Viajero Analysis

Our cohort is nearing the end of its secondary education and therefore it is important that we reflect on the ways in which it has shaped our attitudes, values and beliefs. For example, over the past five years, we have read, analysed and evaluated various literary works such as novels, plays, poems and films in our English studies. These texts have expressed various ideologies, explored interesting themes and introduced us to fascinating characters. These elements have left a lasting impression on our attitudes, values and beliefs. In addition to this, English literary texts have provided us with historical knowledge as well as a thorough understanding of the role that aesthetic devices

The memories also play a dual role as they make the man hopeful yet they also scare him because he is afraid that through remembering things again and again he might taint his memories of the good times forever. “He thought each memory recalled must do some violence to its origins. As in a party game. Say the word and pass it on. So be sparing. What you alter in the remembering has yet a reality, known or not.” (McCarthy 51). The boy although carries on hoping even though all he has are memories of the polluted grey ashes that have always been falling from the sky, the ashes that he was born into. The child has no memories of a past world that held beauty and color and so he relies on his father’s accounts and stories of the past to imagine a world that was anything but the bleakness that he is so accustomed to. But the father, although mostly indulges to the child’s wishes, sometimes cannot bring himself to tell him made up stories of the past because as much as he wants to he cannot remember a lot of it and when he does remember it, it reminds of a world that is no more and that he does not know will ever come back into existence or not. “What would you like? But he stopped making things up because those things were not true either and the telling made him feel bad.” (McCarthy 22). Where at first the child believes the father’s accounts of heroes and stories of courage

In the fiction story "And of Clay Are We Created," Allende focuses its theme more on memory and reminiscence. For

In Hunger of Memory, author Richard Rodriguez describes his experiences as a Mexican immigrant. He tells anecdotes about his childhood in order to analyze the pressures which culture change imposed on him. Rodriguez also experienced guilt because he felt he had abandoned his Mexican roots by learning English, ceasing to speak Spanish. He then comes to the realization that intimacy is found in the feeling between two people conversing, not in the language in which they are conversing. Richard in the process of self-visualization becomes annoyed with himself and certain things that he sees around him.

Not to the extent of the actual death of one’s being except for Samsa in the end, but to the extent of loss of one’s properties can be seen by Equiano and Samsa. Due to their inferior state from their racial differences, they go through confiscations. Since Equiano becomes a slave from his youth, he loses his childhood and family. While Samsa loses his human form and the furniture from his room that were the last resemblance of him as a human. Race makes up only one of the numerous components of one’s identity. As Equiano loses his childhood and family, he returns to his memories as a way to retain his identity. He refers back to as “I remember,” describing what he has done with his siblings or the caress he received from his mother (32, Equiano).

The memories are painful and somber as well. “The S.S. lied to the Soviet’s officer by saying he was going to take a shower, but then they send a bullet to his head. (Seprun 71)” Remembering this scene from prison is a psychological memory, because it bring backs the feelings that had gone through his head at the time. “He understood the S.S. mentality. (Seprun 71)” It would bring unimaginable pain for the author, because he saw Nazi ruthlessly murdered an officer. Then he went on to talk about other memories. He talked about how “two young partisans had opted for the possibility of dying and emerge from the war clean and pure of heart. (Seprun 80)” This means that while Manuel was imprisoned in the camps, he sees humanity at its finest. The two soldiers are willing to risk their lives. This would make the author have a sense of joy. There was an instance of trauma that this psychological voyage had left. “I still hear the voice, that echo of ancestral terror, that voice which speaks of the blood of the butchered, that viscous blood itself, which sings dully in the night. (Seprun 132)” The memories of the imprisonment will always be haunting the author, as he had witness a lot of massacre during his time. He can’t escape by trying to forget all these had

- This story is already about his memory it is itself in a way a memory as it explains history through continuation of his life, he uses his memory to solve current problems linked to him killing a man in “The man I killed” and that he uses his memory to reach security over the power that the guilt of killing has over him

In The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao the narrator, Yunior, has a couple of symbolic dreams after the death of Oscar. One of his dreams involves a masked man holding a book with blank pages. The images that appear in the dream give the reader insight to Yunior’s hope for the de Leon family, who experience many tragedies as a result of the reign of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. Although much of their history is lost or destroyed due to this bad luck, or fukú, Yunior seems to believe that he can bring the family zafa. It is through his dream that he is able to realize that there is still hope for the future through remembrance of the past, as opposed to avoidance or silence.

Literature is a work of art that is constructed with the fundamental purpose of conveying meaning and messages to readers. Although the idea that is expressed is decided by the author, its underlying messages can be interpreted in various ways by different readers. Literature often explores the gap between reality and imagination. Such an examination can easily lead to a false sense of reality, which promotes the oversimplification of life at a great cost. By oversimplifying reality, people may turn a blind eye to issues that need to be addressed for the sake of social justice. Often times, facing reality is despised because it may create problems that individuals are unable to solve. This is important to note because literature has the

The information in the article “What your Most Vivid Memories Say About you?” can be integrated to the story “The Stolen Party” to analyze characters such as Rosaura and her mother. This can be done by viewing how characters memories define them as people and form their schemas, views and identity.

Literature tells the stories of people – growth and prosperity, decline and poverty, and most importantly, evolution. Literature reminds us that while humans are intelligent and capable of producing literature, humans are still humans. We are a species evolved from apes, a collection of animals that bear the responsibility of balancing natural and instinctual urges with logic, rationale and morality. Literature is the medium in which instinct clashes with morality – where the true human condition is revealed. English 300 students not only practice the analysis of a variety of complex literature, they also delve into the deeper discussion of philosophy – the basis on which literature functions.

There are different forms and examples of exemplary and classic literature which have been deemed as significant works that are highly esteemed worldwide. These examples of literature would awe the world with how much literary skill they entailed when they were composed and written: attention to details as to formation of characters, the most crafty of plots, the most eloquent speeches and lines, the most astounding of twists of scenes, and most of all, the most universal and meaningful of themes. The theme of any literary work is what makes it great as it should be able to encompass the immense diversity of the world and as it would be able to transcend the boundaries of religion, age, race, gender, etc. Two examples of this great and

As the era of literature slowly declines, the expert critiques and praise for literature are lost. Previously, novels were bursting at the seams with metaphors, symbolism, and themes. In current times, “novels” are simply short stories that have been elaborated on with basic plot elements that attempt to make the story more interesting. Instead of having expert critical analysis written about them, they will, most likely, never see that, as recent novels have nothing to analyze. Even books are beginning to collect dust, hidden away and forgotten, attributing to the rise of companies such as Spark Notes. An author deserves to have his work praised, no matter how meager and the masses should have the right to embrace it or to reject it. As

Indeed, the best works of literature are those which are of relevance to our lives today. Through their relevance, these novels continue to persist and endure on. Through their relevance, we can better comprehend the messages, the themes, and the ideas that are imbued in them. Rather than literature being contradictory and in conflict with the truth and unpleasant reality of daily life, it becomes a weapon through which we can be educated about the existential crises facing our world today. In fact, the statement above could not be more far and distant from the reality of literature today. It is fatally flawed. Literature, whilst at the surface, seems whimsical and amusing is, at its very core, a medium through which we are enlightened

Literature is an imitation of societal values and is thus a reflection of the human experience of a time period. Written works emphasize the elements of culture, by means of characters, particular events, setting and theme, specific to the time period in which it was composed. Furthermore, literature mirrors the troubles or hardships of society and projects the core values that define said society. Thus, as culture has changed over time, literature has remained a critical facet in representing time periods of the past. Essentially, the culture of a time period is manifested through writing in the projection of society’s values, symbolism of the center of community and literature itself.