The vignettes from The House on Mango Street that affected me the most is Red Clowns. This story is really sad. It talks about someone who trusted a friend but got hurt instead. The words and feelings that it paints this story with were so strong and make it very emotional. The person keeps begging for somebody named Sally to help them out, showing how scared and alone they were. And these words almost iterate the quote “Sally Sally a hundred times. Why hadn’t you heard me when I called? Why didn’t you told them to leave me alone?” (Cisneros) because they sound like “Why hadn’t you helped me when I needed you?” It is such a strong story because he doesn’t give up how pain causes bad experience and tells us to be kind and understanding to people with a bad past.
Ajay Rai
The vignette that made me amazed is “The Family of Little Feet.” In the story, little Esperanza and her friends toyed around with high-heeled shoes, and what happened after can be really amazing. The surprise here, then, it emerges from the transformative power a simple pair of shoes around all social norms and expectations attached. The vignette “Alicia Who Sees Mice” is intriguing. It carries forward a character who is going through the tides of life and stashing away her education. When time gets real tough, the way in which she deals with reality is by seeing mice that aren’t there as the stress mechanism. “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” is a vignette that made me puzzled. This story portrays Esperanza as a young girl who comes to get her palm read by Elenita who a witch woman. Looking into this context the nature of Elenita’s predictions can be regarded as mysterious and magical that might lead readers forwards towards curiosity to think how come fate and destiny could be involved in Esperanza’s life.
I’ve selected “Snow White” from the Brothers Grimm to contrast Raymond Carver’s writing style with. Raymond Carver keeps things simple and straightforward while narrating stories. However, the Brothers Grimm employ more intricate and conventional fairy tale vocabulary, particularly in “Snow White.” Carver expresses facts and feelings in an honest and clear manner. “I remained with my eyes closed. I was at home. I was aware of that. However, I didn’t have a sense of being inside anything (Carver). Furthermore, the Brothers Grimm’s use of evocative language to describe their literature creates a sense of enchantment. “Once upon a time, in the middle of winter when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing” (Grimm). Grimm is using words to create a beautiful scene in the reader’s mind, setting a magical atmosphere in the story.
Bruno Bettelheim believes that “Little Snow White” is really about how a young girl grows up and becomes more mature. He talks about the growth and maturation of Snow White. He emphasizes her development and journey towards maturity as a central theme in the tale. Anne Sexton’s version of the story is different because it focuses more on the feelings and emotions of Snow White. She explores the sadness and pain that Snow White goes through, which the original fairy tale doesn’t talk much about. In Sexton’s version, Snow White’s experiences are more somber, and her relationship with the prince is portrayed in a more complex and emotional way. It’s like she’s diving deeper into the emotional side of the story.
In Flannery O’Connor’s essay, she recommends that telling the main story events at the beginning lets readers focus on the deeper thoughts and ideas in the story. Inside the story, there’s a big focus on what’s right and wrong and how people act. It’s like a puzzle about good and bad. The story looks at the characters’ decisions, whether they can change, and what happens because of their choices. It’s kind of like looking at why people do good things and bad things and whether they can change. The story also talks about the idea of forgiveness and how complicated it can be. So, it’s not just a simple story but a deep exploration of human behavior, the consequences of our choices, and the tricky balance between right and wrong.
“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique,” in simple words it takes right abilities and right perspective to understand a poem. My feelings and thoughts when I read the poem “Train to Brooklyn” by Henry Stowe affected how I understood it. When I read the lines about “Underground tracks clank and moan, Through tunnels of brick and bone,” it made me feel a bit uneasy. This unease was because I connected the “clank and moan” with a spooky and uncomfortable sensation, and it influenced how I saw the poem. When I looked closely at how the poem was written, I noticed that it had a lot of pictures and comparisons. For example, when it talked about “tunnels of brick and bone,” it created a strong mental image of the subway’s underground tunnels. The poet used these clear images to show the subway’s character and its history.
The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” both talk about love, but they do it in different ways. The Browning sonnet sounds like a formal love letter with big words. On the other hand, the greeting card lyrics are like a simple message of love. They use plain, everyday language. The Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” uses a kind of musical and structured pattern in how the words sound. For example, it says, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height.” The words at the end of each line, like “height” and “sight,” have similar sounds. And, greeting card lyrics that say “Why Do I Love You So Much?” might not follow this structured pattern. They may or may not sound like a song or poem. It’s like a simple and heartfelt message.
In ‘Oedipus the King’, we see timeless human behaviors like pride and downfall. Oedipus’s big ego and thinking too highly of himself is something people have done for ages, often causing their own problems. “Oedipus the King” makes us think if our lives are controlled by fate or the choices we make. Oedipus’s strong desire to discover the truth teaches us that we all want to know even if it’s painful. His big mistake, ignorance of his past, reminds us that we all have weaknesses that can cause big trouble.
The pandemic started at the end of 2019 while I was still in Nepal. People’s behavior varied widely depending on factors such as location, government guidelines, and individual beliefs. Many people in Nepal initially underestimated the severity of the virus, comparing it to the flu, but as the situation worsened and more information became available, they began to take it more seriously. Everyone was anxious and worried about the plague but could do nothing but wait patiently and follow follow public health guidelines such as wearing masks, social distancing, and getting vaccinated to prevent the spread of the virus. People looked to their government and healthcare authorities for guidance and support, similar to how the people of Thebes turned to Oedipus for help.
The quote “literature is painting, architecture, and music” is reflected in a simple and powerful way in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s story “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”. The story describes a small village’s discovery of a remarkably handsome and enormous drowned man. The author’s words paint a vivid picture in our minds of this extraordinary man, how he looks, and how he changes the lives of the villagers. This is like literature as painting because the words create a visual image in our heads. In this way, Marquez’s story embodies the idea that literature combines painting, architecture, and music to tell a compelling and beautiful tale.
“The Wife” by Emily Dickinson and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin both explore themes related to marriage and the role of women in the 19th century. In “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin, the story follows Louise Mallard, who initially mourns her husband’s death but then unexpectedly feels a sense of liberation. She thinks about the newfound freedom with lines like, “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long.” This echoes the idea that marriage can be constraining, just like in Dickinson’s poem. It shows initial fear of a long life bound by marriage and societal expectations. “The Story of an Hour” takes a tragic turn when Louise’s husband returns alive and the shock of seeing him again leads to her demise.
C.S. Lewis’s quote “Literature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it” means that literature goes beyond just telling a story; it adds depth and meaning to our understanding of life. In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. In the story an educated black lady named Miss Moore took Silvia and other children for field trip to a fancy toy store. Miss Moore wants the children to understand how some people have a lot of money and privilege while others have very little. As the story continues it makes us think about the world we live in. It adds depth to your understanding of the issues it talks about.
In the story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, when the narrator thinks “God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too, and say that Jesus had come, and get up and be saved” at that time Langston was struggling between his desire to be honest and the pressure to conform to what’s expected of him by the congregation. I was born and raised in Nepal, where the majority of the population is not Christian, so I don’t know much about Christianity. But I could feel the pressure and conflict he was having at that moment. Also the story “Araby” by James Joyce is about a young boy’s love for a girl and his disappointment when he realizes that the world is not as romantic as he had imagined it to be. When I was in high school, I had a crush on my teacher. It was just a minor crush and I used to think about her most of the time. But, eventually I realized it was just a crush and I left that feeling behind.
“The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez shows how unexpected events and exceptional beauty can inspire people to see new possibilities and hope for a better future. I think the professor assigned this story as our first class because It teaches us that even in ordinary places, extraordinary things can happen, and people can transform their lives through imagination and hope. The story shows that how a small village’s perspective and dreams change when they discover the body of a very handsome drowned man. I think the professor wants us to be as imaginative and curious as the people in this story.
