In Anton Chekhov’s short story, “Betrothed”, the protagonist Nadya states, “What is above all necessary is that life should pass it were through a prism… that life in consciousness should be analyzed into its simplest elements as into the seven primary colours.” This got me thinking – what do the seven primary colors resemble to me? When I see red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet , what do I think? I set out to determine just that.
To me, red is a cruel color – an evil color. When I think of red, I think of warm blood flowing out of a child’s scraped knee. I think of Darth Maul unveiling his double-bladed lightsaber as Dual of the Fates blasts. For these reasons, when I think of red, I think of pain. Pain is essential to all human beings. It reminds us exactly what we are – human. Without pain in life, there is no consequence to our actions. It is pain that teaches us in the moments when we screw up.
Think of that time when you were young and you reached your tiny fingers out to touch the hot stovetop. You cried for your mommy as the flesh of your hand sizzled away. After treating your scorched fingers, your mother would tell you, “Well, now you know better.” and you did know better. The pain you endured taught you to never touch the stove again while your mother was cooking.
Pain is one of the best teachers you will ever have. In the novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, pain teaches the main character, Francie, numerous lessons. Just one example would be when she failed to return a smile to the young mother in the neighborhood who had a “bastard child.” The young mother and her child were pelted with rocks by other mothers in the neighborhood who viewed her as scandalous for having a baby with no husband. After the fight had ended, Francie was pained that she too was unkind to the young mother. But this pain she felt taught her to never trust women as they do not stick together like men do. Was this the lesson to be taken away from the pain she felt? I do not know, but nonetheless, Franci learned from the pain she experienced.
Another instance of Franci using pain as a teacher is when the doctor administering vaccinations insults her for her filthy appearance and makes numerous comments about the disgust he feels being surrounded by poor families. Francie hears these comments and is ashamed. She had hoped that the nurse, who grew up in a similar situation as the one Francie is growing up in, would give her a kind word. But that kind word never came. This struck Francie deeply – the pain from the doctor’s ignorant comments taught Francie perhaps her most important lesson. That pain taught Francie to never forget her roots – no matter how far she advanced in life.
The next primary color out of a prism is orange. Orange was far more difficult to classify than red. Nothing seemed to burst into my mind when I viewed the color. Nothing except one thing – the Philadelphia Flyers. The Broad Street Bullies were the only thing I could think of when I saw orange. This line of thinking is what led me to discern that the color orange represents competition. And competition is such a crucial element of life indeed. Competition breeds innovation – no competition breeds laziness. We are all driven to be better, to do better due to competition. I have seen this in my own life. My older brother Devin is an incredibly smart individual, and I constantly have to hear about it within my family. Although this competition may be a tad one-sided (entirely one-sided), it has driven me to be a better student. My competition with my brother has created a desire in me to achieve as much as possible and to learn as much as I can to possible and to learn as much as I can to “beat” my brother. Competition, in healthy doses, is an element of life that is crucial for success.
In the autumn of when I was five years old, my mother took me by the hand and led me to the end of my street. Other boys and girls of similar ages had conjugated in that spot, their hands taken by their own mothers. We waited a while – none of us really knew exactly what we were waiting for. After a few minutes, a long yellow bus bustled into my neighborhood. The bus stopped right in front of the anxious, rambunctious group of children and we filled in. For many, this is the beginning of their educational career. A career that is crucial to life. No person embodies this more than Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. From early in her life, Francie was determined to ascertain an education. She was obsessed with reading and writing – spending her summer vacation in the library attempting to read every book there. She uses her education as her ticket out of poverty – a trap that has contained her family for generations. Education can propel people through the rungs of society – just like it did for Francie Nolan. Education is essential for one to better their life and oneself.
When most are presented with the color green, their mind almost immediately jumps to nature. Not for me. When I see green, I think of four-leaf clovers and the “luck of the Irish.” Many might not think luck is a needed aspect of life, but it very much is. Many celebrities and acclaimed figures will tell you they found their success due to “being in the right place, right time.” You hear hundreds of stories like this. Take for example the most successful football player of all time, Tom Brady. Brady was just a backup with an unpromising career when he got some luck in his favor. Drew Bledsoe, the starting quarterback for the Patriots, went down with a career-ending injury which allowed Brady to get his first start. I am not discrediting Brady, or his achievements. I am merely pointing out that if he had not been the backup at that moment, he may never have had a career of any note at all.
Luck is a huge part of all our lives, whether we recognize it or not. Even life or death moments can be determined entirely by our luck. This is demonstrated in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when Francie is being attacked by the serial rapist and murderer, she is lucky her mother decided to come home for a bar of soap. She is lucky her father decided to borrow a gun for protection. She is lucky her mother came out of the apartment when she did and shot the attacker. Francie is lucky to be alive.
“In 1942, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, or so they teach us in elementary school. To me, blue represents exploration and discovery. These two features are vast parts of life, and together are incredibly important. They keep the mind sharp. The natural human desire for exploration is what drives the world forward – it is what advances our technology and knowledge. Our need for discovery as well is important for the advancement of our society. This is demonstrated in the fairytale, “Bluebeard”. It was the protagonist’s desire for discovery that drove her to search in the closet. And if she had not, Bluebeard’s crimes would have gone unnoticed and justice would never have been brought down upon him.
Indigo is a tricky color, as it is a mix of both blue and purple. However, one item that I believe fits are grapes. And when I think of grapes, I think of Roman elites lounging about as indentured servants feed grapes directly into their mouths. For that reason, indigo is relaxation. Relaxation is a valuable part of every life. People need time to relax and release some stress – less they go mad. With no relaxation, people would burn out immediately and they would never be able to be productive. I think anyone knows how burnt out they feel after weeks on end of tests, projects, and essays. A break is needed to rekindle your flame – to put more gas into the tank. It is for this reason that relaxation is an essential factor in our lives.
The final primary color, violet, was perhaps the easiest color to assign a field of study. When I see violet, immediately I think of Mace Windu’ lightsaber from the prequel trilogy. And who portrays Mace Windu? None other than Samuel L. Jackson. The master of playing the callused character in any movie. It is for this reason that when I see violet, I think of strength and toughness. Attributes wholly necessary to surviving in this world. You need to be able to take a punch and get back up again. If you cannot, you have no chance to strive. Francie demonstrated her strength numerous times in the novel, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Without her strength, Francie would have been unable to successfully make it out of the shackles of poverty.
When you break life down into the seven primary colors emitted from a prism it makes life much more digestible. It shows you the elements of our everyday lives. When you break life like Nadya suggests you see just how mundane life is.
