Alcina's Lesson: A Narrative Fiction

In the autobiography we are told an account by Rosa Cassettari an Italian immigrant coming to the United States. Rosa is from northern Italy and is coming to America to join her husband Santino who works in Missouri as an iron miner. She reluctantly leaves behind her young son, but is curious about American life. Her journey to America, her move to Chicago, and her job at the settlement all revealed changes that occurred in Rosa. Her story was successful, not based on the amount of money she made, but in being able to establish a good life for herself in America where she had her freedom.

She was beaten, shackled and “was wet with the dew of all the men who had covered her before” him(4). He quickly recognizes her because his mother is also an Ila woman. He takes care of her — washing her disarrayed body, starting a fire for warmth and protection, and hunting for food. He also believed in fasting for ten consecutive days as a way of a spiritual cure those who are suffering, “in this way the spirit of the dead one grows weak, finally it lets go and journeys to the land of the soul” (5). He grew weak, yet still taking care of her. They began to love one another, and did not want to be apart. Taking her first steps, she ventured to short travels, but was not ready for a lonesome journey. With each trial, the journey becomes a little farther. Twelve days later, she was gone. He holds himself back from calling her name aloud to take her back forever. He continues on with his journey to the village, hunting for food as he returns to the village not

The initial questions Tempel Anneke was asked pointed out the similarities between her and what were thought to be the characteristics of a witch. When the interrogator questioned her age and means of personal finance, she did not state her age but did say that she was a widow and lived with her son on his farm but did perform healings when needed. She was then questioned about her education and religious practices. She responded by saying she had learned how to heal people from observing her mother. Also, she testified that she knew the commandments but had not been to the table of the Lord or the Holy Communion in two years (15). It did not help that she was not looked up to in the community but was part of the lower class. According some of the testimony by her accusers, most people thought that Tempel Anneke was a crazy, old drunk.

The forest had gone.... and the Witch looked much younger. Audette opened her eyes and had found herself upon a brow of white lilies. The shape of the shrouded old woman seemed changed. Having turned around, and opened her mantle to the tearing gusts, Meliza revealed to the young lady two streams of shinging blackness and smooth white flesh. Audette stopped in her tracks.

She accuses multiple people of witchcraft and even states how she was forced to dance "for the Devil...[see] him... and [kiss] his hand" (88) to protect herself.

That violent, crazy act was the last act of childhood. For as I gazed at the immobile face with the sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality which is hidden to childhood, The witch was no longer a witch but only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness and sterility. She had been born in squalor and lived in it all her life.”

They were neighbors and had always known of one another. Alejo had been out of the ranches for some time working in the city of Moneterrey when Audelia was still a child, but when he returned to his parents home he saw her and was immediately captivated by her. Audelia had become a young and beautiful woman and for him she was a truly graceful and could be set apart from all other ladies at first sight. Although their age difference made him doubt and hesitate to ask for her hand in marriage in fear of him being denied to be with her or simply her turning him down there was still a fire that burned within him to be near her. One day while she was in the kitchen with her sisters her father walks in and surprises her with the news that she was to be married to Alejo. Joy filled her home and she was very excited for what would become of her life with this man she had heard much of but truly knew little of. All she could say of him was that he was physically tall, handsome and had deep blue eyes with dark brown hair. She knew they were distant relatives, but that was not an issue for it was normal at the time to marry a distant relative due to the seclusion of their

In the story “Thornhill" there was a girl named Mary. She lived at the Thornhill Institute For Children. When all of her friends had gotten adopted, she had been too. When she got to her new home with her new family, she had went in the yard to go explore. As she looked at all of the space and freedom she had, she felt amazing. Mary stepped onto a box and seen that a couple blocks away, there was this old and creepy looking house. She thought maybe a witch lived there. Mary ignored it and kept on looking around. A couple of days later she and her family helped her finish unpacking and

What would you rather have the ability to turn into the wind or a chest full of Spanish gold? Well in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho a young boy named Santiago got both and more in his journey. Santiago when on this journey to find a treasure of gold but the real treasure is finding Fatima, the Alchemist, and the true meaning of love. Most people would think that no the gold was his big treasure but in all reality it was these three things starting with his love Fatima.

In " Nineteen-Thirty Seven" a girl name Josephine visits her mother in prison. Every time she visits her mother she brings a statue they call the Madonna. The statue is actually the Virgin, that cries with the help of wax and oil. Every time she visits her mother she never speaks. Her mother is in prison because they believe she is a witch with flaming wings. To prevent the prisoners from "flying" they throw cold water on them at night to take away some body heat. They shave their heads every week. They say they took Josephine's mother to jail the people threw stones at her calling her "Lougarou, witch criminal!" In the end the mother dies from being beaten down in the middle of the yard. I think these people fear these women because they

She went on. “Well, like I said, Abellona and Alcina were both arrested and charged with practicing witchcraft and Satanism. Alcina, was never even given any sort of trial what-so-ever and was immediately sentenced to death by fire.”

The environment an individual lives in and the role that it plays in their life are certainly factors to be acknowledged. Individuals pick up habits from their family, friends, and neighbors and unfortunately in most cases, it makes the process of accepting the realities of life much slower to such an extent that apathy and ignorance presents itself and what proves to be catastrophic for the social society of today’s world. Others fail to recognize the importance of gaining knowledge in a minority-majority society that struggles with poverty, and it is because of that failure, apathy and ignorance begins to grow as well as prejudicial societies who are able to receive a high-end education and are considered to be more knowledgeable

It was as though she were possessed by some evil spirit. We tried to reason with her, more to calm ourselves, to catch our breath, than to soothe her: “She is hallucinating because she is thirsty, poor woman . . . That's why she speaks  of flames devouring her . . .”(25)

“Now it’s said that at some point in the middle of the night, below the yellow light of a full moon, Abellona starts to pray, frantically praying to whoever will listen. She prays to God, and gets no answer. Like he's ever answered anybody, right? Then, it’s said she started praying to Hecate the Greek goddess of witchcraft, and again she gets no immediate reply. But, then... Then, it’s believed that just before dawn, mere moments before Abellona could see the first telltale signs of daylight cresting over the forest of Mt. Harrison. That she starts to go crazy with fright, and in her delirious state, writhing and thrashing herself about in the stock, like a coyote ready to chew its own leg off to get out of a hunter's snare. At this

After Santiago and Fatima talked, he went to find the Englishman who at this point discovers his real “personal legend.” I thought it was very unexpected because I was confident that the Englishman was already waiving. Suddenly, while sitting down and thinking Santiago sees an omen and a vision that tells him that an army will be attacking the oasis the next day. This indicated that he truly did grasp the “Language of the World.” The mood becomes suspenseful when he tells the chieftains about his vision. They state that if no army attacks the oasis like he said, then he’d lose his life. In my perspective this was the most courageous thing Santiago has done because his life was on the line. The Alchemist had made an appearance in section five,