Happynaiss Nshimirimana @happycreatesdesigns - Tumblr Blog

Posts

Excited to share the latest addition to my #etsy shop: African Face Mask #facemask #african #facecoverings https://etsy.me/3i0GqzE

Etsy listing available in my shop

Check out this item in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/877936657/halloween-face-masks

These Beautiful 3 Cotton Layer Face Masks are adjustable, breathable, washable, and Trendy. The White Spider Web may be removed for continuo

#faxemask #halloween

Excited to share the latest addition to my #etsy shop: African Face Mask #facemask #african #facecoverings #adjustable https://etsy.me/2ExRXc1

Excited to share the latest addition to my #etsy shop: Bunny Ear Scrunchies #scrunchy #african #hairties https://etsy.me/331HIGn

Assignment #13

1. Would you have taken this unusual job from the Uncle? Explain.

a. To be honest, I would’ve probably taken the job because it sounded easy. Besides, being in the Governess’s shoes, and how she is from a poor family; taking a job like that is a great reward. If the Uncle was rich and you were poor, giving you, basically complete custody of the kids makes you rich. No-one expects something like that to happen. The Governess didn’t know that there will be ghosts to hunt her and the children. The only thing that would have discouraged me from getting the job would be the fact that the Uncle told her not to ever contact her on the matters of the children. I find that to be very stupid and irresponsible of the Uncle.

2. How do the Governess and Mrs. Gross compare?

a. These two women are both from lower class families. Their job is to care for Flora and Miles. Mrs. Grose is less educated considering that she couldn’t understand the letter of Miles expulsion from school. She also denies that the children are her full responsibility. The Governess is more educated and takes action in taking care and protecting the kids. They are both kind and caring and need each other in some way. The Governess is more powerful and independent; she believes that she doesn’t need the Uncle to know about the news that’s going on at Bly. Mrs. Gross, however, prefers to get help from the Uncle and to not take matters into her own hands. Mrs. Gross is very optimistic and sees everything as innocent and positive. She is very inferior and even the Governess describes her as having lack of imagination.

Assignment #12

1. Can the parties that Mrs. Dalloway throw reveal her inability to communicate with others? Explain.

a. Clarissa throws parties in attempt to draw people together; she says that it is her gift to them. In the novel, Richard, Peter and Septimus and many other characters find it hard to communicate. For example, Richard expresses his love for Clarissa through flowers instead of vocal words. At the end, Septimus’s death is seen as an act of communication by Clarissa. Due to their lack of communication, characters in the novel see each other as objects rather than subjects. They think about others but don’t communicate with them. The parties are to bring people together but they later become a celebration of a bunch of isolated individuals who are desperate to talk to one another but yet lack communication. These parties could also be a way for Clarissa to conform to English social standards.

2. What is the significance of the Big Ben in the novel?

a. The Big Ben is a clock which tells time. It is frequently interrupting the thoughts and actions of characters; “leaden circles dissolved in the air.” Time is a consistent flow, it is both the present and past in the novel. The novel also describes the Big Ben as if it were human and has a personality. "The sound of Big Ben striking the half-hour struck out between them with extraordinary vigour, as if a young man, strong, indifferent, inconsiderate, were swinging dumb-bells this way and that". This clock keeps reminding the characters that no matter what happens in life, even when someone dies, life still moves on. It is reminding them of their mortality and how every minute that passes, you are slowly approaching your death.

Source: Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook

Assignment #11

1. Are the Ashburnhams really “quite good people”? Explain.

a. Characters in the novel show their desire to live up to the standards of society. In the community, the Ashburnhams are perceived as good people. Their life seems perfect on the outside but in reality, their life is everything but perfect. They aren’t good people because they deceive and have multiple affairs with others. People aren’t always what they seem to be; you may hear see people doing great things and everyone saying wonderful things about them, but you never see or hear the bad things that they have done. For example, Dowell believes that Edward is brave, caring, and moral when in fact, Edward is the opposite. Ford foreshadowed this when Dowell starting narrating about how he thought he knew the Ashburnhams. “I knew Captain and Mrs. Ashburnham as well as it was possible to know anybody, and yet, in another sense, we knew nothing about them” (part 1). The foreshadows Edwards deceit and how Dowell later learns the truth and started to view Edward differently now that he knows the ugly truth.

2. How does Dowell’s narration affect the reader's understanding of the events?

a. While Dowell is telling the story, it becomes apparent that bits of information are missing. There are always multiple sides to the same story. Although some events witnessed are detailed, there’s a sense of deceit and altered information. Dowell is an unreliable narrator. Dowell frequently speaks directly to the reader, stating that he is "trying to get you to see what sort of life it was [he] led with Florence and what Florence was like." (part 1). This novel gives us only Dowell's perception of the story, and explanations which he has received from others. He might be purposely withholding vital information which makes it unclear to what really happened.

Resource: www.gutenberg.org

Assignment #10

1. What did Gabriel use "the Three Graces " and "Paris" in his speech?

a. Gabriel used the two Greek Mythological allusions to refer to the three hostesses of the party. The Three Graces were the daughters of Zeus who represents youth and beauty. He describes Julia as someone who seems older and “grey”, while Kate “was more vivacious” or more lively and attractive. Gabriel delivers his speech, in which he praises Kate, Julia, and Mary Jane for their hospitality. In Greek Mythology, Paris (son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy) was chosen to judge a beauty contest among three goddesses-Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Gabriel used this as a way to compliment the hostesses and saying that he couldn't choose among them.

2. How did Gabriel views of Gretta change after hearing about Michael?

a. Gabriel sounds like a pretty decent guy; he seems t really love Gretta. He even remembers little bits and pieces of "their secret life together" (351). Gabriel sees Gretta as someone who needs his protection and as a symbol of something (I am assuming something great). He even thinks of painting a picture of her and calling it "Distant Music"; how romantic. Gabriel views of Gretta are crashed after he discovers that Gretta was more beautiful with Michael Furey. He feels that Gretta has been comparing him to the boy in her early years. He's angry and humiliated: he'd been excited about Gretta, but all the while "she had been comparing him" with Michal Furey (424). Gabriel now thinks that he hasn’t been an important part of Gretta’s life compared to Michael. He was said and jealous that he started thinking about the dead snow that’s falling on Michaels grave.

Assignment #9

1. If “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a love poem, in lines 4-7, why is the speaker inviting us to the described setting?

a. Prufrock is taking us through “half-deserted streets,” where people walk around “muttering” to themselves. Usually when you are on a date, you want to pick someplace romantic. Like a picnic, moonlit beach, that sort of things. Elliot is making the streets sound sketchy and a different kind of hell. Prufrock is being insidious and deceitful. I think he’s trying to trick us into walking through the lonely side of the town.

2. What role does appearances play in the “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?

a. When Prufrock looks at other people, he doesn’t see complete bodies; he only sees a collection of body parts: an arm here, some eyes there, maybe a couple of voices in the next room. “And I have known the arms already,” (line 62). The arms must belong to females because they have bracelets. The lack of bodies is one of the signs that make us think the poem is set in Hell.

3. In “The Waste Land”, what is it about modern life that has Elliot in mixed emotions?

a. Modern life to Elliot seems like a long wait for something that’s never coming; "waiting for a knock upon the door" (138), - this could me mean that he's waiting for something or someone to walk into his life and give it meaning. Elliot wanted to demonstrate the chaotic state of modern existence and how humanity has been shattered by World War 1 and robbed of its sexual potency.

Assignment #8

1. Could "Leda and the Swan" be considered an irresponsible poem? Why/ Why not?

a. Rape is a very serious crime. I do feel offended by the implications that a rape victim might not have been taken completely against Leda’s will. However, I realized that what humans perceive as ethical doesn't imply to Greek gods. "He" in the poem was Zeus. Zeus was a chief god; in Greek mythology, the gods could do anything they want. This poem was meant to be sexual and erotic. In Greek society, religion is different from that of human’s ethical perspectives.

2. In "Leda and the Swan", why did Yeats jump from lines 9 and then to line 10; "The broken wall, the burning roof, and tower"?

a. I was very confused between lines 9 and 10. First Yeats was talking about Leda being pregnant by the swan and then to descriptions of war. I think that Yeats assumes that we know the end of the myth: that Leda gives birth to Helen of Troy over whom the Trojan War will be fought. Through words like, "broken wall", "burning roof", we know that Yeats is talking about the famous war between the Greeks that later destroyed Troy.

3. Could "Sailing to Byzantium" be described as Romantic or Mystical? Explain.

a. "Sailing to Byzantium” is less of a romantic poem and more of a spiritual one. Yeats says that youth is better than the old people who are neglected. The elderly are monuments of what life used to be. Therefore, they travel to Byzantium to learn a new song to keep their souls alive and kicking. The concept of youth sovereignty and that knowledge never ages are all mystical and transcendental.

Assignment #7

1. In what ways does the novel express the hypocrisy of Imperialism?

a. Through Marlow’s eyes, we know that he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. The book itself offers harsh pictures of colonial enterprises used to justify imperialism. For instance, the men who work for the Company describe what they do as "trade" and their treatment of native Africans being part of "civilization". Another example is how Kurtz expresses the fact that he doesn't trade but rather takes ivory by force. He describes his treatment of the natives with words "suppression" and extermination". Kurtz rules through violence and intimidation. Africans in the book are mostly objects: Marlow refers to his helmsman as a piece of machinery. For Marlow, Africans become a human screen against which he can play out his philosophical struggles. The color-coded map of Africa presents a neutral way of describing imperial presences in Africa. While Heart of Darkness offers a powerful condemnation of the hypocritical operations of imperialism, it also presents a set of issues surrounding race that is troubling.

2. How are women depicted in Heart of Darkness?

a.Female characters in Marlow’s story are flat and stylized. Marlow uses women by representing as “home”. His aunt does express a naively idealistic view of the Company’s mission; for this, Marlow faults her for being “out of touch with the truth” (1.28). He believes they women believe in fantastic worlds that would never work in the reality he knows. Women are also powerful because like Marlow’s aunt, she knows powerful men’s wives; “I know the wife of a very high personage in the Administration” (1.20). In the book, none of the women have names, the ship (Nellie) is the only name that resembles a woman. Kurtz fiancé is in her own little bubble: Marlow lies to” the intended” because he doesn’t want to destroy her beautiful idea of life and how she admired Kurtz. She represents the innocent politeness of European women. As for the mistress who represents the savagery of Africa, she has so much power which causes the men to fear her and the influences she has given to Kurtz.

Assignment #6

1. Why doesn’t Robert Stevenson reveal the secret until the very end of the novel? Instead, how does Stevenson open the novel?

a. By waiting until the end of the novel to reveal the secrets of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson intended his readers to enter the novel believing it to be nothing more than a mystery story. The beginning of the book presents us with what seems like a detective novel by introducing us to supernatural elements within the strange dread that Hyde inspires. Stevenson opened the novel with a mysterious act of violence, hints of blackmailing, and a secret scandal. The first chapter highlighted the respectable and reserved attitudes of Enfield and Utterson who display a distaste for gossip. In chapter one, we sense that Utterson is intrigued by the darker side of the world but Enfield doesn’t. Rather than avoiding considering matters that could touch on the scandal, Utterson’s curiosity leads him to investigate the figure of Mr. Hyde.

2. What importance does Lanyon’s letter and Jekyll’s confession possess?

a. If Lanyon’s letter and Jekyll’s confession didn’t exist, we as the readers wouldn’t have known the truth about Jekyll and Hyde. Utterson failed to solve the case before reading the letters. However, we cannot blame him for this failure because it is very impossible to deduce the supernatural circumstances surrounding the doctor and his darker half. Stevenson used the letters to emphasize just how far away from the truth Utterson remains. Lanyon’s narrative offers a smaller mystery within the larger mystery of the novel. For instance, Lanyon is presented with a puzzling set of instructions from Jekyll. Through this, we learn that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person with the help of a potion. Jekyll’s confession gives us an explanation of how Mr. Hyde came about. He said, “man is not truly one, but truly two”. The confession offers a second account of the same events that have been unfolding throughout the novel in Jekyll’s point of view. Everything falls into place and is explained. We now know the details behind Hyde’s midnight visit to Lanyon and why Jekyll fell to seclusion and disappearance from the window while talking to Enfield and Utterson. Even Jekyll’s final disappearance is explained through this confession letter.

Assignment #5

1.What makes Lucy vulnerable? Why does Dracula only drink women’s' blood?

a. So basically, I realized that Lucy is a sleepwalker. Vampires only come out at night and since Lucy is loves to sleepwalk, this gave Dracula an advantage for him. Her sleepwalking prefigures the arrival of Count Dracula. The day that she began sleep waking corresponded to the day that Dracula’s ship crossed into Western civilization. She later becomes a member of the “Un-Dead” due to her sleepwalking.

2. What exactly is horror and what is it that we hope to experience when we read or watch science fiction, horror stories?

a. Reading or watching horror things, we expect or hope to be terrified or frightened. Our hairs on the back of our necks should rise. We simply fear supernatural things because they are hostile in human life. This belief is applicable to Dracula. The Count is definitely terrifying because of his demonic character and how he was described; “He had a mighty brain, a learning beyond compare, and a heart that knew no fear and no remorse'' (ch.23) Dracula is a tarrying figure who is violent and remorseless. We are told to not fear God and to fear devilish things. Therefore, in Dracula; a crucifix was used to ward off vampires. Religious artifacts such as the cross affect the Count. Count Dracula is seen performing some act which would be considered supernatural, such as slithering down the sheer precipice of the castle in a "bat-like" manner (12).

3. What role does Renfield play in Dracula?

a. Renfield story foreshadows social disruption. This is symbolized by his desire for blood and sucking of fresh blood, which is Dracula’s goal. Renfield is “the predecessor” because he prepares us for the imminent arrive of his “lord” and “master,” Dracula. He horrors of Renfield sentimental compared to the greater horror which is Dracula.

Assignment #4

1. What’s the purpose of re-writing Frankenstein and adding criticism to it?

a. I honestly don’t know. I was kind of confused because I have never read the original “Frankenstein” and while reading this one, I was sort of confused. My sister has the same book for her class. However, her book was written by Mary Shelley. Mine was written by multiple authors including Percy Shelley. I honestly don’t know the reason of writing technically the same readings over again. It might be that maybe science fiction was so popular back then that everyone decided to just re-tell it in their own ways. Adding critics to the whole mix kind of creates a debate. Not everyone can agree upon the critics that are within this book.

2. Throughout the incidents that happened in the book, explain why can we blame Frankenstein and or the monster?

a. I think that both Frankenstein and the monster are at fault here. However, Frankenstein is mostly to blame because he created the monster. I think that once you create something, you shouldn’t just abandon it because one, you introduced it to society. It didn’t ask to be here, it doesn’t know the rules, cultures, behaviors, nor language. The monster doesn’t know that the world can be so cruel. Besides, humanity is so into things being pretty and beautiful, the monster is no where near that. And so, people hate it out of fear because it is different. I think that if Frankenstein showed love to the monster, then less tragedies would’ve happened. We can’t really blame the monster because it doesn’t know its way of living. But we can blame it a little because the monster was smart. It knew that it was killing just for revenge. Instead of just finding Frankenstein, the monster continued to kill anyone who loved Frankenstein.

Assignment #3

1. In Emma, a novel by Jane Austen, what does the narration of the opening chapters portray of Emma Woodhouse? How does her character change throughout the novel? a. The first couple of chapters portray Emma as a very complicated character. She is a young, beautiful, rich, manipulative, stubborn, and intelligent woman who has a lot to learn about love and friendship. At the very beginning, we are told that Emma is also spoiled by her advantages and blinded by her self-esteem: “The real Evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself.” (1.4) However, her affection towards Miss Taylor reveals warmth and generosity. Growing into chapters 16 to 18, we see Emma’s character begin to change. She seems to have gained a measure of understanding, but the narrator provided hints that Emma needs to learn more about the world. “It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active in part in bringing two people together.” (16.10) We see her grow in humility after hurting Harriet into thinking Elton is the one. 2. How do Emma and Jane Fairfax compare in this novel? What is Jane Austen’s reason for including two talented yet unique women in the same novel? a. Emma and Jane are both beautiful, clever, and talented. The only difference between them is wealth and fortune. While Emma is an heiress with complete financial and social independence, Jane Fairfax lost both her parents which leaves her with nothing. Jane is doomed to work as a governess for other wealthy families. Luckily for Jane Fairfax, a convenient love affair with a wealthy man named Frank Churchill rescued her from her fate. Jane Austen wants to emphasize the difficulty for women during this time; even with beauty and intelligence, a woman can still end up as a lowly governess if she lacks a fortune. This contrast reveals the extent to how British society was informed by social and wealth standing.

#britlitislit

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Happynaiss Nshimirimana