Author: Amira

Charles Dickens “Great Expectations” Pastiches

Passage 1

At such a time, I knew for certain that the tombstones in front of me would continue to haunt me and remind me of death; and my mother repeatedly asking if I was okay, and my grandmother’s wrinkled face staring at the pile of dirt being dumped on his grave, and my cousins walking towards the grass were scared and nervous at that moment conversing with each other through darting eyes; and the sounds of cries and sadness in the air, the rain pouring down aggressively, being aware of every drop that landed, on my face; and the crisp air hitting my face, was the wind, and that even with everyone there, the feeling of sadness, was everywhere.

 

Passage 2

A sad girl, dealing with loss, grief within her. A girl with a blue hijab, a big smile, having so much love to share. A girl who drowns in thought, and wishes to be someone great, and be loved by more, and to help everyone around, and hopeful for better days who screamed, and sang, and prayed; and whose tears flowed gently down her cheeks as her past memories rushed back in.

 

A Pastiche of Charles Dickens, “Great Expectations”

A sad girl, dealing with loss, grief within her. A girl with a blue hijab and  big smile, having so much love to share. A girl who drowns in thought, and wishes to be someone great, and be loved by more, and to help everyone around, and hopeful for better days who screamed, and sang, and prayed; and whose tears flowed gently down her cheeks as her past memories rushed back in.

Who is the protagonist (main character) of the play?

        Throughout this Greek play Antigone, there is a debate about who the protagonist of this play really is. In my opinion, I believe that Creon, the king of Thebes, is the main character of the story because of the story revolving around him and his overall power and involvement throughout the whole story. As King Creon is powerful and makes the rules, he voiced his opinion several times in almost every situation in a ruthless, ferocious manner. I think that Creon always was the center of attention and was also a very self-centred king who did not value family and used the power he had to his advantage, losing everyone he truly cared about in his life. An example of his aggression and interference is when He gets angry fast and abuses Ismene, who is innocent, calling her many names. For example, he states, “You viper, slinking undetected sucking my life-blood”!This signifies that he is very mean and unjust when dealing with Antigone and her sister Ismene. He also intrudes in a situation where he should have shown kindness towards his family member and had humility and mercy. Therefore, it is evident that Creon was the story’s protagonist and played an enormous role in the entire play.

 

The Three Theban Plays

The story of Oedipus was very disturbing and extremely complicated because of all the emotions displayed. From love, sadness to hatred, disgust and horror. Oedipus was an interesting character who puzzled me the entire play because of the person he was. From the moment the Shepard had saved him from the mountainside and gave him to the King of Corinth, his whole life was just cursed. After all the tragic, terrible events that happened to him, I sympathized for the poor guy and all the terrible encounters he was constantly facing in his life. Just as he thought he was living his life with his love and children, little did he know what his future held. He was given the honour to be a king and help his people, and in an instant, it was all taken from him as if none of it even mattered. This story just shows that in a moment, everything around you can be taken from you. Oedipus had good intentions and intended good. But, in the end, his status was gone, and everything he loved and desired was also taken in one form or another, and he was left as a pathetic, disgraced man. Throughout the story, we start to understand who Oedipus is and his unique traits and how he did indeed actually have good intentions. This reminds me of the fact that sometimes people have good intentions and want to help others; however, life can switch up so fast, and next thing they know, everyone thinks of them as the bad guy when it wasn’t her fault.

Enough is Enough

As I continued to read Laura’s Blog, It made me reflect on the “given roles” I had been taught because of the cultures around me, which are definitely sexist in their treatment of women and men’s responsibilities. I remembered a specific incident where a boy once told me to clean up his mess and go back to the kitchen where I belonged. Thinking about situations like this really triggered me because of these types of sexist roles. Are we some sort of objects that aren’t capable of living our own lives without the judgement of others? Without the side remarks? Why is it that sexual harassment is spoken about as a regular part of our lives? When in reality, it should not be acceptable. Laura explains in her blog multiple times where she has been talked to sexually, which bothered me. She explains that she had done nothing regarding these situations that had happened to her because she had simply accepted them. Today, women don’t speak up because they accept how they are being treated, which needs to stop. While reading this literature, my eyes opened up to how girls in specific felt growing up as teens with the idea of looking “perfect.” Whether it was having a thigh gap or being skinny enough was a real issue girls now face starting from an extremely young age, simply to meet the expectation of society we live in. Writing or maintaining a blog like Lauras will definitely contribute to raising public awareness into the world about this crucial issue