tiana

The vignette “Mango says goodbye sometimes” affected me the most. This vignette resonated with me the most because of it’s theme of loss. The narrator is expressing her craving for stability because of the transient nature of her community. She states “I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free.” (Cisnaros.) To elaborate, Esperanza feels temporary to her neighborhood “Mango” and her feeling of not belonging in the community. She constantly talks about the people that live on Mango st coming and going.    

The vignette that surprised me the most was “The first job.” This surprises me because the narrator spoke about her first assault at her first job. The assault was very sudden and I felt for her because I know what it feels like to feel like you trusted the wrong person. The vignette “Hair” intrigued me the most. This vignette in particular had my attention because I related to it so much. I remember as a kid I used to love to do my moms hair because I liked to smell it and it was always so soft. The scent of her hair made me feel safe, so I related to the narrator. The vignette “And some more” puzzled me because I didn’t really understand the meaning. I understood they were naming clouds but I’m not sure how they ended up in a serious argument.

My topic for the research essay was feminism and fairy tales. I chose to examine Snow-White and her step mothers relationship because I felt like I could relate to it, it’d be easier to put emotions into words if I related to them. I also feel like fairy tales are all about how women are saved, their beauty and its the same story told all over again. As a kid I always wanted to be a princess but as an adult I begin to question why women are always portrayed in such misogynistic ways. I have read multiple articles, books and re-read fairy tales because each are told differently. Each version of these fairy tales are told differently but have the same story.

O’Connor believes that if you reveal the plot of the story, readers will focus on the deeper meaning of the story. The short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, O’Connor explores the complexities of human nature through each character. The grandmother, who comes off as the sweet southern Christian old lady that seems as if she could never do wrong, leads her family into the Misfit, a murderer accidentally. In her last few moments, she prays and relies on faith, however she still cannot see her wrongdoings. This is an example of irony, because she has a self righteous attitude. O’Connor explores themes of sin, morality, violence and human nature. The Misfit, who is supposed to be a violent killer has a vulnerable moment with the grandmother, however he serves as a character to symbolize the absence of remorse, and to be a “godless” individual. Although the family dies in the end, O’Connor’s use of symbolism, religion and irony allow readers to examine the characters and how they relate to each theme. The title “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is relevant to the moral of the story, which is that there is no definite line between good and evil.

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” I believe that this quote means that there is much that goes into a poem. While reading a poem, the reader must keep in mind of the poet who is capturing what can be an “experience, idea or feeling.” A poem’s meaning is not the only goal of the text, a lot of it is the relationship a reader forms with the poet. A poem doesn’t have just one meaning, understanding is part of it, and the other components are found in the way the poet expresses themselves. Such as, the rhythm and the shape of the poem.  While reading the poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where and why.” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, I noticed a technique she used to convey her point of love and aging was symbolism. Millay describes her love life as changing seasons such as, “Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree, Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, Yet knows its boughs more silent than before” (Millay.) In this quote, the poet refers to different seasons in the sense of different stages of her life. Readers can relate to Millay’s lonely love life she reflects on as she becomes older and reminisces the experiences she shares with her failed romances. She expands on her emotions of sadness with a tragic attitude of this text and towards her disappointment in her failures in love.

In the story “Oedipus the king”, the king creates more problems for himself by putting his emotions before logic. In the real world pride works hand in hand with anger. When anger consumes you, the truth is harder to see, as show in the story when he is first accused of murdering King Laius. Oedipus who had unknowingly killed his father did not want to believe the prophet, but it is later revealed that Oedipus had completed a prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. This revelation was the reason why Oedipus was so impulsive and his decision-making was poor. When Oedipus reveals the truth, his self image is shattered and as well as the loss of self identity. Oedipus who had been warned before about fate did not listen when reminded of the god’s wills and therefore, his pride was the cause of his downfall. When initially accused by the blind prophet Oedipus immediately accuses him back because Teiresias had questioned him out of his authority which causes Oedipus to act out of anger without listening which is the result of his ignorance.

It was junior year of high school when COVID had first began. At first I was scared, I didn’t know what this virus was and how deadly it really was. I lived in the Bronx, in a small apartment with my mom and little sister. Next to our apartment was a local Chinese restaurant. When the lockdown first started, I noticed that the store was no longer open. The inside had looked cleaned out and completely abandoned. My trips into the city had been similar, as the other local stores had been closed way before other local shops. On social media, there had been a lot of hate towards Chinese people, even in NYC. I had seen many videos of Americans blaming the Chinese for COVID. They were expressing their hate physically, with some businesses being vandalized and others being rated poorly online. The people of Thebes follow the king, and the love him. In the story, the people sided with their king and blamed Creon. When people panic, they look for the most blamable person to calm their fears and give them explanation. The people of Thebes and America are no different.

Literature is story telling, and story telling is generational knowledge. I believe that the quote “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it.” by C.S Lewis, is describing the relationship between real life and literature as codependent. Literature deepens the understanding of events, and details them. When reading, we are imaginative of the story, which is the addition of reality. Often times we either imagine ourselves in the stories or imagine ourselves observation in the story. In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, he describes the relationship between Jesus and people as superficial almost. Hughes explains that while he was waiting to be saved by this “Jesus” figure, he felt no real connection although he believed in salvation. As a kid, we are taught to believe in god and to devote ourselves to religion, after all, it has been around since “forever.” But, Hughes states “I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn’t seen Jesus either,”. The relationship society has formed with Jesus and Christ is based on generational literature, no one has seen Jesus Christ in person, however we all choose to follow this belief because everyone else does; people need hope to feel purpose. Our families, our friends, and majority of the world. If literature where to simply describe reality and not form a connection with readers, there would be no faith in Christ.

In the short story  “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I believe the author is trying to open readers imaginations and to establish a sense of identity as well as question it. In the story, the drowned man was going to be disregarded at first, but after cleaning and a proper dressing, villagers were drawn to the man because of his unorthodox features and abnormal beauty. I believe the professor assigned this as our first reading to teach us the significance of an important figure and hope. Without the people, Esteban would cease to exist and without Esteban, the people would have no hope. When the women became obsessed with Esteban, they gave him identity and this gave them purpose to better the land around them as well as themselves. This change resulted in plentiful springs, a change in architecture and a change in spirit. After reading these stories, us reader are now left to question ourselves and morals. When everything you’ve dreamed of is suddenly in the palm of your hands, will you take advantage of it? Will you change your way of living?