potato seller’s voice, the sound of knife blades, and “the rumble of streetcars”. The author kind of develops a relationship with sound: he understands the intricacies of sounds better than most people, and he places “such great faith in sound”. I love the message behind this story, which is that people can sometimes better experience life and its intricacies by simplifying one’s perception of things. I remember random times in my life when I have closed my eyes to listen to the rain beat against the roof or to listen to an orchestra play. By shutting off certain parts of our brains, we are more capable of focusing our attention on something unique. I know this is the case in yoga, where, in order to truly relax and sink deeply into the stretches, one must shut off the part of the brain that focuses on the things that need to get done.

"Root Cellar" and "Into Mexico"

The first poem titled, “Root Cellar”, creates a great sense of imagery and taps into the reader’s memories of smelling and feeling a rich, dank, and dark place. “Shoots dangled and drooped,/ Lolling obscenely from mildewed crates…Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich.” The poet also describes the liveliness that comes from the things growing in the cellar by using language usually used to describe people: “congress”, ”sleep”, “hunt”, “breathing”, etc. This poem reminded me of our in-class talk about haikus and the appreciation of pure imagery.

The second poem titled, “Into Mexico”, is about the exhilaration the poet felt in visiting Mexico, which was a foreign country to her. Even the unpleasant experiences, such as going to the bathroom in a shack, are described as adventures that require bravery. The poet is so eager to experience everything, as can be seen by the desire to try every sweet roll in the market place and the line “Each noise, each name, is enchanted and necessary.” In the last stanza, the poet writes, “One starves for this journey, I think, a simple sensing of what is not thou, not it, but you…” It is as if the poet finds the journey of finding herself in a foreign country to be as necessary and as fulfilling as food or water or any other basic necessity for living. I too “starve” for particular sensory-filled experiences, but my needs are usually for journeys through nature, like hiking up a mountain, trekking through the woods, or dipping my feet in a lake.

Locker Room Talk by Stephen Dunn

In “Locker Room Talk”, Stephen Dunn makes the argument that locker room talk, rather than be the demonstration of power and self-worth, is about the bonding of men over not relinquishing power to women. I found Dunn’s choice of word, “complicitous”, to be intriguing: part of his embarrassment towards the man in the locker room was from being an accomplice to the story. Whether Dunn liked it or not, he was a member of a particular group of people, locker room men. The idea that people belong in groups and inherit stereotypes and expectations from these groups is shared between this story and the previous story, “Black Men and Public Space”. It is interesting how this story highlights how the “us” versus “them” mentality can bring a group of people together, even when its members might no want to be associated in the “us” group.
When I was still in the architecture program, I remember how embarrassed I felt during Dragon Day week. The mentality the first year architecture students place themselves in during this week is one of “us versus engineers”. The architects build a dragon; the engineers build a phoenix. The architects make fun of engineering students by dressing up like nerds; the engineers…work. I felt awkward for being a part of the architects group when in actuality I felt that there ought not be a separation between the two, and if anything, the engineers were superior.

Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples

In “Black Men and Public Space”, Brent Staples describes the ways in which being a young, tall, black man has given him the “ability to alter public space in ugly ways” (p. 40). I found Staples’ first sentence to be interesting: “My first victim was a woman…” The reader’s first impression of the author mirrors that of people within his presence. As we continue reading, we realize the first sentence contrasts greatly with the rest of the story—this man’s not to be feared at all. Just as the author redeems himself to the readers, he feels obliged to redeem himself to those around him in public places, to put them at ease, such as by whistling Beethoven or Vivaldi. It’s sad that Staples feels that he owes something to those around him, simply because of his presence as a black man, yet it’s very telling of today’s race relations.
As a young girl, sometimes I feel the opposite of Staples: simply ignored. I used to be bothered by this, feeling as if it was my duty to prove to others my abilities and making sure people were aware of my presence. I’d let people look at my test grades to prove to them I was good at math, or I’d swear like a sailor just to not be seen as dainty. Eventually I realized that being underestimated and ignored can be freeing, as no one holds expectations of you and your abilities.