I am trying. I keep forgetting to wash the color clothes on Tuesday, but I will remember next time. Why can’t I walk bare-head in the hot sun? I enjoy the heat the sun fills me with energy. But, yes I understand what you mean. I don’t dress like a slut. I am a lady but I do appreciate your concern, I am only 12 years old at all. And I don’t sing benna on Sundays.

Thank you for showing how to sew and don’t worry I wont be a slut.

I’m sure father will be glad I can iron his khaki shirt and pants. I have to learn how to plant too? And sweep? Okay, but why am I only learning this? What about my brother? Why do I always have to smile? I’m tired of smiling. Why do I need to know how to set the table for every time of the day? Can one simple table set suffice? But okay, I’ll do it. Wait, why do I have to please to men’s standards? I am not a slut but I can behave how I want to. I am of 18 years of age now, after all.

I have learned many things from you over the years: what to do and what not to do; A grown woman now, I appreciate the of how to make medicine. You have showed me the truth of the man. I am not a slut and I wont be a slut. Can you believe in?

And you’re right, I am a woman who will get her way and  don’t need no man to to squeeze the bread.

These phrases describe what Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is about. In this novel, time is a major aspect because the linear progression of time is altered to the reader. We are taken to the past of characters like Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus, and are exposed to a world of loss, war, and death. Beside the fact that Woolf’s characters have a stream of consciousness, some also touch upon similar ideas. For example, both Clarissa and Septimus think about meaning of life and death. Clarissa wonders if she should take comfort in the fact that death ended everything while Septimus is driven to suicide because of his illness acquired from the war. The past is also a huge aspect of the novel because we see Clarissa and Peter “plunge” into old memories of when they were younger. These memories flow from one character to another, providing different perspectives. We see them remember certain characters whom they once had feelings for. For Clarissa, one person she remembers at one point is Sally for whom she might have been in love with her while Peter remembers being into Clarissa and being rejected by her, hence the loss of once upon a time love.

Francheska left her house right on time to catch the 7 train. She reached into her purse to fetch her metrocard. Could it be? Had she lost the metrocard? Of course not for the night before she had dropped the metrocard when she had taken out her phone from her pocket. Was going back an option? No. A new metrocard must be bought in order to make it to school on time. The 7 train did not take long to arrive and in a flash she was at Queensboro Plaza.  The N was approaching across the platform. Plenty of people were waiting by the door and she anxiously walked to the platform. Francheska breathed a sign of relief when she was able to get in the train. Not too long there was an incident where she got caught by the doors and had step back and miss the train. The N train was a fast ride and when she arrived to 23rd station she quickly got out catching a glimpse of brown leather shoes going up the stairs into the clear blue sky above. This was not the correct exit. But she wasn’t worried for she ample time to make her way to Baruch. The walk was peacefully quiet and she arrived on time for class.

The painting that stood out to me the most from Painting and Sculpture I. The first thing that caught my attention was that it was a two-piece painting titled Fulang-Chang and I (1937- mirror with painted frame after 1939). The first one was of Frida with a monkey and the second piece was a mirror. The mirror element caught me off guard in a pleasant way. To me the mirror served as an interactive piece of artwork. Seeing myself reflected back next to the painting of Frida herself – it made me feel important and part of her artwork. It was as if she had made the painting specifically for me. Interestingly enough the summary of this painting was that Frida gave this two-piece to a close friend after it was exhibited so that “the two friends could be together.”

I also liked this painting because of what Frida decided to paint: herself with a monkey. At first glance I thought she must have decided to paint the monkey with her because the animal was a dear pet and meant something to her. However, upon reading the summary, it said that many interpreted the monkey as a surrogate for children since she could not conceive. The painting meant much more to me after that. Infertility frightens me and the fact that she had a pet monkey as a child replacement saddened me. The reason I find her, in a way, inspirational is because of how tough she was beside all her obstacles and how much she stood her ground. Frida overall is an inspirational, and driven woman. Seeing myself in the mirror next to her made me feel the same.

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass and the poem “Discourse on the Logic of Language” by M. NourbeSe Philip compliment each other. The poem focuses on the power of language during slavery and touches upon some of the main issues in Douglass’ narrative.

The narrative informs the reader that Douglass was strayed away from his mother at an early age. He lost that human connection that a child is suppose to get as Philip describes a mother gibing her child her native tongue: “…She touches her tongue to the child’s tongue and holding the tiny mouth open she blows into it hard. She was blowing words. Her mother’s words those of her mother’s mother and all their mothers before her daughter’s mouth.” Douglass didn’t have his mother’s tongue. The only tongue he knew was the English tongue but even then he was limited to only knowing how to speak it.

Knowing the English tongue, as Philip suggests, is a “foreign anguish.” Edict II of the poem describes the consequences of speaking their (the slaves) native tongue to each other. There is the great possibility that communicating will lead to rebellion. Douglass figured this out when Mr. Auld forbade Mrs. Auld from teaching Douglass how to read and write because teaching “that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (20). Language is a powerful tool in life to get ahead. The slaveholders knew this and prevented the slaves from learning. But Frederick Douglass caught on at an age and realized that language was the “pathway from slavery to freedom” (20).

Point A: William and Anita Newman Library

Quote: “I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise” – Song of Myself

Explanation: This quote immediately made me think of the library. I recall moments where I’d do nothing except take a nap or throw paper airplanes to my friends. I felt young, childish. However, I did feel old and wise when it came down to finals week, where I’d study the material intensely without breaking stride.

 

Point B: Union Square Park

Quote: “Though, I am very happy at the moment, I am a little concerned about the future. Hence! I’m distressed.” – The Journey to the West

Explanation: Union Square Park is where I had a great time hanging out with my friends. It was nothing special but it was calm, fun, and full of joy. I was happy. Just like the monkey though, I worried about the future. For a split second I thought of how when that moment in Union Square ended, so did that happiness I was feeling. I couldn’t help thinking of the fact that everything and there was nothing to stop it. Thus, for a fraction of a second I was “distressed.”

 

Point C: My Home (Queens)

Quote:

“I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.”

– Song of Myself

Explanation: Often when I look at my cat or dog, I feel envious. They are unaware of the problems human beings have to face whether it be a global problem or a personal problem. To me this quote puts into words what I feel when I look at either of my pets and think “I wish I could be a cat/dog.” Without any worries or cares, and quietly happy is what I want to be.