I am very happy we read both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso sea. I believe it’s very essential to read both novels in order to actually see what is actually there and understand every character better to actually knowing the true intentions Of Rochester. Prior to reading Wide Sargasso Sea I made up my mind about Jane and Rochester finally living together in a way I was content and happy Jane finally felt empowered in a way due to Rochester’s disabilities at the end. But once reading Wide Sargasso Sea it is unveiled who Rochester was and in a way, it got me more upset about Jane’s decision. I was actually pleased that Bertha/Antoinette relieved herself from the impressment Rochester had put her in even though it was upsetting she had to kill herself for it.  I was even more happy that he ended up being disabled because of her actions, in a way prior to Jane coming back to him, he got a taste of what Bertha’s life was once he married her. She had a disabled life but once Jane returned to rescue him, he was disabled no more and made Jane the disabled one without her even knowing.

Cristian M. Solano

There was loads of art that grabbed my attention at MOMA but one stuck out the most for me and it’s a piece created by Lee Bontecou, Untitled 1961.

At first glance, I noticed this piece right away because of the size it had compared to other artwork in that area. From afar, a viewer can see an enormous black hole in the center of the piece similar to a pit. I immediately questioned why? There is as well loads of layers that surround the depth of that black hole. However, what truly allowed me to connect with this piece is what Lee Bontecou had stated regarding this piece “My concern is to build things that express our relation to this country—to other countries—to this world—to other worlds—to glimpse some of the fear, hope, ugliness, beauty and mystery that exists in us all and which hangs over all the young people today.” When I read her description about the piece I immediately started to submerge myself within this piece and make the piece become me. I started to invasion myself as Untiled. I believe I’m made up of many layers and each layer holds a mystery about ourselves that we may never know or be lucky enough to know in the years to come. One of our main purposes in life is to find who we really are, we will go through many layers (chapters) in life to reach that black hole or maybe we will die trying. We are a mystery waiting to be unfolded.

-Cristian Manuel Solano

Cristian’s commute to school today was going to be quite different than what he is used to usually. He was ready for his journey to Baruch College, he began to open the door to begin his ten-minute walk to the train when he noticed the rain pouring like cats and dogs. This urged Cristian to immediately to go back inside, sneakers or boots was the decision was the first question. But was this commute worth it for only one class? Was it really worth it for him to get wet? This weather is terrible but what Cristian decides will be unfolded soon. Cristian continued to his journey with sneakers, and an umbrella walked to 31st where he went up the stairs of the Astoria-Ditmars train station, he then got on the N train which took him to Lexington 59th street. On this train, Cristian sat down and noticed Chloe Livingston sitting in front of him she was wearing black jeans, black leather jacket, and doctor marten boots. She then proceeded to pick up her book which had a very nice cover, this seemed normal to Cristian. Chloe thought Cristian really wasn’t in the mood to go to wherever he was going, she then realized Cristian also pulled out a book and wondered is he following me. Cristian needed to read actually so he wasn’t. The train arrived at Lexington where he transferred to the six train going uptown and took the six train to 23rd street where Cristian walked for four minutes to arrive at Baruch College.

This is by far one of the most interesting readings I have done in a while. I can start off by saying I disagree with most of Freud’s ideas in his piece of Family Romance. However, there are some parts where I actually agree or can at least somewhat understand his train of thought, most of the ideas I agree with him are at the beginning of his piece. Basing it on my own personal experience I do understand why he states that to a child their parents are their everything, every belief does come from their parents. I can totally agree with his point of view because growing up all my beliefs did come from my parents and just like Freud said I aspired to be like my parents.  Then his other idea about a child’s jealousy with another sibling is true, children will always seek attention as they grow up so that train of thought I as well agree. However, after this I ultimately start to disagree with Freud’s ideas, as I grew up, I never really wanted to exchange my parents for other adults, my parents raised me to appreciate what I have and to strive for what I wanted. I believe creating this other imagination to replace your parents is just wrong. I’m as well not sure if I understood his idea on sexuality correctly like being attracted to a family member was just way too weird I believe his thoughts and ideas can be relevant in the past not in today’s world.

Whitman Introduces us to the word “untranslatable” when he introduces a comparison between human and hawk. This encounter is one of the most important parts within, Song of myself. We are introduced to the scene by an interaction a hawk starts with a human, the Hawk begins the interaction by complaining about the gab and humans loitering. The human then proceeds to say that they are too a bit untamed, this is making a similarity of being wild just as a hawk. Then they proceed that they too are untranslatable, this can easily mean that humans are not understandable by other beings that aren’t human but I believe there is more to that. I believe that it means we are untranslatable to everyone, not just other beings but to humans too.  No one will really understand our selfs but us. We will continue this barbaric yawp without really being understood by those around us just as we don’t understand what the Hawk actually says to us.

Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope” is the thing with feathers clearly resembles one aspect of Jane’s character. In this poem, we are introduced to a metaphor between hope and a bird in the first stanza. Dickinson continues to take us on this journey of hope via a bird’s everyday life a very important part of this poem that helps me tie Jane’s life is in the third stanza. We are introduced to a storm which means the many hardships the bird does face. However, it never stops its journey. We notice Jane undergo many hardships throughout her life from not being appreciated to fleeing a place she was learning to love but all of that doesn’t stop her she just continues to go on her journey in look for a place she will call home. She takes on any weather condition that comes at her just like the bird does. When people deny help to Jane in her toughest times of need she doesn’t easily accept the rejection she continues to chirp away till she is finally heard and given entry.

Jane Eyre like many women during her time period underwent oppression throughout their life. Throughout the book, we noticed many instances where other females that interacted with Jane approached similar situations very differently. They seemed to accept the reality they faced, Jane did not. An important scene that demonstrated Jane’s actual train of thought was in chapter 12, we clarify the disgust Jane has towards silence. Jane states how it’s not right that human beings, in general, should be content with tranquillity. Therefore, women should not be okay with the reality they face. That woman are treated less than men, yet they are the same as men and undergo the same emotions men go through and are also capable of the same strengths of men. In the reading Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Lorde, we also are aware of Lorde’s hatred towards silence. Lorde tell’s us that silence is not something saves us instead of its something that hurts us, she mentioned:  “If I were to have been born mute, or had maintained an oath of silence my whole life long for safety, I would still have suffered, and I would still die.” This clearly means that even when you accept your reality you will always suffer because it’s not something you truly want or believe you deserve. You may not face physical hardships because of your silence, but you will face hardships with yourself. Both Jane and Lorde have common thoughts about rebellion as well. Being that they are not content with people staying silent, they believe it is our own duty to speak upon the injustice we face. Jane speaks about the successful rebellions throughout history and justifies a need for rebellion by making us believe that we are all the same by her examples. While Lorde has the same strategy as well. She tells us that it is our duty as well to speak up because that is the only way people will find out about the hardships that are actually being fought but, most importantly by speaking up this will spark a rebellion in which many people will side with the people being oppressed.

The excerpt Edmund Burke. A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of theSublime and Beautiful discussed the sublime and many factors very precisely to my own daily life. In my daily life I actually never think of Sublime, but I always undergo it, it may not be daily, but I still feel it. I feel astonished with many events I’m put into, it’s as if everything stops and you just appreciate what you have in front of you for however long the euphoria last.  You feel as if your life is complete at that very moment. Following the primary focus of Sublime obscurity comes into play, I believe obscurity does play a critical role. In my daily life, there is the constant attraction to things I don’t know, I wonder how things occur and how things will be and when I actually sit and look at me and feel astonished, the effect of sublime is back. I constantly think about what’s after life, the infinite possibilities that lie that we just don’t know, how did this actually happen, does the supernatural exist, do aliens exist. I love the feeling of my mind wandering constantly, I hate the idea of not wandering and just being content with what’s actually there. That brings me to the belief that yes, obscurity has a more powerful effect than clearness will ever have. I want to solve and a puzzle that can never be solved, I want to learn about my mind and others.

For a change, there must be a domino effect. Many events have greatly influenced our contemporary life in many aspects. In the reading The Englightment in Europe and the Americas we are given a glimpse of what our world use to be and what events impacted our modern world.  One aspect that has greatly been influenced is the social aspect. In today’s world just like the world of the Enlightenment period, social classes exist. There are the upper class, middle class, and the lower class. In today’s world, three social classes are able to coexist and share many luxuries, oppose to the start of the enlightenment era where only the two upper classes were able to have many privileges like literacy and an education (Joseph Wright 7). This quickly changed more people started to question what their social share should be, more people came in into social classes more questions arose (Joseph Wright 7).  Just like Social Class, Men and Women share equal rights. However, prior today they did not. Men were more privileged than women till women like Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz articulated her passion for thought and reading this demonstrated to the world that they were equally as gifted as any men (Joseph Wright 7). Her actions created a wave that set off women and men to pursue equality.

Cristian M. Solano