Chapters 1-10, Repetition, (H)******

"His eyes were very dark brown and there was a hint of brown pigment in his eyeballs. His cheek bones were high and wide, and strong deep lines cut down his cheeks, in curves beside his mouth. His upper lip was long, and since his teeth protruded, the lips stretched to cover them, for this man kept his lips closed. His hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as thick and ridged as little clam shells." (Steinbeck 6).

The phrase "his" something is repeated. The purpose of this repetition is divided into three groups. First of all, Steinbeck uses this as an intro to the transformation that Tom goes through, changing from a very self-oriented person to a worldly man. This repetition serves to function the great attachment Tom had to his physical self. Secondly, the repetition also serves the emphasize his gender, creating a theme of gender roles that later appears in the text. Lastly, it plainly shows the type of simple man Tom is.

A big theme in the text are that of transcendentalism. Tom plays out a classic transformation. At first he is unaware of the "truth" of the universe, and as he is exposed to the way life that people are really living, he learns of the way things are run. The application of the repetition is a device used to show how Tom was in the beginning. The constant use of a possessive pronoun shows how Tom really identified with his personal self, allowing himself to feel detached from everyone else, and not a noticeable attachment to the Over soul.
Similar repetition is later used to show how Tom has changed, however this is not in this section.

A not as important function of the repetition is the introduction on gender roles. The masculinity of the repeated pronoun "his" is used to show the big emphasis on the male gender at the time. Also used to emphasize the change when the gender roles are flipped in times of necessity, as people become more in tune with their common man.

A plain way of stating the facts that are describing Tom shows the type of person Tom is. A simple format of information implies a simple person to begin with. These parallels are emphasized with the use of repetition. The lack of hard evidence for this statement introduces the possibility that the basic way of stating the facts is used to show the non-emotional characteristic of one's physical appearance. Because is in not emotionally attached to his self, he cannot act in a selfish manner, but this is contradictory to previous insights.

My Personal Philosophy 8*******

My belief system and how I judge the morality of a situation are largely based on my following of the LaVeyan Satanism religion. Although I do not particularly agree with a lot of the dogma of the religion, it is easy to bypass this for the thought process behind the basic ideas, of which there are 7. However, it is more relevant to state which sects I particularly choose to follow. The most important once is my strong desire to satisfy selfish desires. To me, there is nothing wrong with doing anything, as long as it gets me closer to a goal. This is one of the big ideas: indulgence over abstinence. 

Unfortunately, this kind of mindset can easily get one into trouble, so there must be a certain degree of moderation. My basis for such a skill is not very well developed, but a new theory has been internally developed. This theory of mine is that regardless of my actions, or my internal thought process, everything is going to happen the same as it always would. In other words, it is impossible for multiple things to occur, therefor there is a defined path for the future, that must be strictly defined by the laws of physics and the universe. Such a belief destroys your perception of so called "free choice." With this revelation, you are able to live in a world free of responsibility. People get pretty pissed at me.

However, it is easy to buy into to the perception of choice so I often do, so I can live a life of purpose. When in such a mindset I will often try to optimize my life, for I believe that there exists a very key sequence of choices that I make that will result in the perfect reality. Such a reality is very reachable, if only I possessed the precise knowledge of how to acquire it. Such a belief allows for infinite hope, as theoretically anything is possible. However, most cases my attempts will result in very disappointing results, but such is life.

Overall, life is a pretty bland form of existence. Such a boring experience begs for exploration into other realms. Travel is big goal of mine, but with it comes great economic responsibilities. It is highly important that my future can support all of my choices. That's pretty stupid, but such is life.

"Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or
emotional gratification!"

This is a quote from the one of the satanic statements.

Source:

Satanic Statements