John Piguave

The work that I feel was more successful was essay 2 because I got an A-, idk how I got that grade when I usually do my work at the last minute which I need to stop doing. Another work that I feel was successful was essay 1 because it started off good for the first essay. The work I feel like I could have done better was essay 4 because I didn’t do good on that essay and I should’ve revised the essay when I had the chance. Another work I feel that I could’ve done better was on the midterm, although I passed it I feel like I could’ve done better if I actually studied for the quiz. A specific skill that I developed in this class that might be relevant to real-world experience is trying to understand other stories even though it might be difficult, you might be able to understand it now.

One personal experience that is echoed in “The House on Mango Street” was that my dad keeps talking about moving and getting a better house if we some day win the lottery. The parents in the story are telling their kids that some day they will move into a good home like the ones they see on the T.V. The name of the first vignette was “The House on Mango Street”, when they keep wanting a better house in which they can live for the rest of their lives instead of keep moving. The same personal experience I have but in a different type of way since we have never moved from this apartment but we did apply for other ones to see if they will reach out to us but it hasn’t happened. My dad was planning on getting a better house if we somehow win the lottery, but still no luck in that.

The writing style of Raymond Carver in “Cathedral” is clear and simple compared to other writers whose work we have read this semester. In Carver’s stories you didn’t really have to do much to understand it because Carver makes it simple for the reader to understand the story unlike other stories in which you had to read it multiple times before you understand the story. Gabriel Garcia’s story ““The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” on the other hand is more complex and requires you to imagine how things are happening in the story. You might also read over the story again in order to better understand the message that the writer is trying to show. Carver’s story don’t require much understanding as he makes it easier to understand, the only thing that was confusing was the ending of the story. At the end of the day, everybody has their own writing style.

The terror that you feel from reading “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is different than the terror being felt when watching a terrifying movie as reading a story requires you to use your imagination making it less scary, but watching a movie you can physically see what’s going on and the jump scares that are in the film makes the movie more terrifying than reading a scary book. Reading the book doesn’t give you the intensity that the movie gives. Both have their ways  into making it terrifying but I feel like the movies are more scarier than reading a book because you can hear and see everything that is actually is happening which is scarier than imagining it. You can imagine anything scary and compare that to physically watching it on a movie, it’s more scarier in the film because you see all the chaos and goriness that’s there.

I haven’t thought of any ideas at the moment, but looking a the essay 4 directions I’m thinking it will focus on the fact that there is only one parent figure instead of two. I feel like this topic interests me because I’m thinking about how things might be different if both parents were present instead of one since both parents have their ways to do things differently. I’m not sure which fairy tales I might include but I think I have something in mind. I haven’t found any useful articles on the BMCC library database or online just yet because I haven’t done my research yet, but I will look into that right now to have a better plan on what I’m going to write about. This essay is based on research so I need to start doing a lot of research to support the topic I’m thinking about writing.

My attitudes about fairytales has changed as a result of this week’s readings because as far as I know every fairytale has a happy ending, but now reading the snow white stories it opened my eyes on how the story ended. The story ended by giving the queen a slow death making her dance until she died. Another thing is beauty, I didn’t really worry about this that much, but now that I’m older I feel like their making it seem like beauty is all that matters when that shouldn’t be the case. My attitude changed based on how the story ended compare to the child’s version because it’s supposed to be a fairytale for kids. I will start seeing fairytales in a different way because apparently some endings are different than the happy ending. My attitude towards fairytales won’t ever be the same as my thoughts about fairytales has changed.

The idea that I came across in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in which I would’ve missed if I hadn’t read the article by the author in Activity 1 was basically the importance on the changes in emotions to the grandmother because at first, she seemed like she didn’t really care about anything but herself. Then throughout the whole story she kept expressing to the Misfit about how she felt. By the end of the story before dying, the grandmother’s emotions changed and actually felt like a grandmother to the Misfit as she saw him as one of her kids. I would’ve probably missed the purpose of the change in emotions if I hadn’t read the other article because it played a big role in the story for the grandmother, from being careless to actually caring for someone. I actually find changes in emotions significant because it shows how people can change from the way they used to be.

I would rate my ability to read and understand Oedipus the King  a 5/10 as I’m still getting confused on how they word things out. Besides that, I feel like I’m doing alright with my ability to read Oedipus the King. Reading the poem was ok, but understanding it was what was a little challenging for me because I had to figure out the deeper meaning of what writer was trying to show. I feel like I did enjoy reading this play even though I seemed kind of lost. If I were to be part of a production of a play, I feel like the character that I would want to portray is Oedipus because putting yourself in the same situation as him would also make you feel paranoid by all of the things that’s been going on to the point where you start suspecting of everybody since you feel threatened.

On a scale of one to ten I would rate my ability to read poetry a five out of ten as I sometimes get stuck on understanding certain things so when this happens I usually just do my research on it. I feel like the way I could get better in reading poetry is by reading it often as you’ll get used to it and would slowly understand what it’s trying to tell you. Another way is by doing research on how to improve in reading poetry and how to understand it. I usually find Shakespeare’s poems challenging because it has a lot of important information which makes it hard to understand everything that’s going on in the poem. As we practice, things will usually become easier to do. I will have to read poetry until I get used to reading and understanding poetry enough so I won’t have to go and do my research about it.

When COVID was announced, the American population started to panic and everyone was in quarantine. I also witnessed that during COVID there was a shortage of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The same thing happens in “Oedipus the King”, the people were worried about the virus. In contrast people were blaming China for the cause of COVID, just like Oedipus blames Tiresias and Creon for making plans without his consent. The people of Thebes saw the virus as a curse while we saw this as a virus. COVID has affected everyone as we were in quarantine for a while. People were questioning when the virus will be over and when will everything go back to the way they were. COVID was one of the big things that has happened to all of us. Once we were all out of quarantine after a while, things slowly start going back to normal again.

The quote about literature that I chose was “Literature is not only a mirror; it is a map, a geography of the mind” by Margaret Atwood. I chose this quote because it fits in the story “Araby” by James Joyce, as the story and the character’s narrator guides us  like a map through the character’s thoughts. The story is not just a mirror, it gives us an even deeper understanding of the character’s emotions. The story works as a map with all the thoughts and feelings the character has for this girl. The story has more meaning to it than just being a reflection. The boy had a crush on the girl throughout the story but at the end of the day he changed his mind on the way he felt. It’s like all these emotions made him realize something which changed the way he felt at the last minute.

  In the compelling short story “Araby” by James Joyce, the author encourages readers to examine the intricate character of the nameless narrator and the complexity of the human condition.   What’s ineffective about this sentence is that the writer is being general rather than being specific to what they are trying to say. The writer also seems to be complimenting the story which is something we shouldn’t do. I would rewrite it in a way for the sentence to be more specific. In the story “Araby”, James Joyce wants the readers to see the amount of complex the character of the nameless narrator is and puts the readers inside of the characters mind to truly see the characters thoughts and feelings. It gives us more detail about what’s going on with the character, this gives the story and the character meaning as it helps us expand the story’s idea its trying to give the reader.            

I would name the story “The Real World” and how Miss Moore feels that she has to educate the kids  as it will be useful to them and don’t have to live the way they do anymore if they pursue to continue their education the way she did. It will also focus about how Sylvia’s view of the world changed as the story goes. The story focuses more about Sylvia’s point of view while Miss Moore wants the best for her students. Sylvia’s view of the world changes when she finds out that the real world is actually hard. Miss Moore is teaching them the importance it is to have a education since they can move forward in life the way she did. Living in a poor neighborhood doesn’t mean it always has to be like that as long as you have your education, you can keep moving forward in life.

I personally relate to the young narrator in “Araby” because some people at some point would feel the same way the narrator was feeling when he had a crush on this girl and wanted her to notice him. The girl ended up approaching him and started talking about him going to a bazaar . This young narrator was capable of doing anything for this girl that he realized that at the end of the day it was all just child’s play. I can relate to this because it proves that if you truly love someone you’re capable of doing anything for that person. The young narrator still chose to go to the bazaar even though it was already late, he was impatiently waiting for his uncle and still went even though his uncle forgot. Love will make you do things you thought you were incapable of doing. This young narrator didn’t hesitate and took off to the bazaar.

I’m not quite sure why but I do know there are many different reasons. I think you assigned this as the first story because you want us to not only focus on the setting or purpose of the story but to expand into it, to put ourselves in the same situation and feel the same way the characters are feeling in that moment. You could also be preparing us to read other stories like this one as it expands the stories we are used to reading. There is also something about the story that is intriguing but I still don’t know what it is because I’m still figuring that out myself. It might be because Gabriel Garcia Marquez stories have so many things to examine with details. It could also be because it’s a good story to start with. All I know is that there is a good reason behind why this story was chosen.