Category: Review

Reviews on anything- videogames, food, other websites, books, etc.

Review, Store Reviews

Plato’s Closet Review

jazmynebisquera
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If you’ve never gone to Plato’s Closet, let me summarize the store in a nutshell for you:

It’s a slightly higher priced second-hand thrift store that sells younger/more modern clothes.

I like their selection whenever I shop there, because the staff take the time and effort to sort through every item that is donated/offered to them. Since it’s a buy/sell second-hand store, their version of “quality” is much ‘higher’ and different than other second-hand stores. They don’t accept any clothing that has tears, stains, or funky smells, and they always make sure to buy clothes that are in season and in style. I hate selling anything to them because of their ridiculously strict buying policies, however. Sometimes, depending on what day and which store you are in, the staff can be very rude and impolite (but I guess that’s how it is when you go to any store). All in all, it’s a great place to go to if you have extra cash and don’t have the time or don’t feel like sifting through piles and piles of not-awesome quality items at Goodwill. It’s also a great place to buy exclusively semi-newish items for a good price that you would usually buy from places like Forever 21 or Hot Topic or Hollister or stores like those.

My favorite things to buy there are bottoms, as they usually have great jeans and skirts that are in style (skinny jeans, colored jeans, drop-crotch pants, etc.). My second favorite thing to buy from Plato’s closet is the majority of their accessories. Their hair accessories (hats, headbands, etc.) are almost always really awesome quality and really cute. The belts they sell are usually really cheap and they have a great selection of them, though the prices can vary. They are almost never out of good quality, lower-priced scarves. They buy and sell jewelry as well, but they also have their own line of jewelry that they make and sell (you can find better jewelry at lower prices elsewhere, however). Their dress selection is also pretty awesome as well, and I have gotten a plethora of my dresses for the summer/winter/dances from there. The shoes are usually pretty good, and it saves you a lot of guess work when it comes to looking for sizes/color/quality/cleanliness/style, and they are priced pretty well for the quality they are in. My hip hop shoes almost exclusively come from Plato’s Closet because they sell awesome quality hip hop-esque shoes for really cheap compared to any other place I’ve been to. They have a LOT of tops and jackets for sale, but they are usually around 8-12 dollars each and the quality/style is usually not what I’m looking for, so I’d recommend that you don’t buy your tops from Plato’s, though they have wonderful, coloful tank tops for sale which you can never really find at Goodwill, so I’d say to buy the cheaper, colorful tanks in bulk when it is almost at the end of the season.

That’s another thing I love about Plato’s- their ever-changing line of clothing/styles they sell each season. They always have big sales near the end of the season to clear the racks of their almost out-dated clothes, and most of the time the remaining items are relatively good-quality, cheap items. I LOVE their $1 sales. I have gotten some of the best things from their $1 sale, usually because it’s labeled a “medium” but washing reduces them to a “small” (perfect for me, not so perfect for all of those girls who couldn’t buy it).  So if you are fine with buying clothes for next year or re-purposing them for the upcoming season, then I’d suggest shopping at Plato’s near the end of each season and stocking up on more modern items you wouldn’t necessarily find much of at places like Goodwill or Salvation Army.Check out new posts for pictures of things I’ve bought from Plato’s and other second-hand stores!
Book Reviews, Review

The Truths About, “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck

jazmynebisquera

This is a book report I did a while ago about the “truths” about the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

We all know from experience that the truth can hurt. Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, brings out some of the “truths” about life and people in a very complex, brusque, and in-depth way. His work in Of Mice and Men doesn’t just tell a story; it is an allegory that represents many aspects of human life. In my opinion, the truths that Steinbeck tells of are pointed towards the human condition in general, and not specifically about the problems in America.

             One of the major truths about the human condition that is told in Of Mice and Men is people’s want to conquer loneliness, and the many ways they try to have company. Curley’s wife is a great example of this truth-she sort of represents how far a person can go to gain companionship. She married Curley because she knew it’s either him or nobody (and she felt that he’s better than no one), she dressed the way she did to attract men so she can talk to them, and (even though she didn’t know it) she risked her life just have a conversation with someone. It represents human condition because we all feel lonely at times, and we all try to gain friends because we don’t wish to stand alone.

            Another truth that Steinbeck indicates in his book is abuse. Crooks, the African American stable buck, worked his head off and received little to nothing, and got abused both physically and emotionally throughout his life. Crooks’ abuse represents two things: the unfairness and unluckiness we receive and the prejudice we give other people. Crooks experienced most of his pain and prejudice because of the color of his skin. We, like him, are hurt and insulted throughout our life. We can’t avoid it; it’s inevitable. We might feel hurt, helpless and lonely, just like how Crooks felt. However, his abuse doesn’t just represent our pain, it also represents the pain we give other people. Whether or not we admit it, we have probably hurt, gotten mad, held a grudge, or yelled at a person before. We can sometimes be like Curley or the other prejudice white people in the book, acting mean towards someone or being prejudice because of how they look or do something.

            Despite the fact that there are a lot of painful truths in Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, deep down beneath all that negativity is a positive “truth”: friendship. George and Lennie had a friendship that reminded me of many things; a master and his dog, a parent and his child, and a big brother and his little brother. Lennie was completely dependent on and faithful to George, and while George seemed to dislike Lennie, George still loved him like family. I think their friendship represents each and every one of our relationships; complicated and different each day, but still worth having. It’s always hard and heart-wrenching when we are forced to end a friendship, like what George had to do with Lennie, but sometimes it is for the best. In conclusion, George and Lennie’s friendship represents the perplexity of all of our many relationships.

            In my opinion, it is hard to say whether the truths in Of Mice and Men show America in a favorable or unfavorable light. I think that most people would probably say that Of Mice and Men portrays America unfavorably, but then again, there are some things that are positive in the book. I guess I can call Of Mice and Men a (mostly bitter) bittersweet reminiscence of how people were back then and of the Great Depression, and a (mostly bitter) bittersweet allegory for how people feel and act now.