In “In Camera” by Nawal El Saadawi, What does author want to convey through Leila’s experience?

In “Notes of a Native Son”, do you believe James Baldwin agree with his step father’s idea of racial discrimination? What’s his idea about it?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “Metamorphosis” means a major change in the appearance or character of someone or something. In biology, it means a major change in the form or structure of some animals or insects that happens as the animal or insect becomes an adult, for example, the metamorphosis of tadpoles into frogs.

It is obvious that “metamorphosis” refers to the change that happens on Gregor’s body. But in my opinion, “metamorphosis” also happens on Gregor’s family members, father, mother, and his sister. Although their appearances do not change, their major changes happen on their behavior and spirit. After Gregor became an insect, the story recalls the time when Gregor is working, “They had been good times, and they had never returned, at least not in that magnificence, even though Gregor went on to earn so much money that he was able to bear, and indeed bore the expenses of the whole family. The just become used to it, both family and Gregor”(Kafka 224). Gregor’s family members just like insects; they only accept the money and life which Gregor makes and take it for granted. Contrary to the ending of the story, the author states, “Setting back comfortably in their seats, they discussed the prospects for the future; it turned out that on closer inspection these were not at all bad, because the work of all of them, which they had yet to talk about properly, was proceeding in a very encouraging way, particularly in regard to future prospects” (Kafka 241). Their life changes from caterpillars to butterflies. Gregor’s death teaches them how to live on themselves.

I like the story because it reflects the real life. I strongly agree with the situation when Gregor become useless and even the extra burden for the family, all of his family members change their attitudes to Gregor. It is true. I can be filial obedience to my parents, but for my siblings I cannot promise it. It also makes me remember the wedding vows,” I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part”. In reality, how many couples can keep their promise when they meet with the similar situation as Gregor’s change?

In “A Room of One’s Own”, the author Virginia Woolf proves women do not enjoy the equal right as men, for example, she creates Judith Shakespare, who can be imagined as Shakespare’s twin sister. However, her talent is not considered as worthy as William Shakespeare, even both of them are talented. The author also lists a lots of books in which the male authors holds the idea that women is not as talented as men. She also states the importance of money for women. In terms of the above ideas, I can agree with the author more since her idea is still useful for today’s female.

It always happens to me that I spend the whole day doing this and that without rest. When I have time to make a conclusion for today’s life, I find that I spent little time or almost no time on myself except study. If I am a housewife without education and work, there would be no room of my own. The importance of money for me in my life is a way that I can use the money that I earned to change into my own time. When I have to time and energy to cook, money can provide the time for me to rest. Although money cannot do everything for me, it still helps me a lot. We enjoy the relatively equal right as men today, but we have to overcome more pressures and difficulties than men. We can achieve the same academic success as men, but we still have to give birth to sons and daughters. It is the responsibility which men cannot do for us today.

When I read this poem, it makes me feel a cold. Blue and grey is the basic color of the poem since the poem is about Emily Dickinson’s understanding of death and his life. The first line of the poem: “Because I could not stop for Death”. It seems that Dickinson considers death is a very common and regular issue for him. She is not afraid of it.  Emily Dickinson describes that she has to give up many things in her life for His Civility. It makes her not so happy about it because she has to give up her labor and leisure.  She also talks about the life and time, such as school life, that everyone is passing from.  It helps me to remember my school life when I was a child. “Or rather-He passed Us –“Dickinson is not moving and standing there. She is just looking at the changeable world.

In the later lines she talks about death again. “A Swelling of the Ground” I think she refers to a grave. However, Dickinson did not consider death is the end of the life. “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity.” Just like Emily Dickinson’s spiritual life, her poems are immortal. It seems like that Dickinson transcends her life and death.

Question 1. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass describes the life of the American slaves. The author writes the article in order to fighting for abolitionist movement and freedom of black people. Bartleby, the Scrivener is a story about the people who enjoy freedom in the U.S.  Compare and contrast the freedom of Frederick Douglass and Bartleby, define your own freedom.

Question 2.The Declaration of Sentiments is based on the American Declaration of Independence, the Sentiments demanded equality with men before the law, in education, employment, and the right to vote. The black people demanded equality with other people in the U.S. Both of the authors wrote their works for equal rights and have great influence on the equal rights movement. Which work can cause more influence? How?

When people talk about Chinese literature, do not mention The story of the Stone is impossible. The influence of the novel is so great that many specialists spend their whole life on this book. I first read this book in Chinese when I was sixteen years old. The author lived in Qing dynasty, so the language of this book is ancient Chinese. Ancient Chinese has some difference with the Chinese which we speak right now. It is much harder to translate into another language. The language gap of translation cannot be avoided, but the story is still wonderful.

The story is about a big family Jia. It also includes love stories and reflects the social problem of the dynasty. In Chapter 1, the author introduced the origin of the stone. The stone was used by the goddess Nu-wa to repair the sky. Why did the author use the traditional Chinese folk tale to be the background of the story? Many specialists believe that the author was not satisfied with the society and hope the society can be fixed just like Nu-wa repaired the sky. Readers have their own understanding on the work. Furthermore, many people find that every time you read the story you can create new understanding of the novel. This is the reason why so many specialists spend their whole life on reading and studying this work. I believe the lecture of the work will be interesting because we can share different understanding of the novel. It may be hard to understand the traditional Chinese culture in the novel. So I attached the TV series of the novel, I hope you will enjoy it.

New link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hib6pl9sLgI&list=PL492F687D0FC34E90

Voltaire’s Candide is a fascinating work. It never makes you feel boring because it reads like an adventure story of Candide. Contradictions exist in Candide’s life. On one hand, he is a misfortune man when he was kick out of the castle because of his forbidden love with Cunégonde. Physical and mental pains torture Candide, for example, serious injury on his body and the death of Jacques and Pangloss. One the other hand, luck always accompanies him because some kind people, such as, Jacques and the old lady, who save his life. The coincidences are full of the story, like Candide meets Pangloss and Cunégonde after the castle was invaded. All the features above create a fascinating story. Nevertheless, it is not difficulty to find the trace of the author’s life in the. Writers tend to mix their own life experience into their works, because it is much easier to express their real emotions into their works. It makes theirs work closer to the real life. Candide’s complex experience, such as, the unstable life of escaping, is similar to Voltaire’s experience, that is influenced by some political reasons. In the story, Candide is always thinking about the philosophy problems like whether the tutor Pangloss’s theory is right or wrong. In the real life, Voltaire has his own philosophy, and it is different from Alexander Pope’s assertion and Gottfried Wilhelm. Just like Voltaire, Candide is looking for the philosophy which he believes right. Does the author want to prove this philosophy is right in the story?

After my father told me the misfortune life of my grandmother, I’m always thinking about writing her story because it is a miserable true story. I lived with my grandmother for more than sixteen years, but she never makes me feel pessimistic, and I did not hear about her experience until she left the world. If I can write it well, it will be a great novel. However, I never have the courage to raise my pen, since too many moods and feelings are beyond my experience, such as, married a man, who you do not love or a single mother raised six children in poverty. All these heartbreaking experience cannot be described well after you really suffered them. So the story of my grandmother may never be fascinating except it comes from my grandmother’s pen. In terms of Voltaire’s work Candide, it seems like a story, and I also believe it is the story from the author’s life experience. What kind of idea of thesis does the author want the readers to know about? His philosophy idea of understanding of world, or the others ?