In the story “Cloud”, cloud represents psychological state of mind that lets a person change his/her perception of reality. Cloud is seen as something that can be altered, make someone happy or sad. Cloud even allows a person to create people or the stories inside him/her: “One day I noticed that I can change it myself. Transform it”(Cloud). This theme connects to “Aura” in the way that an old lady creates in her mind the youth of herself: “Now you know why Aura is living in this house: to perpetuate the illusion of youth and beauty in that poor, crazed old lady” ( pg. 844). From this quote, we see that Aura is an illusion, an imaginary transformation of an old lady who wants to keep herself young and happy through this creation of Aura.
Maia
A theme from “My Cloud” revolves around how nothing in life lasts forever. This theme connects to the theme in “Aura” because Consuelo desires youth and beauty over the reality of old age. When asking Felipe if he will love her forever, she prods “Even if I grow old? Even though I lose my beauty? Even though my hair turns white” (847). This quote illustrates how she places a strong emphasis on youth and beauty and tries to overcome the fate of reality. She has a strong desire to relive the past. She also knows that she will die soon and as a result, wants Felipe to finish her husband’s memories as soon as possible. Moreover, the temporary nature of things in life is also illustrated by Aura’s age, which seems to fluctuate daily (at first she is presented as a young lady but later on is depicted as an older, middle-aged woman). This illustrates how even Aura cannot escape the process of aging as well as the temporary nature of life.
Lauren
I find one theme from “Cloud.” The theme is that one wants to be young again. This theme from “Cloud” connects to “Aura.” There’s one quotation that connects to the theme that I mentioned: “’Don’t stop me,’ she said. ‘I’m going toward my youth, and my youth is coming toward me. It’s coming in, it’s in the garden, it’s come back . . .’” (851) In this reading, mostly Consuelo was described as an old lady, but in this quotation Consuelo was younger since that was Consuelo’s husband’s words. However, even though she was younger than in this point, she was still longing for her youth. This isn’t that different from now. Since she is eager for youth, she creates Aura to represent her youth.
Dajung
1 response so far ↓
Ivy Liu // Apr 16th 2016 at 12:37 pm
I agree with what Lauren said about Consuelo’s strong desire on youth and beauty. She is desperate to stay youthful for her husband. She is avoiding the fact that as people age, appearances will change too. She is trying to escape the reality of old age and death. She knows that she can’t escape death any longer, which is why she wants Felipe to finish the memoirs as soon as possible. Aura symbolizes Consuelo when she was young, but even she can’t escape the process of aging.
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