Category Archives: assignments

I might not have faced an incident like Isabel Allende but the closest thing to it is the Covid-19 pandemic. Most people around the world take disasters or incidents like these differently, some countries are well developed and equipped to deal with situations like these and then some countries do not have enough resources but then there is the United States of America where there despite being enough resources and being well-developed, we could handle the situation as good as Europe did. Instead, we panicked and made the situation even worse for one another. Buying paper towels in bulk and what not and emptying the shelves of grocery stores, God forbid we become a little thoughtful for other people. The Internet helped a lot, instead of going through whole broadcasts, there were websites that kept me aware of what the situation was like, was it changing for the better or the worse but that might not have been the case for Colombia at the time, Wi-Fi was not a thing then or phones that had internet. If they got trapped, all they could do is scream for help until someone hears them. Although many people go on their phones and see that the numbers are going down, they start feeling as if everything has gone to normal even if it hasn’t and start ignoring the SOPs. Politicians and governments all play a very crucial role in handling situations like these and most around the world failed to do so, they took the threat very lightly despite being warned. Most of the media, in my opinion, terrifies people even more and is the main reason why people were panicking and not leaving basic or essential stuff for day-to-day lives in the supermarkets.

Connecting my own life to Isabel Allende’s “And of Clay are We Created”, I feel like I can relate mostly to the pandemic. Covid-19 took all of us by surprise and there were no precautionary measures set until it was too late and like we always have, we panicked amid the pandemic, same thing happened in the story, they were aware of the volcanic eruption but underestimated it and suffered severe consequences. I came to New York for College, and everything was completely normal, the semester was going great, there were a few cases of Covid-19 so most of us were not taking it seriously at the time. But it spread so fast that within a week everything had to be shut down, I had to wrap everything up and go back to my family in Pakistan. Even in the story, everyone had to evacuate quickly, and many were not even able to evacuate and got stuck, same thing happened with flights as New York is so diverse, everyone wanted to go back to their country or to be there with their families. Everyone was panicking because in the start it did feel and look like the end of the World is upon us as there were so many cases and the death toll was rising fast. I didn’t even have time to take all my belongings with me but all I knew was that I needed to be with my family where I would feel safe being close to them. Even the media coverage was mainly about the number of cases and deaths and not about how many recoveries have been there, instead of giving us hope they were constantly spreading fear, I get that they had good reasons behind it but at the same time, there was enough panic as is. The politician, the government or other organizations assembled to react to pandemics like this one were not well prepared regardless of being informed well before everything hit rock bottom. There was no protocol set until the economic system of the world had all collapsed and everything had to be shut down, it could have been handled better, and some countries like New Zealand did handle it well. Media is good and bad for us at the same time, on one hand it keeps us aware of what’s happening now but at the same time it takes away hope and shows mostly the worst side of a story. It could have been a good tactic to keep people at home by frightening them through media outlets.

As we can observe, there has been an extreme amount of change in the world with many advances in technology that make a shift in the appearance of items. Although these advances may seem as normal, there are also other people who might believe that change is not so good and that keeping things as how they were originally might be better, to keep it “traditional”. As we saw on Salih’s story, the Doum Tree of Wad Hamid was a treasured and for as many times as the government could try to take over the space and install advances, they were hesitant and resisted to that change. The message that this story was trying to portray was that it is more important to stick to the roots of tradition and to keep the tradition going than to install some new advancements that will perhaps have people leaving town for something more modern. As it was said in the passage, the villagers did not travel unless it was something necessary because there was no need and it was extremely difficult to do so, therefore, by giving them a clearer passage to travel they will not be able to move out and forget their origin instead they will stay where they are and try to maintain it as traditional as they can.

1. What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?

I learned from this story that previously did not know about life in Nazi concentration camps is it is not a good environment and people are not treated well in the concentration camps. They are not provided with food and water to survive and they have a very difficult time in the concentration camps.

2. Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.”  What seems strange about it?

The significance of the story’s title “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” is it describes the living conditions in concentration camps and how people are treated in the camps, the importance of people’s life and death in the camps.

Please respond to two of the following questions.  Remember to compose your answers in complete sentences and to ground your ideas in specific details from the text where appropriate.  Your responses should be posted by Tuesday, May 11th.

1. What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
2. This story can be described as a kind of “initiation story” for the narrator.  How is he changed or transformed by the events of the narrative?
3. Describe an example of dehumanization in the text.  What about this moment made a particularly strong impression on you? Why?
4. A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator.  What does she mean?
5. “Are we good people?” asks our narrator.  What is this exchange about? What do you think?
6. Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.”  What seems strange about it?

–Office Hours:  I will be holding my regular office hours on Monday. Please feel free to stop by if there is anything you’d like to discuss.  You can sign up HERE to make an appointment or just drop in!

–Borowski, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” :  

1. Please take a look at the Borowski group’s presentation.  In the comments section on their post, either share something you learned about the subject, make a comment, or ask a question.
2. I have recorded some thoughts about the context and content of Borowski’s short story.  You can find the recording HERE using the Passcode: D^%zWNp3.  In a comment on this post, please share one thing that you took away from my remarks.
3. In a separate post, I have shared some questions about “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.”  Please post your responses by Tuesday, May 11th.  Feel free to draw on information or ideas from the presentation or my video in formulating your responses.

–Salih, “The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid” :  We will be discussing this story on Wednesday, May 12th in class.  Please be sure to have read the story before our Zoom call! In a separate post, please respond to the following question:  What do you think Tayeb Salih’s story is ultimately saying about the relationship between tradition and modernity? Please use concrete details from the text to illustrate your response and share your thoughts on the blog by Sunday, May 16th.

–Final Essays : By now, I should have heard from you about the question you are exploring in your final essay.  If I haven’t yet heard from you, you should be reaching out to me immediately.  If I asked you to revise or clarify your question, don’t forget to get back to me.  If I gave you the “green light,” you should be moving forward with the essay – first, by going back through both texts to collect the “textual evidence” you will be using in the body of your essay and then by creating some kind of outline or plan for your essay.  Only when those two steps have been completed should you begin writing your first draft.  I am happy to look at your work at any step along the way, so feel free to reach out to me with outlines, partial drafts, completed drafts, etc…. You can do this via email or during office hours.

–Kafka Presentation: I invite you to take a look at the video shared by the Kafka group this week.  Using their sources as a jumping off point, you may want to look at some of the ways that Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” has been interpreted by filmmakers, stage actors, and visual artists.

–May 17th – Last Day of Classes:  On May 17th, we will be holding our final Zoom class.  Even though it is a Monday, plan on being there to discuss our final text, ask questions about your essays and final exam, and say our goodbyes.

Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis?  Explain your response.

• I believe that Gregor is more powerful before his metamorphosis as we can see in the text, Gregor’s mom saying “You know that boy has nothing but work in his head” that it explains Gregor’s life which was focused on helping his family financially. By being the financial help and the only one working and supporting in the household it makes him the head of the house which is why he is a lot more powerful before his transformation.

Look at the final paragraph of the story. How does it shape or alter our understanding of the text?

• At the end of this story, we see how the family has moved on from their lives after Gregor’s death. It reads “…they thought it was about time to find a suitable husband for her. And it felt like a confirmation of their new dreams and their fond intentions…” which is explaining the next steps coming up for Grete as she is no longer a child but a woman. Due to this change, Grete’s parents are expecting to find her a ‘suitable’ husband for her in the sense that he can take care of her financially and of course can also support her parents since they lost the big help of Gregor due to his metamorphosis.

Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death.  How/why does he ultimately die?

-He died mainly because of fasting but there were many other reasons as well. His family instead of understanding the situation and understanding that it is not his fault that he turned into a bug. They pushed him away. He would have to wait for his mother. His father would not treat him nicely. They even wanted to get rid of him. His sister says, “we have to try to get rid of it. We did as much as humanly possible to try and look after it and tolerate it.” (237) They fail to understand that underneath the body of an insect, it is still her brother and their son. They started treating him and kept on calling him a monster. All this upset him so much that he stopped eating, eventually he died because of it. Her sister even jabbed him with a broom. “She grew irritable, and jabbed Gregor with the broom.” (239)

Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response

I think Gregor was more powerful before he transformed into a bug because he was the one his family depended on but when he became a bug, he was a nuisance to his family. He was unable to speak and stand up to his family when they called him a monster or when his sister jabbed him with a broom. He could not even tell his mother how much he missed her and how much he would appreciate if she came to see him. He might not have been financially stable but at least he could express how he felt. Everyone called him names like it says, “Come here, your old dung-beetle!” (234)

1. Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means?  What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?

I think Gregor’s metamorphosis mean is he was not happy with his life and didn’t like how he was treated by his family. It means to be transformed into a giant bug is he wanted to give himself the proper treatment. He couldn’t support his family anymore and he felt hopeless. He became a giant bug to get out of real life that he was living in. Gregor didn’t want to live a miserable life because of his family.

2. How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?

Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis by being the one who supports his family. His family were always normal with him. The family was a normal family and he was working very hard to support his family. After Gregor’s transformation, his sister tried to give her support to him. The family was getting separated and being kept away from each other.

“I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.” (Line 124, 125)

Prufrock portrays himself as a middle-aged man by telling us that he has bald spots in his hair. Although he is not young, he still knows how to carry himself elegantly. It appears that he is attracted to a beautiful woman, but his insecurities that have gotten the better of him are holding him back from expressing his feelings to her. I feel like the ‘Mermaids’ are being used to depict a fantasy or imaginary world he has in which he can appreciate them from afar, but he fears that even if he gathers to get close to them, they will see him how he sees himself. The ‘Mermaids’ are like that woman, he fears that if he tells her how he feels about her, she will reject him, so he admires her from a distance.

https://youtu.be/gnLjdtreu1k  (4:18-4:40)