A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

What is significant about the villagers fascination with the spider-maiden?

In "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the villagers are obsessed with things that are out of the ordinary. At the beginning of the story it seems as if their fascination with old man with wings in because of the fact that he might be an angel, and therefore would mean that he cure the sick and do other wonderful things for them. A large portion of the story is focused on the villagers trying to figure out if the old man is in fact an angel. They treat him like a circus animal as Pelayo and Elisenda charge admission for people to come see him, and the villagers flock to their house and throw food at him and burn him with a branding iron. It is significant to the story that the villagers are also interested with the spider-maiden because it reveals that they are not fascinated by the old man for the sole purpose that he might be an angel, but they curious about almost anything that is different.

Things Fall Apart- Chapter 1

How is Okonkwo different from his father? How does Unoka’s character affect Okonkwo?

Okonkwo is successful and well-respected in the villages. He came to fame at a young age when he beat the great wrestler, Amalinze the Cat, but he is also a hard-worker. Okonkwo is a respected farmer, and he dislikes anyone who is lazy. It appears that he is embarrassed by his father because he Unoka was always asking people for money and he was known for being in debt. He feels that because of this, his father brought shame to their family, and, therefore, he does not want to be anything like his father. His need to not have the same legacy of his father is the force that drives him to work hard and to be successful.

A Day in the Life of Lola Stewart

September 30th started out like every other Wednesday for Lola. She was asleep in her bed when her ridiculously loud alarm went of at 5:45 AM. Lola had to be at tennis practice in fifteen minutes, but she was extremely tired from going to bed so late because she was studying for her tests. Also, Lola isn't really a morning person either, so she wasn't super eager to get up and ignored the beeping of the obnoxious alarm. Suddenly, her older sister Genevieve came running across the hall into Lola's room because the ongoing sound of the alarm was irritating her. Genevieve turned off her sister’s alarm clock and looked at the time, it was 5:50 AM at this point. “Lola!” Genevieve yelled, “How did you not hear that?” Lola was still in bed and half-asleep. “What are you talking about?” she said, “…Oh no I have to be at tennis at 6:00 AM!” Lola jumped out of her bed and grabbed her tennis bag that she packed the night before.

Fifteen-year-old Lola, a freshman, went to go wake up her mother so she could drive her to school. They went in the car and Lola made it to tennis practice by 6:05 AM. Her tennis coach was not very happy about this. In fact, she was so upset with Lola’s tardiness that she made Lola pick up all of the tennis balls that were on the floor after morning practice.

After tennis practice, Lola went to the locker room and got ready for school. She studied her vocabulary flashcards on the way to class because she had a quiz first block. Her review paid off because she got 100%! Before second block Lola stopped by Genevieve’s locker because on Wednesday’s Genevieve doesn’t come to school until 8:40 AM because she is a senior and has a first block free, and usually brings her sister breakfast. Lola happily took her bagel and coffee and walked to her locker to grab her books for her next class—Spanish. Lola was excited for Spanish class because she was doing a presentation! After her presentation her teacher told her “Muy bien, Lola!” and Lola met up with her friends, Brittany and Eloise, in the quad so they could walk down to the cafeteria for lunch. For the last fifteen minutes of lunch, Lola went to the library to review for her history test that was next block. After she took her history test, she went had drama class. She loves acting and looks forward to this class everyday!

After school, Eloise went home with Lola to hang out for an hour, and after she left Lola did her homework. She ate dinner with her family and told them all about her day, and how she vaguely remembers Genevieve coming into her room early this morning to tell her that to her, “perfect happiness is waking up naturally and on time without the horrible sound of alarm clocks.” After dinner and finishing the rest of her homework, Lola got ready for bed, read the October issue of Vogue, and fell asleep dreaming of fall fashion.

Spiderman vs. Venom!

Once I was able to look past the silly Elmer Fudd, Jersey Shore hybrid accent, I was able to see that the poem, “Maybe Dats Your Pwoblem Too,” by Jim Hall, actually contains a very powerful message. Maybe everybody is just like Spiderman. Everyone has something that is distinguishable about them that they wish that they could change, but like Spiderman’s flame-resistant costume, they just cannot fully get rid of it. Everybody’s “Spiderman costume” is different. Some people are insecure about the way they look, embarrassed by their parents, have a disability that may or may not be obvious, or have personality traits that they do not like. Whatever it may be, we all have ourselves that we do not feel comfortable with, and anyone who claims that they don’t have something about themselves that they wish that they could change is probably deceiving themselves.

Sometimes people are able to change, but people still see that person for what they were and not completely for what they have become. When something is a part of you for so long, you cannot completely separate yourself from it. In a sense, Spiderman can replace his clothes and take on a new role, but he only has so many options for what he can do with his signature costume. Since he cannot fully destroy it because it is flame-resistant, he can take it off, fold it up, and put it in storage. Spiderman will always be a major part of who he was; people will always remember him as being Spiderman no matter what new role he chooses.

I used to be quite shy, until one day I decided that just was not who I was anymore. While change does not happen overnight, as it is a process, people do not immediately recognize it. I found it frustrating that even though I was not the same person I was, say, five years ago, my “Spiderman suit” still stayed the same. Yes, there were many people who recognized that I was no longer painfully shy, but many people just assumed that a description of me would be that of the shy person that I once was.

In a way, we are all just like Spiderman. Everyone has built up an image for himself or herself that is like his or her “Spiderman suit.” Without our own personal “suits” on, we still carry that image. It is up to each individual person to choose how much of themselves they wish to change, as well as which part of their image they want to keep. Spiderman may not want to lose all the traits what make him Spiderman, even though he wants a change of pace. It is also very difficult to try to completely change ourselves. Like Spiderman, we just cannot “quit” being who we are. We can change pieces of identity, but we cannot ever fully get rid of it because of our past. In addition, why should we have to lose are identity in order to change ourselves, when we can keep being who we were, just a newer, more up-to-date version (519)?

The Consequences of Hubris

Too much pride, like almost anything else in life that is in extreme, can be self-destructive. Pride is very powerful. It can overtake a person’s life without him or her even realizing it, until it eventually causes them suffering and pain. At the end of “Antigone,” the Chorus alludes to this view of human life, nemesis, when they say, “Wisdom is by far the greatest part of joy, and reverence towards the gods must be safeguarded. The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate, and at long last those blows will teach us wisdom” (57). Nemesis is a direct result of hubris, another word for excessive pride. It is the idea that people are so driven by their egos and not even realize that it happening to them until the subsequent consequence forces them to recognize it so they can gain a sense of wisdom and humility. I definitely agree with the Chorus’s standpoint on human nature. It happens so often in life that people will value their opinion of themselves higher than the opinions of others, and because it is so empowering, nothing except the consequences of reality can bring them back down to Earth.

Creon, King of Thebes, takes his title very seriously. He masks his selfish, pride-driven ways by pretending to have strong morals. What I find so ironic about this is that while Creon tells the public that he does what the gods would want him to do, in actuality; he views himself as being god-like. Creon hates Antigone because she is passionate enough about her principles that she is courageous enough to undermine his authority. Antigone attempts to point out Creon’s selfish motivation, but this only makes matters worse. In my opinion, Creon’s ego makes him feel important, and that feeling is addicting to him. The only thing that is able to bring him to his senses is when Antigone, his son, and his wife all end up killing themselves, and at that point, it is too late.

Excessive pride is never a good thing, and will always result with negative consequences. It is one thing to stand strongly for one’s beliefs or to be passionate about something, but it is a completely different story when someone acts without humility and ceases to be a human being and recognize the humanity of others. The cliché that pride occurs before the fall is the essence of “Antigone,” and an important theme in Greek drama and mythology (417).

Some of my Faves!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
I love this book! It's adorable and reminds me of my childhood because it's one of the first books that I remember reading myself. I've also read it in Spanish!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This was just one of those books that I could not put down! I think it would have been absolutely fabulous to have lived during the 20s!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
I read this a few years ago and its still one of my all-time-favorite books. It’s a beautiful story!

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
I really enjoyed this one even though I found it to be very sad. I found myself crying throughout reading it but I greatly admired Sebold’s structure and style of writing.

I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosee
I Love You the Purplest is such a sweet book! It is a story about two brothers who each ask their mother which brother she loves more and she explains to them by using their favorite colors, blue and red, that she loves them each the “purplest,” and therefore equally. My mom read this to my three sisters and I many times when I was younger, and it brings back fond childhood memories.

Audrey: Her Real Story by Alexander Walker
I loved this biography of Audrey Hepburn! I had always admired her for being a well-known actress and fashion icon, but after reading about her extensive work with Unicef as well as her personal struggles, I respect her even more.

The Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska
I was able to identify with this book in some aspects because I, like Sara Smolinsky, am Jewish and one of four sisters.

The Lovely Bones: One Girl's Story from Heaven

After reading the first paragraph of The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, I could already tell that this novel was going to be different from any other novel I had read before. The Lovely Bones is a novel about a fourteen-year-old-girl, Susie Salmon, who was brutally murdered by a man who lived in her neighborhood. What I love about this novel was that Sebold strays away from the obvious, used-many -times-before approach of solely placing the focus on the family of the deceased and their reaction to the death. Instead, Sebold places the focus on Susie’s perspective as she narrates the story from her individualized heaven. What the reader learns about Susie’s family members and their specific means of coping with her death is viewed from the eyes of Susie, herself. I found Sebold’s approach to be unique and engaging. At first I thought that this novel was going to be along the lines of a murder mystery, but I soon realized that this was not the case, as Susie describes her own murder during the first chapter. I was certainly not disappointed, though. While I found the premise of the storyline to be saddening as it is about a gruesome rape and death of a young girl, the way that Sebold sets up the story with Susie as the narrator allows the reader to feel like even though Susie cannot physically grow-up or be with her family anymore, her spirit matures overtime. I also enjoyed the fact that through Susie’s eyes Sebold was able to bring attention to how something as horrible as the death of a child could eventually not only bring a family together but also create bonds within a neighborhood and the entire town.
I found it interesting that as the reader, I was able to see exactly how each person that was significantly involved in Susie’s life on earth was closely followed and recapped by Susie from heaven. Sebold made sure to show how each individual reacted differently in own ability to come to terms with Susie’s death. It seemed more realistic to me that the separate lives and coping methods of her father, mother, younger sister, kid brother, grandmother, love interest, and classmates were shown separately, rather than lumped together. This was fascinating for me, as it became almost like a character study but, again, studied through the eyes of the person who now, suddenly, dominated their lives.
Another unique approach that Sebold takes is creating her own interpretation of heaven. It was like nothing had ever heard of before and I thought it was really clever of her to include details of this. The heaven that Susie lives in and describes is not necessarily religiously related. Each spirit has their own individualized heaven that is based on their personal desires that they had when they were alive. Susie watches her loved ones from a gazebo in a garden that smells like skunk. Susie mentions that when she was alive she had always been envious of a neighbor’s gazebo and that she loved the smell of skunk. Her roommate Holly could not smell the skunk, but instead the aroma was her favorite scent, that of kumquats. What intrigued me the most about Sebold’s structure of heaven was that Susie was able to interact with the other victims of her murderer as she matured. The ultimate and most significant part of Susie’s growth and a major twist in the plot was when she succeeded in attaining her justice and not revenge (588).