Comment on Jonathan's MLK playlist.

Comment discussing the story Cathedral.

Comment in the discussion of the stories Girl and Sweat.

Playlist for Joker from Full Metal Jacket.

Blog post regarding A Good Man is Hard to Find.

Blog post regarding A Death in Texas.

The example of change in this story that is most striking to me is in the penultimate paragraph. When Steve Earle says "I don't think any of us are the same people that crossed the street to the prison that day", he is saying that while every person there was affected in some way by Jonathan Wayne Nobles in life, it was his death that made the biggest impact on them.

While probably not what Earle intended to effect with that sentence, it made me ponder if Jonathan Wayne Nobles would have been able to touch the people that he did if it were not for the death penalty. If Nobles had simply served out a life sentence rather than being killed, would he have still garnered as much attention as he did or would he simply have been another remorseful convict? Furthermore, without the knowledge of his imminent death, would Nobles himself have been transformed away from the monster that he was when originally incarcerated or would he have lived out his years behind bars as a bitter and hateful individual?

The example of deceit that stood out the most to me in this story was the self-deception on the parts of the grandmother and The Misfit.

The grandmother, who appears to regard herself as a good person, tries to instill in her grandchildren good values and teach them to be well behaved children. She tells them that in her time, children were more respectful and expresses disapproval when her granddaughter is rude to Red Sam's wife. Meanwhile, the grandmother is constantly judging others, lying to get her way, and displaying other characteristics which go against the Christianity she later professes. When telling her grandchildren about the suitor she had in her younger days, she finishes by saying that she should have married him since he ended up buying stock in Coca-Cola and dieing with a lot of material worth. She makes no mention of whether or not he was a good person.

The Misfit also has clearly deceived himself. Then entire time he is speaking, he preaches that he is not a bad person. He believes that the crime one commits does not matter since in the end all you remember is the punishment. He tries to paint himself in the light of a victim, and at one point even compares himself to Jesus. But no matter how deceitful he is with himself it doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer.

In Stanley Kubrick's highly acclaimed 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, the viewer follows the protagonist, Private Joker, through a portion of his military career. Starting with basic training at the Marine Corps' facility at Paris Island, SC and eventually moving to Vietnam during the Tet offensive of 1968, Joker is seen in a multitude of settings and enduring many very intense experiences.

Roughly the first third of the film takes place in basic training. An excellent sound clip to capture the mood of this setting is the Marines' Hymn. This traditional song's lyrics describe famous battles in which the Marine Corps fought and outline the duties carried out by Marines. During basic training, Marine recruits end their day by singing the Marines' Hymn as a group, fostering a sense of unity regardless of whatever competitive training elements might have been participated in throughout the day.

During the basic training portion of the film, many qualities can be seen in Joker through his interaction with other recruits and his platoon's drill instructor. Little more than three minutes into the movie, it is clearly seen that Joker has serious contempt for authority when he does his best John Wayne impersonation in the middle of a speech being delivered by his drill instructor. Killing In the Name, by Rage Against The Machine, exhibits this same theme very well in both the tone of the song and the lyrics.

The song Civilized by Henry Rollins deals with the issues of consequences for ones actions and accountability. The platoon's drill instructor, Gunnery Sargent Hartman, immediately begins questioning another recruit after Joker's above-mentioned outburst. At this point, Joker faces the same issues dealt with in Civilized. Joker clearly has a sense of accountability, as he openly admits that it was he who interrupted Hartman. While the consequences for his actions are not nearly as severe as those in Henry Rollins's song, Joker is still dealt with harshly by Hartman as an example for the other recruits.

Throughout the course of basic training, Hartman continues leveeing harsh physical punishments on his recruits and berates them with insults that would make even a sailor blush. He explains his demeanor by saying "you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair." Surely, New Order did not have this scenario in mind while recording their song Blue Monday, but one can draw some parallels. The lines "How does it feel?/How should i feel?/Tell me how does it feel?/to treat me like you do?" are repeated several times throughout the course of the song.

While Hartman does not allow Joker to get away with anything he would punish other recruits for, it sometimes seems as though his admonishments are less severe. Eventually, as a result of Joker's courage, honesty, and accountability, Sargent Hartman promotes Joker to Squad Leader. Part of the responsibility that comes along with this position is teaching a struggling private how to better perform the tasks required of him. Through intense one-on-one instruction, Joker is eventually able to help this private become a competent recruit, even a model in some areas. Hartman, however, is still very hard on this private when he makes mistakes, and the private sometimes becomes discouraged. Several lines of lyrics from the song Shine, by the band Plain White T's touch on the discouragement that Joker tries to help the private overcome.

There's a bright light shining inside you
it shines out through your eyes
Don't drown it away, don't be afraid, don't hide
Let it shine

After the end of basic training, the viewer next sees Joker, now a Sargent, in Vietnam. He is not a typical soldier, wearing a peace symbol on his body armor and writing for the Marine Corps' newspaper rather than going out on field operations. This makes the Buffalo Springfield song For What It's Worth an excellent musical representation for this section of the film. With lyrics that are an obvious commentary on global conflict, and being written during the Vietnam War, For What It's Worth instantly became an anthem for war protesters.

Joker's single most prevalent personality trait is sarcasm. While it is seen throughout the film, it is never more apparent than when Joker is being interviewed by a film crew and explains why he joined the Marines by saying "I wanted to see exotic Vietnam, the jewel of southeast Asia. I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them. I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill!" This sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek nature is also seen in Alanis Morissette's cover of the Black Eyed Peas' song My Humps. Morissette's video is a completely mockery of the original song.

Finally, one song that summarizes Joker's passage through the film Full Metal Jacket is Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) by The Byrds. This song portrays the highs and lows that Joker encountered in basic training and Vietnam. From laughing with friends and building bonds, to losing friends and enduring great physical rigors, Joker experienced a tremendous variety of emotions. From killing an enemy out of mercy, to lashing out in rage, the entire spectrum of his journey is encompassed in this song.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late