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Monthly Archives: January 2022

First of all, the concept of a deceased person just summarizing her life is an amazing concept. Makes you really wonder what life after death really is like. This book was a wild ride. but every moment of it was special and so vivid. It may be fiction, but the world that was created felt like everyday reality.

Ana Maria experienced all sorts of things throughout her life like love, heartbreak, fidelity, friendship, family,  and ultimately she felt more at peace after she passed away. It was ironic, but as the end of the book mentioned, her life on earth was painful and felt like death. But even with her hardships she never threw away her moral compass. Especially with her situation with her husband Antonio. He blatantly cheats on Ana with Sofia and other mistresses all because she thought Ana was cheating on him with Ricardo. Ana had thoughts about committing a sin, but she never did as she did it for the sake of her children and family. She even forgave her alleged friend Sofia and Antonio near the end. She even admitted that she wished to be alive so that she could hate Antonio still but his grieving at her death changed that.  This brings me to my next point about the theme of Gender in this one. A lot of the women portrayed here were without their own freedom. Some cases include Zoila not allowing Maria to marry Ricardo, and  Maria G not being allowed to be outside or anywhere due to the jealousy of his husband Alberto. They suffer from all of this but never get a say in their own way. Women were also portrayed as “trophies” especially Maria G as everyone was falling for her. The men in the story never really suffered any consequences from their actions as they were just able to do anything they wanted without the care of their lovers or partners. You could count the death of Sylvia as a consequence because of her husband falling in love with Maria G. However, the husband still walks free and I wonder if he did actually mourn her.
The theme of family and friendship was portrayed in a very negative way. There were all sorts of betrayals and spite within all the different families. However, even with the tough love and backstabbing that occurred, on many occasions, they still expressed their love for one another like family. The relationship between Zoila and Ana Maria stood out. Even tho Zoila would not allow her daughter to marry Ricardo, Ana Maria still loved her and they still took care of one another. Another one that stands out is the mother-daughter relationship between Ana Maria and Alberto. Even though Ana became somewhat like her mother and refused to meet Alberto’s wife, they eventually reconciled. No matter how many conflicts were sewn in Ana Maria’s relationships, the bridge never burned with her. She may have been portrayed as with hardships and oppressed values, but her tenacity and moral character never wavered. And in some screwed-up kind of way, she was rewarded by finally having a piece in her life. Just as she longed for it the moment she was born.

My question for this week is what do you think life after death is really like? Is this story an accurate portrayal of what happens as we fade away?

Part one of Combray was really engaging and got me really invested in the mind and history of the protagonist.  His descriptions and explanations of what goes on during the sleep process are very spot on, and I can relate with some of them for sure. I always find myself reminiscing over the past,  and enjoying the memories of my childhood. All these thoughts especially happen at night, and the mind becomes more awake than drowsy.  With the Narrator, he clearly remembers his strong connection with his mother and always wanting to be kissed goodnight, but also very anxious that his parents would cast him away.

The theme of interaction and relationships is quite evident. The protagonist’s connection with his mother seems very strong but very one-sided. The mother never really seems fully invested with her child but does have the duties of nurturing and taking care of him. However, the narrator’s father does not interact with his kid whatsoever. When he saw his son being restless during nighttime he told his wife to give him peace of mind. It reminds me of the traditional household family where the mother takes care of the kid, while the father probably makes the income. Moreover, the character of the grandmother is very conservative and very hypocritical, especially in her observations of M.Swann. At first, she was very critical of M.Swanns character due to him hanging around rich slobs, but after his most recent visit, the grandmother ended up praising him at the end. The narrator’s entire family is very loving of Swann and their dynamic seems very natural. The most intriguing relationship has to be between Swann and the Narrators grandfather. It is very wholesome to see this relationship transpire. The grandpa holds him in very high regard and feels sympathy towards Swann as his wife passed away.

Another theme that has been shown subtly is the concept of loss and fear. Swann losing his wife is one example, but the narrator fearing that he might lose his family if he doesn’t behave is another one. It kinda seems like both their lives are eerily similar already, and in part two we’ll find out more about the connections between Swann and the narrator. It may look like the prototypical family, but in hindsight, there might be dysfunction happening behind the scenes. The earlier imagery that the narrator envisioned in his dreams feels like a sign for bad things to come in part two of Proust.

My question of the week is what kind of weird dreams have yall had about the past have been brought up lately?

-Xyrus aka JohnRamos

Hello, It is I a 4th-year student that’s majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Creative Writing. Still have no idea what to do just yet but am very excited about where life takes me. Maybe something to do with sports, or maybe in movies, or maybe with the wild animals. The possibilities are endless. Although maybe paying off debt is the best place to start and getting this degree.

My expectations of this semester are to just learn and appreciate every course I have taken and if I do well then that’s a big bonus right there.

The concept of the “romance world” was very intriguing and it has its own Hogwarts feel to it. I’ve always thought of romance to be something magical and fantasy.  Just like the elements, it can be anywhere in the universe, but it’s not any corporeal thing. Very intrigued to see what unfolds in this course as I cant wait to produce my own concepts of romance and share them with my peers

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