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To Deceive, or not to Deceive

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To Deceive, or not to Deceive David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green was a bit of a change of pace from Fun Home . Featuring the youngest protagonist that we’ve seen, Jason is finally a character who has less life experience than all of us. Unfortunately for him, that means that he’s living through arguably one of the most challenging parts of his life, one where he is repressed and attacked at almost every corner. I’d like to specifically focus on one common theme that is presented throughout the novel, the theme of deception. Throughout the story (even confession?), Jason suggests that he feels repressed with secrets and false truths at school and even at home, with a social hierarchy that dominates him at school, and the stress of knowing that something is amiss with his parents.  Right off the bat, Jason is shown breaking the number 1 rule in his house, to not enter his father's office, but immediately, a mindset of keeping secrets is established. It starts with: “Do not set fo...
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Thoughts on Bruce and Alison

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Thoughts on Bruce and Alison By Mateo Hernandez            Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home was, in a sense, a change of pace and perspective, compared to novels like The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar. It featured hand-drawn art by Bechdel herself, and was a memoir of sorts, a story about discovering things about her father, Bruce, that she’d never known. It’s an extremely complex novel that dives deeply into touchy subjects about sexuality and identity, and the pain of not being able to ever know the truth. Throughout the novel, Bechdel attempts to create a reality in which her coming out as a lesbian is related to her father's death, and she suggests that her father may have taken his own life because of this event. But in reality, Bechdel is creating a false truth, as the evidence for a suicide is simply not substantial, and her interpretation may reflect her search for reconciliation and meaning.  To begin with, the evidence for a suicide is...
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Did The Bell Jar Win?

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  Did The Bell Jar Win? Throughout literature, movies, and stories, a happy ending is one that readers look for. No matter the struggle that the characters go through, in the end, good has to come. Right? Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, at a glance, seems to suggest this, but when the entire story is revealed, the truth ultimately comes out.  As we all know, The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiography of sorts where Plath draws on her experiences of battling with mental illness, societal expectations/stereotypes, and, in general, knowing what to do with her life. The coming-of-age novel begins in New York City, with the protagonist Esther Greenwood away from the safety of home, and exploring the wonders of being a magazine guest editor for a month. At first, she seems to be optimistic and enthusiastic. She tells herself that she’s good at getting scholarships and job opportunities. But as the novel progresses, quickly the reader is able to tell that Esther is in an unfocused mental...
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The Pure Trinity

The Pure Trinity Mateo Hernandez           J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is, by far, one of the most interesting books that I’ve ever read. Salinger’s novel follows Holden Caulfield, a young boy searching for meaning in a world that is seemingly “phony” all around. Told in the unique perspective of a conversation between you and Caulfield, he speaks about his crazy winter break, after he is kicked out of Pencey prep, and wanders around New York City. Throughout the novel, he appears to criticize nearly everything that he encounters. He especially likes to criticize the people around him. Nobody seems to get him, and from his perspective, he is always in the right. Although Caulfield does have respect for a few people. The  ‘Holy trinity’ in a sense. His mysterious childhood friend, Jane, never encounters Holden during his wild adventure. Phoebe, his bright younger sister. And Allie, his redheaded younger brother, who died years ago. Reading th...
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Delillo’s ‘Truth’

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  Mateo Hernandez Delillo’s ‘Truth’ Libra. If you’re anything like me, you came into this book expecting something totally different. A simple history, perhaps, that is truthful and accurate regarding every event that occurred. But in the end, after we get an extremely complex conspiracy, Don Delillo leaves you with even more questions that beg to be answered. Although there are many different paths this post could take, I’d like to skim the surface of Lee Harvey Oswald’s story, from his early childhood up to his first assassination attempt on General Walker. The best way to go about this post is to start from the ‘beginning’, aka, what the government told us happened, and what the average American would believe from their story. Then dive into one of the first conspiracies of the world, Don Delillo’s Libra, whose goal is to satisfy the need for a believable narrative. Delillo takes the facts of Lee’s broken background, adds a believable narrative that gives a reasonable explan...
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Octavia Butler's Take on the Theme of Choice in Kindred

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Octavia Butler's Take on the Theme of Choice in Kindred By: Mateo Hernandez Octavia E. Butler’s novel was a novel that I enjoyed and was disgusted by at the same time. It’s a unique story that follows Dana, a young African American writer living in 1976. One day, while in the process of moving into a new apartment with her husband Kevin, she undergoes a sickness and finds herself back in the early 1800s, saving a boy who called her for help. The novel highlights many themes, but mainly focuses on the idea of what it would be like to live in this time period of slavery, where oppression and violence are real, especially as a black woman. One theme that I want to dive into is the theme of choice, which is portrayed differently for all kinds of people in this time period. For slaves, it is nonexistent, and for white individuals who own them, they are the ones who create the suppression, which leads to no choice.  To begin with, Dana’s view of choice evolves throughout the novel. At ...
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Controversial Corner: Ishmael Reed’s Attack on Western Society

Controversial Corner: Ishmael Reed’s Attack on Western Society By: Mateo Hernandez           Mumbo Jumbo. A novel hyped up to be one of the most confusing books that we’ll ever read. Whether it was the writing style or just in general, the hard-to-follow plot line, Mumbo Jumbo, seemed to confuse a lot of us. But honestly, in the end, I really enjoyed it. I thought that it was one of the most controversial books that I have read in a long time, especially regarding Ishmael Reed’s critiques on Western society and culture, and taking a COMPLETELY radical view, as some might say. Reed argues that Western society is hyper-Eurocentric and closely tied to Christianity, and it’s all corrupted, with its supposed goal to stamp out Black culture in order for its Eurocentric roots to remain in power; but Reed suggests that Black culture is what society should be centered around, for true happiness and authenticity.  To begin with, Reed uses the Atonists and the ...
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