In the play “Oedipus the King” the city’s people are being tormented by a sphynx that was eating them when they couldn’t answer its riddle. The people, authority figures, and their priest had begun to ignore all other business that needed to be done around the city because of the sphynx. They devoted their time and efforts towards a solution to eliminate the sphynx. They also trusted their king Oedipus to be able to handle the situation and guide them. The behavior of the people in the play reminded me of the behavior of everyone in this country during the pandemic. The entire country was in a health crisis resulting in us relying on the government for a vaccine as well as financial support. The entire country was shut down trying to contain a deadly virus. I witnessed everyone around me wearing masks and wiping down all surfaces trying their best not to catch and spread the virus. Health officials all around the country were devoted to treating infected people in overcrowded hospitals. In many ways, the city and the king in the play reflect on the actions of society and those in power when there is a crisis in actuality.
Citlali Ramos
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it”. – C.S. Lewis I chose this quote for the story “Story of The Hour” because it captures the aspect that a work of fiction transcends from being more than just literature. The story follows a married woman who at first grieves the death of her husband. After processing her husband’s death, she comes to the realization that his death could possibly bring more good than bad. In a society where all women had to look forward to was marriage, we see a woman suddenly become free from marriage and start to envision a life with endless possibilities that benefit no one else but herself. In today’s society, women now have the freedom to choose whether or not to be a stay-at-home wife, a choice that wasn’t possible for women before. However, there are still women who find themselves trapped in marriages they have devoted the majority of their life to. This work of literature isn’t just a short story, in some ways, women can still relate to it. The longing to be more than just a wife, and the harsh reality of how unlikely it can be to spread your horizons.
When I first read “The Wife” I had a hard time understanding the comparisons made in the last stanza of the poem. I understood the comparison of “pearl and weed” as wife and husband. The pearl being caught up in the weed, yet it will go unnoticed in “the sea” and it will always be overlooked in society. The peom also points out loosing the freedom of being a girl when she must become a woman and wife at the same time. This theme of a young woman having to sacrifice her youth and freedom is also seen in the story “Story of an Hour”. When Mrs. Mallard was first notified of her husbands death, she wept as it is expected from a wife devoted to her husband. We then see her whisper to herself “Free” and even become overjoyed when she realized that as a result of her husbands death she would become free and independent. In the end when she finds out that her husband had not died, she drops dead. This shows that ultimateley her wellbeing, and her life was at the fate of her husband.
The first thing I noticed when I started reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, was the writing style. Her writing style would be considered “Informal” due to how accurate the dialogue is when actually spoken in conversations. I myself wouldn’t consider it informal, taking a language that was forced on you and making it your own shouldn’t be considered informal given its history. The quote “Literature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it” (C.S. Lewis) embodies this story because of the writing style. The descriptiveness and the spelling of certain words give the reader the true essence of the setting, the era, the emotions, and the characters. The author can grasp the feelings of anger and hesitation of the character who has seen clear differences in the character’s social and economic lifestyle compared to others. This adds to reality, especially for adults reading this story who at some point in their childhood also felt like this.
I liked the story “Salvation” the most between both stories. I can relate more to the narrator when it comes to disappointment and feeling guilty when giving in to peer pressure. Langston was waiting to be saved and to see Jesus at the same time. When that never came he initially refused to lie to everyone until he realized that the only outcome to it all was for him to be “saved”. He then cried in bed because he couldn’t admit that he never saw god, resulting in him not believing in god at all. Langston’s inability to lie, his disappointment, and his feeling of guilt compared to how Westley didn’t seem to feel anything at all is ironic. I find myself feeling like Langston in certain situations where I can’t ignore my feelings yet I see others choose to feel nothing so easily resulting in me being disappointed in society. In “Araby” I realized that the narrator remained in a state of delusion. He was in love with a girl he didn’t actually know well enough to love. He was only in love with the idea he made of her in his head. On a deeper level, being caught up in a state of delusion is how I connect to the narrator. It is easy to fully immerse yourself in the beliefs you make up of someone or something. Towards the end of the story, the narrator realizes that the bazaar he was looking forward to wasn’t like he expected. He couldn’t find anything of value to gift his crush even if he really wanted to. At some point, realization hits, and with that can come feelings of self-anger.
Hi! My name is Citlali Ramos, but I also go by Cece if my name is too hard to pronounce. However, I do appreciate being called by my actual name. As a child my mother would consistently take me to the library multiple times a week and we would check out a variety of books of different genres to read together. Since then I’ve had a deep love for reading and anything literature. Although I am a science major, any literary classes I take are usually my favorite of the semester. Since I do love reading and occasionally writing I look forward to reading, and listening to my peers opinions. I find it creates a deeper understanding of a topic when there are multiple point of views contributing to a conversation. That being said I feel I can contribute to the class by sharing my opinions as well as receiving constructive criticism on my work.
