The work of Literature that has personally resonated with me the most was “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. The main premise of the story was Hughes recalling his childhood experience of attempting to rekindle his faith. He spoke about having faked his reaction to his aunt’s revival to fall in line with everyone’s expectations. What his story represents is trying to live up to other’s expectation and the pressure that’s many feel in attempting to do so. This story relates to me because I too can recall the many times that I had gone to church and yet felt as though I might have missed something or lacking understanding towards everyone else reaction. I have felt out of place, not understand why I had to go yet i was placed with responsibility every time i went, furthering my unwillingness to be there but yet doing so to appease to the expectation that I had. The story reminded me of my own experience.
Marlon Aranda
Which vignette from “The House on Mango Street” surprised you in some way, and why? The vignette from “The House on Mango Street” that surprised me the most was Boys and Girls because it reminds me of the mindset that many people that I used to be friend’s with had. Which vignette intrigued you and why? The vignette that I found most intriguing is “The three sisters” Because it spoke of 3 sisters who grew up in a neighborhood and were able to obtain powers. Which vignette puzzled you and why? The vignette “And some more” puzzled me the most because I couldn’t comprehend the meaning. I only later understood what it meant.
Who I would compare Raymond Carver’s simplistic approach to writing is “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. Raymond Carver’s style revolves around simplicity, the idea that less is more and utilizing everyday commonly used words to bolster their writing. This is similar to what we see in “The lesson” By Toni Cade Bambara, as she also implements simple words and vocabulary to help broaden the audience. Within the story she reflects on her upbringing, how she grew up in poverty and at an early age was exposed to and understood both social and financial inequality, as she recalls many of her experiences living in her neighborhood as a child. We witness that she continues the trend with using language that allows for the reader to easily digest what she’s trying to convey, an example of this is when she states “So we heading down the street and she’s boring us silly about what things cost and what our parents make and how much goes for rent and how money ain’t divided up right in this country”. This serves to further emphasize her use of language that is easily understood.
For my research essay, the topic that I have chosen to study regarding fairy tales is the impact on childhood development and the message that is portrayed through many different common fairy tales. Why i believe this to be the most interesting topic and the aspect I choose to explore for fairy tales is because many of us, no matter where we were born, our ethnic background, religion, etc, has been exposed to some type of fairy tales in our lives. Many different countries and cultures may have their own fairy tales or different variations of widely spoken fairy tales, but we all have heard these tales being spoken to us, especially as children. They are stories that have been passed down and told for generations to millions of children, however it’s important to look at why these stories are told to children, and what do these children who are told these fairy tales learn from them and what it is about fairy tales specifically that lead to furthering the development of young children.
When observing Bruno Bettelheim’s “Little Snow White” We notice a stark contrast when compared to the retelling of the poem “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton. We uncover the author’s varying perspectives through their own retelling of the iconic fairy tale that everyones knows as snow white. In his interpretation we see that he views the story as if it were a lesson to be taught, as it provides a more realistic tone, displaying the many occurrences that can happen within the real world.. Through his frequent use of words like narcissism, maturity, etc, we see that he aims to portray a practical image of the real world and the many struggles that exists for the young and impressionable. This differs from Anne Sexton’s retelling of the fairy tale as it tells a more classic fairy tale ending with symbolism from snow whites death and rebirth, utilizing it as a metaphor to aid in the mental development of many young women today.
Within Flannery O’Connor’s story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” she speaks on how a reader of a story should anticipate the suspense early on, bringing it from the surface and into the interior. What she may have meant when she stated this was that building suspense within a story comes from getting the reader to harbor deeper emotions over what is transpiring over simply knowing what is going to take place. The story dives deeper into the sense of morality with each character, and how they differ in what they believe to be right from wrong. An example from the story is the grandmother displaying self – absorption. What creates suspense is the internal conflict that each of the characters are presented and having doubts about their own sense of morality. The story as a whole focuses on create suspense through capturing the emotions and deep feelings from the reader themselves.
The quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” simply refers to having the ability to take right steps and maintaining an open mindset when analyzing and attempting to make sense of a poem. To understand a poem what it takes is developing techniques and critical thinking if the message isn’t clear. Having the right attitude generally is the key to overcoming many different problems, one being deciphering the meaning in a poem. An good example of a poem would be “White Lies by Natasha Trethewey. In this poem she recalls her childhood and the many lies she told which she believed were simply innocent lies, yet later found out they would prove to be more. Within the quote “I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out the window of Maison Blanche.” It describe the type of image that she wanted to portray. A falsehood that she wanted everyone to believe. This poem overall message can be deciphered through the use of proven techniques and a good attitude.
The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” Both similarly dives into what love is and the complexity of its definition. In the poem we see many literary devices such as similes and metaphors to attempt to describe how a persons feels when mentioning love. Certain descriptive and commonly use words within the poem that we use in our daily lives that allows us to form connections with others. These are words many use often to show compassion and emotions towards people they hold dear. This is in stark contrast to the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” which takes a more musical and whimsical approach to describing love. In the poem we witness lines such as “I love you to the depths, breadths and heights/My soul reaches.” The approach is similar to that of a song, and goes by a pattern or creative inspiration from music. Both works attempt to describe what love is but they choose to do so in different ways.
In the story “Oedipus the king”, Oedipus doesn’t think rationally and respond emotionally more often than not. We see often with many people that their decision making is limited when they are angered or in an emotional state. Oedipus was accused of killing the king by the blind prophet. This makes him wary and begins to throw the blame on to her. He also makes others suspicious of the people close to him, making it seems as though they may be the ones responsible instead. He begins to recognize throughout the story the consequences of his actions as his downfall was swift and much expected. his downfall. He through others under the bus in order to try and absolve blame for his actions and continue to remain in a position of power. He acts purely of his own emotions, which in turn affects all of the core decisions that he makes in the story.
When Covid had started, I was in the middle of sophomore year in high school. All i remember was hearing every single day on news about the progression of the virus, where a mask, 6 feet apart, etc. It hit us pretty bad in NYC, as everything was shut down for a while. Living in the bronx with my family we tried to be as isolated as possible from one another and keep our distance to remain safe. There are many deli’s and small stores close by to where i live. The streets when passing by on occasion were completely dead, which it NYC is impossible to see. There were videos flowing around the internet, many of which were towards asians, as many thought to take out their anger and blame it on them, no matter where they were from originally, almost all were scrutinized by ignorant people. Businesses were trashed and vandalized and you would see non stop hateful comments against asians. In the story of Thebes, the king was beloved by the people. This led them to side with him and put blame on Creon. This relates to the idea of placing blame on the innocent, which occurs in the story and in the USA.
The quote “Literature adds to reality, not simply describes it” by C.S. Lewis fits to describe the “The story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin. Within the story we witness a women recently becoming a widow upon learning of her husband’s death. She was at first shock and quite distraught by the news however she came to the realization that she was now free to do as she pleases and was joyful about her new journey, becoming free and breaking away from the shackles of her marriage. The descriptive language fits to describe the tone and what had become her new reality, as she learned she was now able to do what she always wanted to do instead of being limited through the binds of society. The quote explains the reality of how many lives and not simply a description.
The theme in the poem “The Wife ” Written by Emily Dickinson is echoed in “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin through both containing the idea of a women’s position in society was at that time and striving for greater independence. In the story, Mrs. Mallard was distraught after learning that her husband had died. After his passing however she realized that she had gained a sense of peace and tranquility through her newly found independence and that she was now free to do whatever she pleases without being tied down or restricted. She realized that she truly wasn’t in love with her husband as even though she felt sorrow after his passing it was nothing compared to the immense relief that she felt learning about her husband’s death. The relief she felt was evident as she mentions that “There would be no one to live for during those coming years: she would only live for herself”. It emphasizes how many women felt confined within their marriage and found joy once those times had gone.
I believe the quote “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply does not describe it” by C.S lewis represents ” The lesson ” by Toni Cade Bambara through accurately describing how what is portrayed in literature can often occur in the real world, especially ones relating to our current day society. Through the clever use of literary devices and different techniques, Bambara is able to describe the reality, which is often quite harsh surrounding certain people within different communities. I believe that it also carries the idea of how important literature and overall writing is to our present day lives, whether or not we consider it so. It depicts present day societal expectations that we see very commonly today. The story revolves around how prevalent and commonplace social and racial inequality was, and the overall message shows that literature can bring great value as it teaches us new perspectives and discover valuable lessons we carry with us today.
I have connected with the the story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes by having been in his shoes at one point in my life. I also remember the times I have visited church throughout my early childhood into my teen years and having felt pressure to follow and believe in the same ideologies and principles that are taught in church. I’ve felt peer pressured into joining many activities revolving around the church and trying to experience and understand what everyone else around me felt. Many of whom came often in attempt to repent for their sins and get saved, while I sat and witness but was obligated to become involved to external pressure from the people around me. I connect to the story “Araby” by James Joyce through the depiction of how reality is often disappointing and at a certain point being stuck within a state of delusion, yet often later results in a period of self reflection.
In the short story ” The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez the author describes the wonder and appeal of discovering something unexpected, becoming fascinated and curious of it’s beauty. It perfectly encapsulates a person’s reaction to the unknown, and how they will create narratives to try and comprehend and explain what is before them. I believe the professor assigned this short story because it’s a symbolic gateway into opening up our creativity and to not be afraid of new possibilities but rather embrace them. Being open minded and willing to learn is a lesson displayed by the villager’s in the story, as there point of view had shifted after the encounter with the handsome drowning man. It represent how we should also remember to see things through an open mind and embrace the unexpected as it may serve as way in order to better our lives.
