Unit 7-Prompt 1

After rereading Clarice Lispector’s short stories a few times, it is very possible to read The Hen and The Smallest Woman in the World as a metaphor about her position on gender relations. In order to view these two stories as metaphors, there has to be a focus on how the situation in both readings changes as they progressed and how it applies stereotypes of women. An example of this is how Clarice addresses the difference of statuses between mothers and women in The Hen. Through showing how the hen was spared her death because of giving birth to only end up getting killed anyways in the end, Clarice uses the hen as a symbol of how women are viewed with much respect when they are mothers but are treated with little regard when they are not. By analyzing how the hen behaved with fear before she escaped and how she was treated from the beginning until her death, there is a drastic difference between how she was approached when she was not a mother and the hospitality she received after laying the egg. Clarice did an excellent job in addressing how a change in roles for women will often either gain them more respect for a certain period of time until their “15-minutes of fame” is over.

As for The Smallest Woman in the World, Clarice Lispector addresses the stereotyping of women and society’s tendency to look down upon people that are very different to them. By viewing how the people of Marcel Pretre’s country reacted to the photo of Little Flower, there were mixed reactions; from being called a toy to questioning whether she is fit for a housemaid, Clarice shows how society sets low standards for women and lack of heart for women from different cultures. Clarice also shows how seeing a person from a different culture can often cause members of society to view them in low regard. From one viewer being too disgusted to see Little Flower’s photo to a child feeling sorry for her, Clarice also addresses the fact how people will quickly draw to drastic conclusions on the difference of life between them and the woman (or man) on the photo. Although the metaphors in both stories were excellent in describing gender relations, The Smallest Woman in the World accomplished not only women stereotypes but also society’s flaw of labeling the unknown.

Unit 6-Prompt 2

Through writing The Aquatic Uncle and All At One Point, Italo Calvino is attempting to present the history of science through using storytelling and human emotions. Instead of the usual academic presentation through explanation, Calvino uses dialogue as a different method of discoursing science. An example of this is All at One Point, where instead of just explaining the events that occurred before the expansion of space, Calvino uses Qfwfq to tell the story of how characters, most likely named after certain objects that existed before the expansion, interacted with one another before the changes. A more direct example of Calvino’s use of dialogue to explain science is The Aquatic Uncle, the story of animals moving from sea to land and the conflicts that occurred after the move. The manner as to how Qfwfq presents these two vital events in the history of life creates a more power presentation of the events occurring because there are human emotions that are being involved now; this provides a strong connection between the history and readers compared to academia writing. Through these writings, Calvino is now creating a new discourse of science by developing a plot of the events of life in order to provide better understanding for all that can read.

Unit 5-Prompt 1

At first, the withholding of information in House Taken Over and Night Face Up made it difficult to analyze why the events were happening in both stories. After rereading them however, the withholding of information was essential to the success of the stories because it made the extreme details that Julio Cortazar provided more relevant. In House Taken Over, the narrator that Cortazar does not give a name goes into great detail of the routine him and his sister, Irene, go through every day until the noise started to occur. The lifeless routine they both lived by everyday provides an excellent resource for deliberation as to what the noise is and why is it happening. Even though Cortazar went into great detail about the lives of the siblings, the withholding of the information about the noise provides more life into the uninteresting routine because there can be an argument that the lack of life the siblings had in the house caused the ghosts of their past family to scare them off and find a new life. Again, it is a theory that was interpreted by what Cortazar gave and did not give however, it provides more life into the short story.

As for Night Face Up, the little information about what time period the narrator was in made the story successful because it can made readers more engaged into the development of the plot, specially the little details that the narrator provided about death. For the most part of the story, there was a belief that the man kept dreaming of being attacked by Aztec warriors after getting into the accident until the plot twist at the end. When the story is reread again however, it became more obvious what exactly is the person dreaming. During the man’s time in the hospital, he was able to smell death during his dream and when he was wake–even though it was stated his life was not at risk after the accident. Also, one can question whether a typical person would make jokes after a person just had a motorcycle accident. The events that were occurring at the hospital can be debated as to whether that would ever happen in reality. As readers begin to notice the odd behavior in the hospital, it becomes apparent that the dream is actually the hospital and not the Aztec hunting him. It is interesting the way it was presented but a little difficult to understand at first.

Unit 4-Prompt 1

After analyzing on who was more successful in promoting their feminist agendas, it was clear that Ursula K. Le Guin’s She Unnames Them provided a direct message on her view of feminism and identity. In her short story, Le Guin discusses how the narrator had become more connected with the animals after taking away their names. The names of the animals happen to be the labels that humans give in order to distinguish each of them. Although few animals objected the idea of giving away their personal names, it was clear they only wanted to give away the animal name that were forced upon them only for descriptions on what they are. This is vital to Le Guin’s goal on promoting her view of feminism because she is attempting to promote the idea that identity is the issue. In this short story, the narrator is claiming that labeling an animal or anything only furthers the separation of differences between one another and is the root of our struggle for equality. Through this story, Le Guin is arguing that the idea of having to label men and women for what they are is the root cause of why there is inequality between the genders. By labeling each other by gender, we only separate ourselves by viewing each other on what we are instead of who we are. This is the goal that Le Guin is trying  to achieve through feminism–stopping the perception that humans should view and treat each other for what they are.

As for Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings, it was a little difficult understanding what she is arguing for her feminist agenda because the structure of the dialogue is very different compared to She Unnames Them. Although the idea the death is inevitable in plots and the importance of the ending is a common concern for readers doesn’t seem related to feminism, her argument of trying to view a storyline through questioning how and why does provokes the discussion that we should discuss how did the story came about and why did it occur. This can be translated to her view of her agenda by provoking discussions on how and why are we in this social issue of gender equality. Although this is very compelling, it was very difficult to understand and not as clear as Le Guin. Also, her story looks to be more direct towards literature issues instead of equality issues.  

Unit 3 Prompt 1

Through reading Richard Rive’s No Room at Solitaire, it is pretty clear the story can be considered a political story just by reading the circumstances as to why Fanie van der Merwe is having a difficult business day on Christmas Eve. For the beginning of the story, Richard Rive provides background information as to why Fanie van der Merwe and Oom Sarel are having issues between themselves and the financial consequences for Fanie. When Fanie argued that a black can be educated beyond the standard six through using Witbooi’s cousin educational success as an counterargument for Oom’s belief it is not possible, Oom responded in anger by proclaiming, “he would not drink in a bar owned by a man who had sold his people to the communists” (Rive 39). This proclamation was not the only act of retaliation; Oom held a braaivleis with free boerewors and brandy on Christmas Eve. Add on to the fact that Oom is a wealthy and powerful man in their district, Fanie fears his influence will spread the word of his “communist” beliefs and possibly extend the financial misfortune. The situation that Fanie is going through is very similar to what many in the United States had gone through in the McCarthy Era. Many people in that era were accused of communism through little evidence and face severe consequences through imprisonment and financial punishments. For Fanie, this is a replication of what occurred during the McCarthy Era through Oom isolating Fanie’s business. This view of retaliation because of an accusation of communism can make this story a political story. 

Review of Lydia Davis' "Five Stories"

When I first started reading Lydia Davis' Five Stories, I was surprised by how short her stories were and started questioning her style of writing. After reading The Outing, my opinion on her writing changed and appreciated how short of a dialogue can bring out such strong human emotions. What made The Outing powerful was the imagery of emotions through action that were occurring in the story. When Lydia mentions “An outburst of anger near the road, a refusal to speak on the path”, there was a perception of people involved in these actions however, there were no symbols used to act the events.  The reason The Outing is the most successful of all the stories is because it did not give much detail about where the actions were coming from or why all the events were occurring. The emotions through action forced readers to picture where the direction of the story was heading towards without using imagery. It also made the story realistic for those who have ever been in a similar situation. Through observations of Five Stories, the more detail Lydia Davis added, the less strength the story had. Although The Mice illustrated great descriptions of the household of the narrator, the extra details hurt the opportunity for readers to wonder why the mice are acting the way they were. An example of the unnecessary detail was when the narrator compared the differences between the home and the neighbor’s mice issues; “We are pleased but cannot understand why they do not come into our kitchen where we have straps set”. After reading this excerpt and reading further into the story, one can deduce as to why the mice will not come into the kitchen as compared to the neighbor’s kitchen–the trap. The overly detailed narrator gave too much information to make readers question why the mice are not taking advantage of the mess and made the story felt dragged. Of the Five Stories, The Mice was not the most successful of the other short stories.  

Introduction Post

Hello everyone, my name is Marcos Gonzalez-Ramirez. I am currently a second year student in the School of Arts and Sciences with a major in Economics. In terms of literature, I have not read many books or short stories since the start of my college career. However, I do enjoy reading whatever I can get my hands on when I have time. I will admit that I was a fan of Harry Potter when I was a child and read all seven books in the series. I am interested in reading fiction, non-fiction, history, and philosophy but I am always curious to explore different genres. 

Although I have always enjoyed reading, writing has always been my preference. I only write for fun but have never done any serious hobbies involving writing. I do want to start writing more because it is one of the most enjoyable hobbies I like to do when I don’t want to be productive. Also, I feel more comfortable writing because for me it is better to communicate. I hope I can start reading more variety of literature through the course and become better in formulating more constructed arguments and analysis. This is my first time blogging and I hope I will start to blog more after this class.