The vignette from “The House On Mango Street” that surprised me the most was chanclas. In this vignette the author describes how the mother uses her shoes also known as chanclas as a form of punishment when her kids misbehave. Why this vignette surprised me is because of how normalized violence is in within families as a form of punishment. I grew up with a-lot of Dominicans and they will tell me all the time when they were kids and misbehaving their mothers would use “chanclas” specifically. The vignette that intrigued me the most was “those who dont”. its a very short vignette only composed of maybe 20 lines but such a powerful message. its about how colored communities are almost always unable to fulfill their dreams because of poverty discrimination and lack of education. How other people like white people were to go her neighborhood they would be scared and think they would be attacked. The vignette that puzzled me most was red clowns. As i was scrolling through the vignettes I came across red clowns and wanted to read it. it was very weird but I was just confused on how and when it happend. Its about a girls best friend named sally who was taken by clowns at the carnival who touched and sexually assaults her. then a clown grabs a hold of the narrator and starts sexually assaulting her as well.
Deon Nezaj
The reading “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Oates follows a story about a 15 year old girl named Connie who is obsessed with her looks. While her family was away and she was home by herself, she gets approached by this charismatic/manipulative man named Arnold who was in a car in front of her house. Connie at first is interested in Arnold but soon realizes he is not who he seems to be. As the story goes on Arnold becomes more sinister and dark. Threatening Connie to go with him. The understanding I have for the story is the dangers and risks of trusting strangers. The story shows very well the vulnerability of young people who are easily manipulated and naive.Connie herself in the story is portrayed as naive and careless. The story ends with Connie going with Arnold leaving us the audience uncertain of what her fate is.
I honestly could never “read between the lines” or think of the bigger picture when reading poems. When reading “We Real Cool” By Gwendolyn Brooks I assumed the poem was obvious when I fully read it. This is the prior assumption I made from “How to read a poem”. I read the poem very easily and didn’t make any “think outside the box” assumptions when reading it. I didn’t think of the bigger picture. To me the poem is about kids being kids. Having all the freedom in the world to be a kid. To ditch school sometimes or maybe even underage drink wouldn’t kill you. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. Most people will say the bigger picture is young kids with destructive behavior. Like I said, Its kids being kids. However the line “we left school” is confusing me as it ditching school? or dropping out of school? if it is dropping out of school and all you are doing is drinking alcohol and singing, That is destuctive behavior that can have a early demise.
The poem “Why Do I Love You So Much” is an expression of the speakers feelings of love and trust for someone. The poem is constructed in short lines with a tone that really reflects the intimacy of a relationship. When talking about imagery this poem shows that clearly to convey the speakers emotions. For example the lines “to remind how to laugh” and “favorite memories”. On the other hand, “How Do I love Thee” by Browning Sonnet is a poem that expresses the speakers affection for a summer day. This poem uses figurative language and imagery to compare affection to a summer day. The line “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” compares the person to a summer day that is not too hot or too cold. In my opinion, both poems use imagery to convey emotions and ideas. As well as expressing feelings of love and admiration to an figure or object like a summer day or a person.
“The Story Of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story about a woman named Lousie Mallard who is informed of her husband’s death in a train accident. She is filled with grief and sadness but then experiences a sense of freedom when she realizes that she is now free of marriage and its burdens. However all of that would soon vanish as her husband shows up alive and well. This is the aspect of the story that includes all three of what surprised me,what intrigued me and what puzzled me. What surprised me is that the husband was alive after all because the introduction is when the audience first sees that the husband is dead so it was a very shocking plot twist in the end. What puzzled me is why was there false information regarding the husband’s death? How could the people identify that it was for sure him? “He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one” (chopin 19) this quote is also what puzzles me. What was intriguing was the fact that she felt liberation and freedom from her husband’s death. I expected grief and mourn for a long time. But no. She felt free from the domination and controlling of her husband’s part of the marriage.
Wow I can’t lie when I was first reading this story I wouldn’t expect the ending the way I was reading the introduction. In the story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” By Flannery O’connor is a story about a family taking a road trip to Florida. The family includes the grandmother, her son Bailey, his wife and their three children. Along the trip the grandmother insists on going to this old plantation house which will then lead to this family’s demise. Going to the plantation house resulted in the family being stranded on a road that’s basically a “ghost” road. It’s deserted. Being so they are confronted by these escaped convicts led by a man called “The Misfit”. The misfit was known for having a very dark criminal record. The story takes a dark turn as The Misfit and the other convicts brutally murdered the entire family including the children. The interior of the story is basically in my opinion the idea of the nature of good and evil. The grandmother who is very flawed undergoes a moment of self awareness and is able to see the flaws when in the face of evil (the misfit) as to the misfit who can’t see the flaws in his ways.
The timeless and human experiences I have found while reading Oedipus the king is surprising. The first one I noticed was fate and free will. The play explores the idea of fate versus free will, a timeless human experience that still resonates with people today. Oedipus is fated to kill his father and marry his mother, but he still has the free will to make choices that ultimately lead to his downfall. Another experience I read was searching for truth. Oedipus is on a quest to uncover the truth about his past and the murder of King Laius. This search for truth is a timeless human experience that is often depicted in literature and is still relevant today. Last one I felt was guilt and shame. Oedipus experiences intense feelings of guilt and shame when he realizes the truth about his past. These emotions are timeless and relatable to many people.
The Boy in the story “Araby” By James Joyce in my eyes would be described as naive,imaginative,romantic,in love. The reason I say these words is because his attraction towards his friend (neighbor) sister is what makes him do what he does throughout the article. To the point where he has created an imaginative world in his mind where he and she are united. I should say he is also idealistic because it is reflected in his imagination with an exotic place called bazaar “Araby” which he has been so excited to visit. This impacted the ending because of his love for his friend’s sister as he daydreams of romantic scenarios will drop when arrives at the bazaar. Upon arrival he is let down and faced with realization as the bazaar was nothing like he imagined it to be. Also not being able to find a suitable gift brings hopes down even more. He realizes that his romantic idealism was misplaced.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara there are two characters that caught my eye. The two main characters Sylvia and Sugar. The story is about a girl named Sylvia and her friends who live in a poor area but are taken on a school trip to a toy store in a rich area called “FAO Schwarz Toy Store” by a woman named Ms.Moore who wants to teach them about social inequality. Sylvia, the main character is originally skeptical and suspicious of going to the toy store with Ms,moore and her friends. She was skeptical on Ms.moore and doesn’t care about the expensive displays and toys that are for sight, She sees all of these customers who are spending a lot and making expensive and extravagant purchases. The way she acts and thinks throughout all of this is resentfulness and emotional because the toys she sees are out of her reach. she sees how difference in compared to her shopping and the people she sees shopping. Sugar on the other hand has a more fun, positive experience on the field trip. She is very admirable on the large expensive sailboat and wants to buy it regardless of the price. Sugars response to the store was in awe. in conclusion, the two character expressed two very different feelings int eh same scenario. both of their reactions mark the majority of social and economic dilemmas that exist in society
The story “The Most Handsomest Man That Drowned” is about a drowned man that washed up on the shore of a small village of fishers. The villagers see the man as prosaic and unimpressive. The villagers then set the man up for burial but as they do that they realize how admirable of his looks and appearance they then begin to idealize him. The reason I explained what the story is about in very few words is because it leads to why the professor chose this article as the first read. I believe you chose this article first because its a great example of “magical realism”. Which takes aspects of the combined reality and fantasy into one. Another reason. The story expressed the power of human imagination and the ways in which people can shape their own perceptions and interpretations of reality.
