RMST 202

          Rodoreda’s “Time of The Doves” is a story of love and loss, and the desperation that ensues when one must carry such a heavy weight for so long. I must say I was shocked when Natalia was about to kill her children and herself, but it goes to show that when we are pushed so far beyond our limits, we change as a person and the beliefs or personality traits that once defined us either become void or heightened in moments of fight or flight . Not even Natalia’s children could keep her desire to live after what she had to endure. Ultimately, this is a story of the tragedies of life and war and the toll it takes on the mind and body.  One instance where Natalia's desperation truly comes to fruition is when she plans to get rid of the doves as she can no longer take their chaos. This seems like such an extreme way to handle her issue with the doves, killing their young. Natalia could have chosen to talk to Quimet about it (although he probably wouldn’t ...

                 Arguedas “Deep Rivers” is ultimately a testament to his life growing up and the harsh intersectionality of trying to exist in two worlds. He had a similar upbringing to that of Ernesto and I think that this shone through in his novel in the ways in which he talked with such passion about the Indigenous culture and the ways it was enacted in his life.  Ernesto's story is that of alienation and trying to exist in two worlds. He is constantly trying to find ways to exist within the environment of his Catholic school while he stays true to his upbringing. The tribulation he experiences of existing within the school is a story of Ernesto trying to find himself again and maturing in an environment that is not accepting of beliefs that differ from theirs. Hence why the ending is so open ended, we learn alongside Ernesto so we only know what he knows. As he becomes exposed to the harsh realities of this school, he realizes ...

Bombal’s novel dives into the realm of death by weaving memories into an intricate story of life. This story ultimately is a testament to who Ana was, her phases of life, and how they all fit into a greater force than ourselves.  The Shrouded Woman is a rebuttal to Breton’s novel, "Nadja" which we read last week . It directly opposes the notion of women as a thing to be glorified and men as the driving purpose in a woman's life. She opposes the view of love in Latin America during that time and the expectations that came with it. On page 226 she says; “Why, oh, why, must a woman’s nature be such that a man has always to be the pivot of her life?” She states that it is not the sole means of fulfillment for women but it denies them of their personhood, their ability to shape their own independent lives. Ana also mentions how when Ricardo left her, she went to go kill herself, her life wasn’t worth living without the presence of a man. The relationship between Ana and Zoil...

I found he first part of the novel, an explanation of Breton's philosophies, quite hard to follow as surrealism is quite hard to comprehend when it is the stream of conscious of another individual. It's so easy to understand our own pattern of thought in the unconscious mind but Breton's transcribing of that seemed to be lost to me.  Despite the slight lack of plot, Nadja and the photographs give this story a sort of pseudo plot. Through the creative directive of Bretons unconscious mind, the reader is introduced to surrealism through the character of Nadja. To Breton, Nadja was the embodiment of surrealism, existing within this liminal space as a fluid being. Nadja does not adhere to societal normalities. Instead she chooses a name for herself and dresses how she pleases yet she is able to captivate all that come into contact with her. She reminded me so much of Natalie Portman's character, "Alice" in the movie; "Closer" When she first meets her lov...

     Proust uses drawn out monologues to convey moments of unconscious remembering's to the reader which point towards feelings of nostalgia and love. I found the narrators dialogues very captivating yet confusing at times. It felt as if his mind was jumping from one thought to another, or more like one remembrance to another as more senses awakened them within him. Remembering things stored away often feels difficult to do on command but Proust highlights that this can happen unconsciously through familiar scents or surroundings.      I found his relationship with his mother to be very interesting. At first I thought it odd that he was so attached to her but then I remembered that as children we see our parents as our means of survival and I understand his desperate attempt to get her to come and kiss him goodnight. When we lose them in a store we panic because we know we do not have the knowledge or means to make it on our own. For him, he sees his mother...

 Hey everyone!  My name is Lauren and I'm a second year student in psychology but currently debating on switching to sociology. I'm from Chilliwack, B.C. I love to ski, go to concerts, and hike. I am currently reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihra, although I am struggling to make my way through it. I always thought reading was such an annoying task all throughout high school, but every time I read the assigned novels, I realized I actually liked reading! I think I just hated being told to read, I wanted to do it on my own. But the structure of having something due helped me so much in actually sticking to a book. Now, in my adulthood, I tend to jump around from novel to novel never finishing any of them. I think the structure of this class will help with this problem and I am looking forward to immersing myself in new novels. I am excited to draw on similarities and differences between these texts and how that reflects on where they come from. I hope to further sharpen my ...