Daily Archives: April 1, 2022

My research paper will be the focus on James Joyce’s work “Araby”. The story is told from the distance of a painful childhood experience, which is being narrated by an unnamed boy. The narrative in “Araby” briefly outlines the young boy’s first love with a girl from his neighborhood at the beginning of the story. Later on, the boy’s thoughts about the girl differ as his motivation to meet up with the girl at the bazaar leads to his disappointment. The central focus that is being depicted on the theme of coming of age is the narrative emotions toward the girl and, Joyce depiction of the narrator’s wasted efforts in approaching the girl that he fantasizes about .  

I will be working on the author Toni Cade Bambara and her short story “The Lesson.” The story’s central theme is economic injustice, supported by the characters and their trip to FAO Schwartz. I will be looking for a critical essay or a biography that analyzes the story’s central theme and the characters in the story. I have searched through the JSTOR database and found four articles on the lesson, and while they were thoughtful critiques of “The Lesson,” I didn’t think they would help further my thesis. I also searched through the Gale in Context / Biography database and found several biographies, but unfortunately, the information wasn’t detailed enough to help analyze the short story I chose. I also searched through the Literature Resource Center, and I found several articles on “The Lesson,” but I didn’t think these would fit well either. Finally, I looked through the Short Story Criticism database, and I found one article that seemed pretty promising. I will be using an essay by Melanie A. Marotta called “Teaching Toni Cade Bambara Teaching: Learning with the Children in Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘The Lesson’.” for my research article.

I’m writing on the short story “Araby” by James Joyce. I concluded that the boy can’t get enough of the girl and sees her in a celestial light. As the story develops, it becomes evident that the little child has difficulty grasping the concept of Mangan’s sister’s illusion and reality. He discovers the bareness of ordinary existence towards the end of the short novella. Arbay’s disappointment causes the child to realize that his adolescent ambitions have blinded him. Finding a precise theme that ties to the story was challenging. I’ve looked through various BMCC databases but have yet to find anything that relates to my topic. In addition, I’ve been working on improving and improving my essay.  I also want to conduct my research using a secondary source rather than a biographical or informational piece.

Research Summary: “When It’s Time to Grow Up” My research essay focus on the short story “Araby”, one of fifteen stories from the collection“Dubliners”, written by James Joyce. My thesis statement, word-for-word, is: “ The transition between the narrator’s childhood to adulthood is described through a series of symbolic imageries, where Joyce uses the contrast between lightness and darkness to exemplify the narrator’s growth, and reveal the story’s true meaning.”  The secondary source informations used so far to support my thesis are the Biography “James Joyce.” from Authors and Artists for Young Adults, vol. 42, Gale, 2002. Gale in Context: Biography in the BMCC library. This biography contains important informations about the collection “Dubliners” and how meaningful it was for Joyce to write about Dublin after he left Ireland, consequently being an inspiration for the upcoming stories. Moreover, it gives further details about how Joyce separated the stories in a chronological order, replicating the growth of the narrator and making “Araby” even more meaningful.  So far, I still did not find a reference about the imagery and the symbolism behind light and dark in the narrative. 

I have chosen to write about Langston Hughes “Salvation”. My thesis statement being: “Throughout the story, the author uses dramatic irony to emphasize the struggles of faith and the pressure of religion.” After looking at the provided database from BMCC I have learned a few things about Mr. Hughes. Firstly, he was considered one of the most popular Black American poets in the U.S. and was strongly criticized for the way he chose to portray his view of life and those around him. That in itself supports any writings of his, having lived a culture to back up what one is writing about is undeniable. Since he was so widely known I feel the best secondary sources to use would be writings and critics directly related to his work as well as those who may have really known him as a person. Biographies and article clippings would absolutely work best.

The literary work i am focusing for my research essay is “Araby” which is a short story written by James Joyce. This short story is about a young boy in Ireland obsessed with the girl living across the street. When the young girl mentions how badly she wants to attend a certain bazaar, he sees an opportunity to win her heart by attending the bazaar himself and bringing her back a gift.The story opens with the narrator’s description of his home and neighborhood, in which we first see Joyce’s use of the close first-person narrator to convey the full sensory range of sensory detail – sights, smells, colors, textures – that comprise the setting. The author is James Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. I have searched for options in the BMCC databases and I still haven’t been able to find one that matches my story that I choose.

In my research paper i will be writing about Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”. This story is about a group a students learning the racial inequality on the meaning of money. For my research i will be using the article called “The role of dialect representation in speaking from the margins: “The Lesson” of Toni Cade Bambara” by Katy M. Wright. When reading this article, the author mentions how Toni Cade Bambara uses foul language with the character named Sylvia to show stronger emotion when talking about the trip to the toy store. I am using this article as it was one of the articles that stood out the most when describing the emotions of the characters in “The Lesson” and the way Toni Cade Bambara uses them. In “The Lesson” Toni Cade Bambara likes to have their characters do most of the talking instead of the teacher named “Miss Moore” because the students are the ones learning. https://go-gale-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=cuny_mancc&id=GALE%7CA181406651&v=2.1&it=r

The piece of literature I will be writing about for my research essay is “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. My thesis statement is as follows: “The underlying irony of this story is in how in trying to be “saved”, he has actually become a sinner in the process.” I will be using “Critical Insights: Langston Hughes” found in the BMCC database published by Miller. (2013). Langston Hughes. Salem Press. In it, there are many points of view on Hughes and his effect on the African American people as a whole. From lynching to faith, and even his influence on music (the Blue’s specifically). With the many insights on how he influenced the people and how they influenced him. The chapters in this book will be sure to give me a better understanding of what kind of person Hughes came to be after being that 12-year-old boy in church looking to be saved.

My research essay focuses on Langston Hughes’ “Salvation”. My thesis statement is “Throughout the narrative, Hughes uses verbal, dramatic, and situational irony”. Hughes’ use of irony is evident in the sarcastic and mocking tone he uses, this is an example of verbal irony. Dramatic irony is used by letting the readers know the outcome of the situation in the first sentence of the narrative, “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved”. And the religious revival is an example of situational irony because instead of strengthening Hughes’ connection with Christianity, he loses faith completely. I believe that a biography of Langston Hughes would be most appropriate for my essay. Using the BMCC database, I found an autobiography that discusses Hughes’ early life. The biography mentions that Carrie Hughes, Hughes’ mother, left him at a young age with his grandmother’s friend, Auntie Reed, and her husband. They were described as being devout Christians who constantly pressured Hughes to join the church, and the narrative “Salvation” explains the result of this. The incident in the religious revival event marked the beginning of his disbelief in religion.

“Araby” is a short story written by James Joyce. This short story is about a young boy in Ireland obsessed with the girl living across the street. When the young girl mentions how badly she wants to attend a certain bazaar, he sees an opportunity to win her heart by attending the bazaar himself and bringing her back a gift.The story opens with the narrator’s description of his home and neighborhood, in which we first see Joyce’s use of the close first-person narrator to convey the full sensory range of sensory detail – sights, smells, colors, textures – that comprise the setting. The author is James Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. I have searched for options in the BMCC databases and I still haven’t been able to find one that matches my story that I choose.

I am writing about James Joyce’s short story known as “Araby”. The narrator of the story is a young boy who is infatuated by a girl from his neighborhood. In the story, we notice that the author uses bright color to represent the girl and to demonstrate her significance in the young boy’s life. The setting of the story is dark and dull. The author uses lots of imagery throughout the story to paint a picture of the young boy’s life, which is dull and boring. And how the girl seems to be the only bright light in the young boy’s life. It was difficult to find a critique that related to the theme of my essay. I went through several BMCC databases and I didn’t specifically find results relating to the author’s use of imagery. But “Blind streets and seeing houses: Araby’s dim glass revisited” by Margot Norris is the source I will most likely use for my research essay.   

I’m writing about Gabriel Garcia Marques’s “The handsomest man drowned in the world” is a story that was written in 1968. The story has a particular flavor to it in that, it is the tale of a guy who got himself into difficulty and died in a fishing town. Because of the use of magical realism in this literature, the actual world is changed into something magical or legendary as a consequence of the author’s imagination and thereby serves as an excellent representation of what I’m trying to convey. It is difficult to find information’s about Magical Realism. I found a Article by Alfred Kazin Author: Alfred Kazin Date: Feb. 20, 1972 From: The New York Times Book Review. Beyond Magical Realism: Teaching Creative Thinking Using Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” Donna A. Gessell. My research is going to based on this article.   The link: https://go-gale-com.bmcc.ezproxy.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=LCO&u=cuny_mancc&id=GALE|HLABSI894039616&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-LCO&asid=ba2744bd 

My research essay focuses on “The Most Handsome Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This story explores how myths can change people’s ways of thinking, attitudes, and ways of life. The stories give the villagers a new perspective on life. It gathers the locals and brightens their miserable life. Transformation affects the entire village. Inspire them and make them want to be extraordinary. I chose literary articles as a secondary source of support for my dissertation. I mainly searched using BMCC library. The BMCC library is very easy to use and I searched and found a lot of related articles. I have read some interesting articles that provided a useful analysis of this short story and contributed significantly to my essay. There aren’t many articles that are useful for my dissertation.