Author: Kyle Mele

By, Kyle Mele

After finishing The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and other sources of literature, including The Big Short by Michael Lewis, A Mercy by Toni Morrison, and even King Lear by William Shakespeare, common themes of trust and expulsion emerge within the character’s stories and even in our everyday lives. Entering this course, I knew little about the 2008 housing crisis; however, through the literature, we can explore the root cause, revealing the mistrust between homeowners and investors, leading to widespread expulsion. As stated in The Big Short, professional investors predicted and invested in the subprime mortgage market’s downfall, resulting in millions of dollars in profit for themselves and causing immense damage to many homeowners by forcing them to foreclose on their homes. 

When analyzing the events leading up to the subprime mortgage crisis and the following events, a state of panic arose within communities as news of the investor’s fraudulent behavior became public. The state of panic induced by bad-faith actors can be directly related to the sequence of events occurring within Lauren’s community in The Parable of the Sower. Within Lauren’s world, a lack of protection for a community resulted in mass arson, robbery, and even murder, leading to the expulsion of many characters from natural rights of life, liberty, and property, as outlined by John  Locke’s philosophy. That protection is a wall. We get this insight when Lauren states, “then there were the pitiful, unwalled residential areas. A lot of the houses were trashed burned, vandalized, infested with drunks or druggies, or squatted in by homeless families with their filthy, gaunt, half-naked children” (Butler 10). The communities residing without a wall’s protection resulted in their people being expelled from their homes and even their rights. Their lives become filled with fear as their neighbor’s homes burn, as they are robbed, and as they struggle together to survive. This similar concept could be applied to the subprime mortgage market, where future homeowners were forced to foreclose on their homes, stripping them of their right to property. In both scenarios, a lack of mistrust can be analyzed, as not knowing those around you and whether they are simply acting in bad faith can lead to expulsion. When relating to the protection offered by the wall, the inventors within the subprime mortgage market may represent a form of protection for future homeowners. The Big Short highlights how this was not the case by discussing the  Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO). Investopedia.com defines this as “a collateralized debt obligation pools together various types of debt, such as loans or bonds, and repackages them into tranches that are sold to investors.” The CDO was what investors used to gain many of their profits, particularly by betting against the market; throughout The Big Short, a CDO was described as “a credit laundering service for the residents of Lower Middle Class America. For Wall Street it was a machine that turned lead into gold” (Lewis pg 73). With the investors acting in bad faith, the protection offered to homeowners has been lost, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and expulsion.  In Lauren’s community, she thinks it’s “crazy to live without a wall to protect you, Even in Robledo, most of the street poor- squatters, winos, junkies, homeless people in general- are dangerous. They’re desperate or crazy or both. That’s enough to make anyone dangerous.” (page 10). When analyzing the subprime mortgage crisis and how this related to Lauren’s community, we can see how a lack of a source of protection may lead to the formation of problems within a community. In Lauren’s world, the lack of protection caused people to go crazy, living day by day with a hope of surviving; driven by greed and life or death instinct, people would go to great lengths through crime to survive. In our lives, investors of Wall Street, driven by greed, forced millions to foreclose on their homes to generate a profit for themselves. Ultimately, whether in Lauren’s community or the real-world financial systems examined in The Big Short, the devastating consequences of mistrust remind us of the critical need for protection, integrity, and collective responsibility to prevent cycles of exploitation and expulsion.

My mom has always told me that “trust is a concept that takes years to build but only seconds to destroy.” It is a concept that I hold very dear to my heart and one that follows me in my everyday life. Lauren’s character within Parable of The Sower resonates with my values through her condition, “hyperempathy,” which allows her to feel the physical pain of those around her. “​​If hyper empathy syndrome were a more common complaint, people-couldn’t do such things. They could kill if they had to, and bear the pain of it or be destroyed by it. But if everyone could feel everyone else’s pain, who would torture? Who would cause anyone unnecessary pain? I’ve never thought of my problem as something that might do some good before, but the way things are, I think it would help. I wish I could give it to people.” (page 115). I have always viewed myself as a people pleaser; as a supplemental instructor, I work hard to ensure my students feel more confident learning organic chemistry, even if this means sacrificing additional free time. I feel for the students when they don’t understand a topic, I was in their shoes once. Maybe I am hyperempathetic in a way. Lauren really does have a point with her statement. Would the subprime mortgage crisis have occurred if this condition was more common? If all of the investors acted in good faith when dealing with their new homeowners, would they need to be so watchful of every little loophole that may result in them losing their homes? In Lauren’s community, desperation drove people to engage in crime as they struggled to survive, similar to how Wall Street investors, driven by greed, could cause much damage for more money in their pocket. In light of this situation, someone’s definition of a home may bear differing meanings; in Lauren’s words, “that garage was home now, and all I wanted in the world was to be there” (Butler 166), which holds in the face of expulsion. We are vulnerable without trust, which is a protective barrier, like a walled community. The subprime mortgage crisis is a prime example in our everyday lives. As we continue into the coming years, we can potentially use Lauren’s character development and how concepts of trust and empathy can come together to prevent cycles of exploitation followed by expulsion.

So what? Who cares? Lauren’s character, alongside the numerous examples of expulsion in the literature, describes a tale of caution as I proceed. I am preparing to graduate from SUNY Geneseo this December in hopes of attending medical school and becoming a practicing physician. The need for trust and empathy shines among the words written on each page as we think about events like the subprime mortgage crisis. As a physician, I can foster hyperempathy and foster trust within my patients by working alongside them, preventing the development of vulnerability. Feeling and acknowledging the pain of others is the key to problem identification, the first step in problem solving. The Parable of the Sower gives great insight into how mistrust within our communities can have devastating effects; without trust, the bonds holding together our relationships with each other, our government, and even our community wither and eventually crumble. As I leave Geneseo, I carry with me a newfound knowledge from our course texts and see how course concepts like trust and expulsion relate to many aspects of our world, which should not go unnoticed. Although hyperempathy may hurt feeling eachother pain can build our relationships stronger as we show eachother that we care. The strongest relationships are those with the greatest foundations, so as a community, we should build each other up rather than hold each other back. Only when we work together can trust be established, and the protective wall is formed. Only then can we work toward preventing expulsion.

Madelyn Perry, Maggie Kiernan, Nyna Garduno, Lily Gallagher, Kyle Mele

Literacy, whether it is defined simply as knowing how to read and write in any given language, the ability to read for the sake of performing a task, or the ability to read for the sake of criticizing people or systems that confine other people to a single and unchanging state, is nonetheless rooted in the ability to read. These are skills that Florens, an enslaved Portuguese girl in Virginia in Toni Morrison’s novel A Mercy, comes to master. The bulk of her strength, however, is in her critical literacy- a skill she honed in attempting to justify why her mother could ever expel her into slavery in a strange land. Sent on an errand that makes her responsible for her Mistress’s life, Florens’s literacy is initially a shield of armor. However, her tendency to create symbols that play into her interpretation of the past makes her apophenic to a degree that ultimately perpetuates her fear of abandonment and, consequently, creates the grounds for her final expulsion. 

Florens, a central character in A Mercy, struggles to interpret signs surrounding her expulsion as she strives for answers after being sent away from her mother. She is unable to understand the reasoning behind this expulsion, which helps shape her person and the outcome of her story. In the search for her answers, Florens tries to derive meaning for her existence; like a puzzle piece, she will try to fit herself into any situation where she either does or does not belong in order to justify her existence. Florens is capable of reading her surroundings; although she may have misunderstood the meaning, she is pretty aware of her environment. For example, Florens’s ability to read the situations surrounding her expulsions is apparent in noting the presence of a child in each of her expulsions. The presence of a child forces Florens to reflect on her mother. Her mother sent her away while leaving her brother behind. She noticed how her mother favored him as a child, so she felt she would never stand a chance against a child.  Florens is unaware of the real reason for her mother sending her away; she feels as if she belongs nowhere because every time she feels accepted, it results in expulsion. As Florens continually gets expelled from the people around her, her mistrust continues to grow, and she develops a mentality of them versus me, which eventually erupts when she is left alone with Malaik. The critical literacy skills we have seen throughout the book have also led to Florens attempting to fit herself into a mold in each situation to gain some semblance of the maternal presence she lost as a child. The result of her original expulsion led her to believe that people around her were automatically acting in bad faith toward her. Until proven otherwise, she felt as though she would be expelled. This feeling of mistrust through past experiences ties to her ability to use her literacy skills as her protective shield. 

Trust is a concept with multiple definitions, similar to literacy. Depending on the context, it can refer to a social bond, a legal document, or even confidence. Within A Mercy, we can see how trust and literacy played a pivotal role in Florens’ expulsions following her initial expulsion from her mother at the beginning of the book. Florens’ mother sent her away with a farmer named Jacob while her little brother stayed behind. The underlying meaning of this expulsion would remain unknown to Florens for the duration of her story; however, the search for answers would ultimately lead to her continued expulsion. Florens would not understand why she ended up where she did; she would read any signs available and make connections with things that weren’t relevant in search of these answers. Altogether, the lack of understanding of concepts and perspectives may affect the fate of an interaction, which may contribute to expulsion.

In particular, we saw this during the 2008 housing crisis and the factors leading up to the outcome. Michael Lewis’s The Big Short perfectly emphasizes one of these factors when discussing a collateralized debt obligation or CDO. Investopedia defines this term as “a collateralized debt obligation pools together various types of debt, such as loans or bonds, and repackages them into tranches that are sold to investors.” The CDO was what investors used to gain many of their profits, particularly by betting against the market, resulting in many individuals defaulting on their house mortgages and having their houses foreclosed on. Within The Big Short, we get a sense of how complex the CDO is, even emphasizing that professional investors weren’t so sure how complex a CDO was. What can we say about the new homeowners if the investors need clarification? The lack of interpretation and understanding of the complex nature of the CDO led to the expulsion of millions of homeowners for a generated profit amongst the investors. In light of the coming crisis, some companies pulled out and pointed fingers at the companies remaining in bad faith—”They look at you and forget about me” (Morrison pg. 135). Homeowners trusted these investors, similar to Florens’s trust in the Blacksmith as a haven where a lack of understanding from both parties led to expulsion. Individuals’ high degree of trust placed in those looking to help influenced the expulsion rate. Like the CDOs, Florens’ journey, upbringing, and story were also misunderstood. She wanted answers, and her apophenic search for answers led to her continued expulsion. Placing too much trust in individuals can lead to a crisis; not understanding both sides of the coin plays a similar role. It is one thing to read the signs and another to understand them. When we think about the question, “Does this help you understand the forces that push people away from the places and people they call home?” We start to see how literacy can be one of those forces. Being able to read and understand something can have drastic effects. For example, banks and housing companies will purposely make contracts long and wordy so they can get away with more unfaithful practices, such as hidden fees or ballooning interest rates, which seem highly unfair. Still, they’re rarely questioned or challenged because they’re hidden in complex language. When people can’t grasp the fine print, it can lead to dire consequences, putting them at a disadvantage and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, sometimes to the point of losing their homes. One of the most pivotal quotes in A Mercy can be found on page 3 when Florens asks, “Who is responsible?” and follows by asking, “Can you read?”. By linking the two, the book asks if accountability is evident to the literate. It asks if those with literacy are, in a sense, more equipped to assign responsibility or if this privilege of knowledge is what shields them from exploitation and displacement. The book suggests that literacy is not just about knowledge; it’s about survival, agency, and the power to stay rooted in the place you call home. By showcasing the perspectives of each character, Morrison’s novel A Mercy is skillful in illustrating how none of the characters are above desire, which is a flaw that proves to be detrimental to the family the characters share. Namely, Florens’s interpretation of Malaik as a threat to her relationship with the Blacksmith renders her an object of his disgust, illustrating how she becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Additionally, Rebekka’s survival is the only protection against the fragility of single women running an estate and the land grab that is bound to occur. However, her religious awakening keeps her distant and removes her from those she tries to protect. As a result, Lina, Sorrow, and Florens become just as vulnerable as they feared they would be. This stark character reversal illustrates how acting in self-interest becomes destructive, as seen also in the greed of big bankers in the financial crisis of 2008. Ultimately, even though the institution of slavery does not exist as it once did in 17th century America, there will always be bodies of people that are subject to the whims of the dominant ideology, and Rebekka’s betrayal of fellow women demonstrates that the more removed one is from the consequences of their actions, the more destruction they will allow themselves to commit.

Kyle Mele, Kyle Footer, Mekail Boyer, Natalie Schuey, Rylie Cappezuto, Cassidy Hand, Joshua Irizarry

Throughout King Lear, background knowledge surrounding concepts such as liquid(ity) and swap(ping) allows for a deeper understanding of the characters and their journeys. To consider the importance of such concepts, we need to understand their definitions, as many words have multiple meanings. Liquid may refer to one of the three states of matter, like water, for example, or could be referred to in a financial sense as “the efficiency or ease with which an asset or security can be converted into ready cash without affecting its market price” as given by Investopedia.com. Additionally, swap(ping) can simply be referred to as an exchange. Investopedia describes swap(ping) as “a derivative contract through which two parties exchange the cash flows or liabilities from two different financial instruments.” Typically, a swap also benefits both parties, something appearing highly inconsistent throughout the play. Together, the ideas of liquid(ity) and swap(ping) contribute to a central theme of expulsion among the characters and ultimately result in their demise. 

The concept of liquidity can easily be applied to King Lear’s character as we progress throughout the play. We first see the concept of liquidity appear when Lear’s kingdom is divided amongst his daughters following a confession of their love. Cordelia, unlike her two sisters, stated her true feelings for Lear, stating, “I love your majesty according to my bond no more nor less (pg 13).” Her statement of truth is far from Lear’s expectations, and as a result, she is stripped of her inheritance and banished from the royal family. Cordelia experiences losing the liquid assets of power and land through her profession while her sisters prospered. Although the definition of liquid(ity) does not apply in a literal sense to land nor power as neither can be converted to cash quickly, however, both land and power are assets that have high demand amongst Goneril and Regan, a factor outlined by Investopedia when defining a liquid asset. As readers, we can also analyze how quickly both power and land are given and taken away from the characters, fitting a more literal sense of liquid. Additionally, the transition of power from Lear to his daughters also represents a loss of his power and land and would result in Lear’s character experiencing a dramatic downfall. Following the transition of power, we can see Lear’s character breaking down and we can express the definition of liquid in a more literal sense. We see the effects of the transition following Lear’s expulsion from the homes of Goneril and Regan, which leaves him stranded in a storm. From a broader perspective, the storm represents Lear’s world falling apart; he once had all the power, he had his land, and he had the affection of his daughters, which was found to be insincere. The storm can then be classified as a sense of hopelessness; each raindrop may feel like a tear. “But yet I call you servile ministers, that have with two pernicious daughters join’d your high engender’d battles ‘gainst a head so old and white as this. O! O! ’tis foul!” (Act 3 Scene 2). (The punctuation allows you to envision.. something like that) From Lear’s speech, you can almost hear the pain in his voice; the storm expresses his feelings perfectly and shows how much has changed in his life after distributing his land and power to his daughters. 

The liquidation and redistribution of King Lear’s Kingdom introduces the Medieval concept of the “wheel of fortune.” Each person assumes their place along the wheel of fortune, where the fortunate will one day find themselves desolate. The wheel of fortune also intermixes with the concept of fate—regardless of how much a person resists, their position along the wheel is impermanent. As the play progresses, King Lear’s circumstances become increasingly more unfortunate. This trend is alluded to in Act 2, Scene 2, where Kent comforts the disgruntled King—who recently expulsed his daughter, Cordelia—bidding him farewell, saying, “Fortune, good night. Smile once more; turn thy wheel” (page, 95). Although, from this point forward, King Lear did not receive fortune, his wheel did turn. It is perhaps ironic that it is only when King Lear is reunited with Cordelia that he states, “I am bound Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead” (pg. 217). It seems as though King Lear is alluding to his excruciating cycle along the wheel of fortune. An inverse example involves Edmund, the disenfranchised bastard who found himself atop the wheel of fortune and on the precipice of King Lear’s Kingdom. Nevertheless, toward the end of the play, seeing his machinations crumbling before him, Edmund finds himself once more at the bottom of the wheel, “The wheel is come full circle; I am here,” again highlighting the impermanence of fortune (pg. 249).

Following Lear’s misfortune, we see a behavioral swap that follows the swapping of power among his daughters. Most importantly we follow Regan and Goneril, who once obtained the land and power they wanted, revealed their true selves. Did they really love Lear? After being expelled from the homes of Regan and Goneril and watching his life spiral out of control, we can see how quickly their “love and affection” became a burning hunger for power. Following his expulsion, Lear also experiences a major character swap, and we see this within the storm he is caught in as King Lear experiences a change of heart as he begins to recognize the struggles of the lower class and how he had dismissed these and should have been a better king. We see this new Lear following his interaction with poor Tom which we know as Edgar who swaps his identity in light of a manhunt for him. Through their interaction, Lear states “how shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, your looped and windowed raggedness defend you from seasons such as these? O, I have ta’en too little care of this” (pg. 137). It is interesting to note that instances of swapping—whether it be a swapping of fortune or identity—are followed by moments of clarity. At their lowest points along the wheel of fortune, both Edmund and King Lear find clarity—Edmund recognizes his position along the wheel (“The wheel is come full circle; I am here), and King Lear realizes his neglect of the impoverished.
In “King Lear”, liquid(ity), swap(ping), and expulsion all come together to show how chaotic and unstable things become when power and loyalty are constantly shifting. Together, these themes highlight the instability and treachery that come with the pursuit of power and the breakdown of family bonds. In deciphering why these concepts matter concerning the play, many people ask themselves so what? Who cares? When answering this question, it is beneficial to incorporate the benefits of outside information into your thinking in the context of reading. Within King Lear, the definitions of liquid(ity) and swap(ping) all offer a sense of complexity amongst the characters, and we can analyze their journeys in a broader context which allows us, the readers, to interpret scenes in a more meaningful way. Lear, after giving his land to his daughters, lost his power, and eventually, his daughters which then contributed to the lives of those around him changing indefinitely. Each character’s personal experiences speak for themselves, following the transfer of power, we saw many characters swap their identities, with some characters gaining in the short term and all losing in the long term. The story of King Lear emphasizes the importance of applying outside knowledge to the context of our reading. Through the concepts of liquid(ity) and swap(ping) we got to know each character and followed their journeys as the concepts listed before affected the lives and outcomes of the characters within the play.