I do everything that you ask me to and still you tell me it’s not correct. You are always telling me how to wash clothes, how to behave and how to present myself. I sometimes feel like you think I don’t know the importance of having clean and tidy clothes. You are always worrying; everything has to be done your way. I am never allowed to play and have fun; I always have to worry about household work. Questions race through my little mind, why does she keep referring to me as a slut? What have I done this time to deserve her horrible and demoralizing remarks? How many times will I have to tell you that I am innocent and have no intent to do anything bad? How will eating fruits outside make flies follow me? Where do you get your facts from? They do not even make sense. These restrictions are suffocating and overbearing for me.

There we go again with you telling me what not to do, but I honestly just want to play with marbles and pick people’s flowers! However, to be honest I do enjoy you teaching me to cook. At least I will be able to make your secret recipes for myself. I guess I can also learn how to make effective medicine for a cold but what do you mean by “good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child”(Kincaid, 2)? Sometimes I don’t understand what it is you ramble on and on about. Oh no, you have brought up the topic of the baker. You are obviously going to have something to say about that. I know you love me deep down and are preparing me for the future but I would love to be a child before the real world becomes a reality.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is a novel that may be confusing at first but is filled with hidden patterns of connection that not only connect characters and themes but also time. In A Sketch of the Past, Virginia Woolf states, “Behind the cotton wool [of daily life] is hidden a pattern; that we—I mean all human beings—are connected with.”  In the novel, Clarissa leads a life where she plays a role of fitting into the higher social class. She follows etiquette but internally she questions herself on  how her life has turned out. She searches for the deeper meaning to life. Even though she is married to Richard Dalloway, the reader can infer that their relationship is distant and thus Clarissa is isolated. Septimus was a character that was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after fighting in World War I. The war had left him depressed and even though he had a wife who tried to help him, Septimus was lost in his own mind. He too, was distant from his spouse and later can’t take being in the world any longer.

Another way the characters are interconnected in the novel is through time and memories. Even though the book revolves around one specific day and the activities that take part of it, the reader is taken into the past numerous times. Clarissa remembers many memories that make her smile, such as the time Sally kissed her. For Septimus, he thinks back to the time his friend Evans was alive.  Although, I have only used Clarissa and Septimus as examples, there many more characters who look back on the past. One such character is Peter Walsh; He remembers the summer in Bourton. By connecting the past with the present, Woolf creates a dynamic storyline and provides background on all the characters. Even though Septimus and Clarissa never met in the novel, it can be seen that the two characters are not very different from each other.

This morning Gagandeep left her house to go to Baruch College. She saw that the flowers in the front of her house were wilting. This made her feel sad because they were so pretty during the summer. She thought to herself, “I should probably remove these from the yard.” As she continued to walk to the Elmhurst Avenue Station she said “hello” to her neighbor who was walking her dog. She realized she should get a dog too. Gagandeep got to the Elmhurst Avenue Station and took the R train to 23rd street. Once on the train, she was disgusted and grossed out by the people who wouldn’t cover their mouths while coughing. After getting out of the train full of sick people, she walked from Madison Park to Baruch College. On the way there she asked herself, “Why are people always running across the street when it’s a green light and a car is approaching?” She thought people were crazy and risk takers. She then crossed the street and walked the rest of the way to Baruch College.

After visiting the Museum of Modern Art, I decided to analyze The Still Life with Puppies (1888) by Paul Gauguin. This painting caught my eye because of the simplicity and adorability the puppies brought. This was an oil on wood painting. Paintings have deeper meanings and can take on whole different implications than what is portrayed. One person can see something but another person can see something completely distinctive.

Just taking a glance at the painting I see three puppies drinking from a pot of water situated on top of a table. In addition, there are three goblets and fruit on the table. The color blue seems to be used the most as shown from the goblets, the cloth holding the fruits, and the tablecloth. If I were to look at this painting with a religious view, I could relate it to things that I have learned in my private catholic high school. Paul Gauguin could have been using the number 3 symbolically. In the biblical sense the concept of trinity consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In addition, the three wise men had given Jesus three gifts when he was born.

When I first looked at the painting I saw that even though there were 3 goblets, one for each puppy, they were still sharing one pot of water to quench their thirst. This shows the compassion and connection they have towards one another. They are not attacking each other for drinking from the same pot. The puppies seem to be content with the pot even though they have the option of the fancy cups. There is also a sense of harmony and peacefulness to this painting.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and “Discourse on the Logic of Language” by M. NourbeSe Philip are two pieces of work that can be compared to one another. M. NourbeSe Phillip talks about language through the use of the mother and father tongue. She states that language has the ability to oppress and divide. With the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, slaves are divided from the whites because they do not have the capacity to read, write or speak as the whites do. Language is often misused as to what it can and cannot do. When Frederick Douglass is relocated to Baltimore, his new mistress, Mrs. Auld, starts to teach him how to read. Douglass begins to develop his basic reading skills. However, Mr. Auld finds out and berates Mrs. Auld and justifies, “if you give a n***** an inch, he will take an ell… Learning will spoil the best n***** in the world.” He further states “he (the slave) would at once become unmanageable and be of no value to his master”(Narrative of The Life of Fredrick Douglass 20). This shows that language therefore has the power to dehumanize and lead to anguish as Philip shows through her breakdown of the word.

Quote #1: Song of Myself by Walt Whitman related to the 23rd Street Station & Flatiron District

“… I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human voice, I hear all sounds running together, combined, fused or following, sounds of the city and sounds out of the city, sounds of the day and night, talkative young ones to those that like them, the loud laugh of work-people at their meals, The angry base of disjointed friendship, the faint tones of the sick…”

Explanation: New York City is highly diverse and populated. The second I get off the train and step onto the 23^rd street station, it feels as if I have entered another world. Walking through the Flatiron District, I steer through the rush of people whom I constantly feel are in a hurry. I walk past food carts and businesses all sharing the same streets. The distinct smells and sounds swirling around truly make this city one of a kind. I love every second of it.

Quote #2: Journey to the West, Chapter 1 related to Bread and Butter

The monkeys said, to each other, “we didn’t know where this water comes from. Since we have nothing to do today, let us follow the stream up to its source to have some fun.” “Reaching its source, they found a great waterfall.”

Explanation: This line from Journey to the West was great for the amount of times I have discovered hidden gems in the city because of my boredom. In the same way the stone monkey and the other monkeys decided to follow the stream up its source because they had nothing to do, my friends and I would walk and try to find new locations during our long and boring breaks. One day we had decided to follow a street in the city to see where we would end up and that is how we found Bread and Butter. Ever since then, my friends and I have been going there for breakfast and/or lunch.

Quote #3: Song of Myself by Walt Whitman related to Baruch College

“It is time to explain myself—let us stand up. What is known I strip away, I launch all men and women forward with me into the Unknown. The clock indicates the moment—but what does eternity indicate? We have thus far exhausted trillions of winters and summers, there are trillions ahead, and trillions ahead of them.”

Explanation: I chose this quote to relate to Baruch College. Everyone attending college, including me, are being launched into the Unknown. What “unknown” means in relation to Baruch College is that we all go to classes everyday and learn new things but are walking in without knowing our true futures. Today, we may want to go into a certain field like accounting or finance but we don’t know if that is where we will end up down the road and for the rest of our lives. In addition,we have gone through so many winters and summers while trying to obtain an education and will go through many more in the time to come.