Tiffany James- English 145

One: Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc.). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.  Courage and faith have, both, been constant themes in my life. I grew up on the south side of Chicago, where I was exposed to gangs, violence, drugs, and alcohol. My parents worked hard to shelter my sibling and I from this lifestyle, yet, we were still exposed to it daily when attending school or by merely hanging outside. My faith is what gave me the courage to move out of Chicago, on my own to another state for a better life. I believed there was better and that I deserved better. I chased after this belief.  When I moved to California, I was faced with much opposition along the way, but it never derailed my faith. I continued to find...

I believe feedback is essential in your growth as a person. In saying that, I also believe how that feedback is given is crucial. Often people give negative feedback without any valid suggestions.  I agreed with the "Growth Mindset Theory" of praising a writer's process than to criticize their entire paper. It leaves a writer vulnerable as opposed to helping them focus on their capacity to better the written work. Last semester, I recognized how I improved tremendously as a writer, considering, the professor would give us the opportunity to rewrite our papers after receiving her feedback. Her comments never highlighted whether she agreed with the content of my writings, rather, she focused on area’s where I could improve as a writer, strengthening my thoughts and taught me techniques.  I can also say, in the past, I have received negative feedback that literally shut me down as a student. It caused me to question myself and my ability as a writer and speaker. Thei...

For my weekly review, I chose to peruse whatever is left of the tale of Oroonoko. One could value or either mock the subject of honor characterized by the royal prince.  I stuggled with the reading. It was hard to follow and it was not as interesting as the first section.  Oroonoko, was an individual that lived by honor, even though it did nothing more than cause him misery throughout his life. Those around him, including the narrator, would only honor him with discharge expressions of adoration.   For instance, the author speaks of how Oroonoko received his slave name, “For the future therefore, I must call Oroonoko, Caesar, since by that name only he was known in our Western World, and by that name he was receiv’d on shore at Parham-House, where he was destin’d a slave” (224). She insinuates that he was destined to be a slave, yet in the same breath suggest that he was only a slave by name because they gave him a house, and a business up in the plantation. He was...

Reading Notes Poem 145 (Page 262) /This object which you see- a painted snare exhibiting the subtleties of art / The author is describing how a portrait can ensnare one with its color, beauty, and technique. Art is flattering, but deceitful. There is a hidden mystery in art and the interpretation of what is seen is the beholders own. Yet, what the beholder sees is not the truth of the artist.  /In which flattery has tried to overlook the horrors of the years and, conquering the ravages of time, to overcome oblivion and age/ A portrait has a way of deifying and challenging time. The poet is suggesting that the painting/portrait/art is just a trick of the eye.   The portrait is nothing more than a delusion.  Poem 164 (Page 262) /I wished you might look straight into my heart; and love, who was assisting my designs, succeeded in what seemed impossible./ Sor Juana, expresses her suspension of her lover cheating without words, hoping that he could feel and...

"Oroonoko" Without the historical era of the story of Oroonoko, my underlying reaction to the author’s portrayal of the royal prince would be less than flattering. I do agree that Oroonoko itself is ambiguous, however, present or past, I can’t help contradicting the idea that it puts forth a capable defense against slavery (198 ). Despite what might be expected, the author’s dialect passes on an undercurrent of European reason. Being that the author portrays herself as a companion to Oroonoko and, recounting his story from a first-person narrative, one would accept that her own depiction of him would not be as cliché. Proposing that Oroonoko fate as a slave, out to have been overturned since he was not your run of the mill primitive African. He had the makings of an European prince: mind, body, and soul. His only disadvantage- the color of his skin. The author, so far, does not favor slavery but rather bolster the notion of white supremacy.   The author, in a simila...

"The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas"  The quarrel between “ancients” and “moderns” those who believed, respectively, that old ideas or new ones were likely to prove superior to any alternatives- proved especially virulent in France and England during the late 17 th and 18 th century (91). Ancients feared that individualism would lead to alienation, unscrupulous (unethical), self-seeking, and lack of moral responsibility. They uphold established values, not to invent new ones. Individualism was promoted by the moderns . They believed in broad education for women, and intellectual and geographical exploration.     Both Moderns/Ancients believed in reason as a dependable guide. Both believed in not taking any assertion of truth on faith, blindly following the authority of others; instead, one should think skeptically about causes and effects, subjecting all truth-claims to logic and rational inquiry. Dr. Johnson’s famous Dictionary defined reason...