Única Oconitrillo was a teacher and “she was let go when the shortage of professionals was over” (37). After being fired, Única’s life went into a downward spiral and she found herself living in the dump. The dump was a place in Río Azul where trash was disposed and people lived. The dump can be described as “an ant hill of women, men, and children of indecipherable age, rats and mice, dogs, and buzzards, and hundreds of thousands of insects” (24). When Única arrived in the dump “several founders of the divers’ community welcomed the teacher and helped her to put up her shack, at times even with pieces generously donated from neighboring shacks.” (26). This led Única to be optimistic and she said, “there’s nothing here, but you can find everything” …show more content…
The can of squid was a delicacy and when Única found it she was excited and said to Mondolfo, “Monboñombo, look at what my Guardian Angel put in the trash for me!” (109). They shared the squid and that night Única and Mondolfo’s relationship changed. That night “they sat down on the road by the shack. He pulled the easy-open tab and the can revealed its generous contents” (109). The author continues to describe the night using expository description, “Mondolfo had the courtesy to spear first, offering her a piece of squid to mouth, and her stomach did a double traction flip” (109). They continued to feed each other and Única was nervous because she was unfamiliar with that kind of feeling. They kissed and Única expressed how she has “never been kissed” they continued and “they took each other’s’ hands and devoured each other on Mondolfo’s cardboard” (109). After this Mondolfo asked Única to marry him, she said yes, and Oso Carmuco was asked to marry them. The wedding happened quickly and people were excited as “nothing else was talked about in the dump, and Oso Carmuco walked around a nervous wreck trying to memorize the Wedding Mass” (115). During the wedding, everyone was happy for them as they “broke out into applause, some threw trash up in the air, they shouted and the whistled” …show more content…
Imagery was used to describe the cold conditions in the dump. The cold conditions were too much for the divers and they were “wrapped in burlap sacks that they used as blankets, but the cold wind seeped through everywhere. The grey sky of clouds used in the north and dragged to their country by the winds’ garbage truck” (132). Additionally, there was imagery when it was described how Bacán’s chest was kept warm during the cold, “rubbing it with alcohol until the bottle ran out, and then they used bottles of perfume, rancid ointments and old balms the Única would pick up” (130). Dialogue was also when Única spoke to Mondolfo about the cold weather. When Única was upset with Mondolfo for bringing God into the conversation, she said, “If you continue blaspheming, I’m going to get a divorce”. Another example was when Única said, “that’s how he gets with the flu” when Mondolfo said Bacán was turning yellow (131). The tone at the beginning of the story was optimistic. Única was optimistic about living in the dump and tried to see the world in a bright light. The tone later changed to depressing when Bacán died. Bacán’s death caused her to change and age. After Bacán’s death, “days ran together rapidly, undifferentiated, identical and interminable. Única would only drink a teaspoonful of sugar water” (161). A subtheme in the story is that there are good people everywhere. For example, when Bacán died and the divers to help out. Some people
Except using the analogy method to analyze the two cities in Caribbean, Mintz also include people’s real living story to enhance his research. For example, Worker in the Cane, a story of a Puerto Rican sugar can worker, Don Taso, his family and the village he lived. “Don Taso portrays his harsh childhood, his courtship and early marriage, his grim struggle to provide for his family” (Mintz 1974: 1). Although Worker in the Cane is not Mintz’s most famous book, it provided people a direct impression of ethnographic contact, and the detailed description and vivid storytelling of a human’s life explain the reason this book continuing appeal young anthologists.
As far back as Rigoberta Manchu can remember, her life has been divided between the highlands of Guatemala and the low country plantations called the fincas. Routinely, Rigoberta and her family spent eight months working here under extremely poor conditions, for rich Guatemalans of Spanish descent. Starvation malnutrition and child death were common occurrence here; rape and murder were not unfamiliar too. Rigoberta and her family worked just as hard when they resided in their own village for a few months every year. However, when residing here, Rigoberta’s life was centered on the rituals and traditions of her community, many of which gave thanks to the natural world. When working in the fincas, she and her people struggled to survive, living at the mercy of wealthy landowners in an overcrowded, miserable environment. By the time Rigoberta was eight years old she was hard working and ...
In the first short story of Drown by Junot Diaz, the reader follows a nine year old and his twelve year old brother, Rafa, as they stay with their uncle in Ocoa for the summer. Throughout their brief journey to unmask Ysreal, who wears a mask to hide his disfigured face caused by a pig when he was a baby, there is a very evident portrayal of the brothers’ family dynamic. Through their relationship, the reader is able to get an understanding of how machismo, their environment, and how their absent father play a role in their life.
A passage I found to be very vivid was the scene where Uncle En had died. “His stomach was puffed up like a pillow, his face was bloated, but it was Uncle En all right. He had no clothes on - someone must have taken them” (Page 134). Reflecting on this passage I picture a dead body, listing down the canal, all wrinkled, bloated, with a stomach “puffed up like a pillow”. The sounds of a bustling city would be in the background, accompanied by the rancid smell of soaked, exposed rotting
My name is Lisbeth Peralta and I’m going to introduce myself. I was born and raised in Dominican Republic,I speak two languages english and spanish and this is my first semester in BMCC. I am an only child and for my age I consider myself a mature and positive person, also i’d like to tell you about my interests, goals and background.
Edwidge Danticat's novel, The Farming of Bones is an epic portrayal of the relationship between Haitians and Dominicans under the rule of Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo leading up to the Slaughter of 1937. The novel revolves around a few main concepts, these being birth, death, identity, and place and displacement. Each of the aspects is represented by an inanimate object. Water, dreams, twins, and masks make up these representations. Symbolism is consistent throughout the novel and gives the clearly stated and unsophisticated language a deeper more complex meaning. While on the surface the novel is an easy read, the symbolism which is prominent throughout the novel complicates the audience's interpretation. The reader is left to look beyond the language and uncover the underlying themes of the novel. Through symbolism Danticat is able to use inanimate objects to represent each of her character's more deeply rooted problems. In order to prove this theory true, I will thoroughly examine the aforementioned symbolic devices and provide a clear interpretation of their significance in the novel.
Failing to find a positive opportunity for work, Maria’s next job is seemingly much worse in multiple ways. Maria gets offered enough money to hold her over for a long time in Colombia, by becoming a international narcotrafficker, even though it still “yields ve...
In the short story, “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver, the narrator describes a couple that is constantly arguing. The narrator never tells the reader the reason for the couples separation, but it’s obvious that they are mad at each other for some reason. Raymond Carver uses bad weather as a setting that foreshadows the story's conflict. Since everybody can relate to the weather and the way it behaves it’s definitely is a powerful mood and tone setter. I argue that the weather is key to interpreting this particular story because it sets the tone and foreshadows the story’s conflict . The imagery in the first line indicates that the story could turn nasty, “Early that day weather turned and snow was melting into dirty water”( Carver 324). By doing so, Raymond Carver is putting a very graphic representation that everything that comes in contact with this water is going to get dirty. The snow acts as a symbol since snow is usually white and white represents purity. The white snow represents the purity the couple once had, and the dirty water demonstrates how the couple’s relationship in slowly dying. As well as this day, that the reader can now sense has been a very long day with no true goal met whatsoever. Every
“On the third day of rain they had killed so many crabs inside the house that Pelayo had to cross his drenched courtyard and throw them into the sea, because the newborn child had a temperature all night and they thought it was due to the stench. The world had been sad since Tuesday” (García Már...
Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a play on the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, which are all essential to life. This comes through because the four elements each have an individual meaning, and each element can relate to Ophelia. Earth is the central component of all the elements. The major characteristics that symbolize Earth include practical, dependable and the love of nature. People who show these characteristics generally react quietly to adversity. They are slow to change and are deeply rooted emotionally (Molly Astrology). The next element, air, shows the characteristics of strong mental processes, language, good human
Attending a liberal arts college is the most opportune way to go. Students will garner an overall better education by receiving a well-rounded education in all subjects, having a smaller student to facility ratio, and lastly having less competition for leadership positions.
Clarisse is not like the others. To society, this is called crazy. She expresses opinions which differ from the status quo. They say she is anti-social, but really, she interacts in other ways. She does not trust people easily, but this doesn’t stop her from being friendly, funny, and open. She calls herself crazy too, but crazy as in fun. She presents a carefree, relaxed, joyful, childlike manner. She does what makes her happy and what makes her happy is what she does. She is an outdoorsy person who values nature, a characteristic unique to her. Curiosity and observations fill her life and leads her on adventures making her open-minded to new ideas. She is content. She is simplistic. She is a
Bishop uses imagery in this poem, as it is reflected visually, auditory, and sensory. The imagery in this poem has a robust visual presents. While listening to the poem, close your eyes and see the woman holding the fishing pool and having the fish half in and half out of the water. The wording selected in the poem is filled with words and phrases that describe the senses, create an atmosphere, and sets a mood that are utilized by the fisher and the fish (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The element of imagery is also produced when this poem is read aloud and more of the imagination is brought out...
The poet uses examples of imagery in this poem. The poet uses a simile in the first line of the first stanza to start off the poem. The simile she uses is ''the skin cracks like a pod''. The opening of the poem gives a clear message that something is severely wrong. A pod cracks with barely any resistance so the comparison to the skin is a unreserved statement outlining how easily the skin is. There is obviously a drought or a vast undersupply of water. The opening surprises the reader and gives an indication of what is to come. The poet uses a short and abrupt line which is effective
She is able to use visual imagery to display her spouse in an epic manner. Boland says she wants to return to see her husband, “with snow on the shoulders of [his] coat / and a car passing with its headlights on.” (lines 27-28) When imagining this scene the car serves as somewhat of a spotlight to frame her husband who is standing on a bridge covered in snow, this picture illustrates Boland’s spouse in a heroic light. The snow on his shoulders gives off the idea that he has been travelling through tough conditions. Boland uses the simile, “I see you as a hero in a text- / the image blazing and the edges gilded.” (lines 29-30) This shows just how heroic Boland imagines her old husband, making him out to be like a hero from a Greek epic. The imagery created in the second part of that statement is that of a grand painting, with its edges framed in gold further illustrating the epic like manner Boland sees her husband in. It is clear that through Boland’s depiction of her “old” husband she misses the way things use to