Des Plaines, Illinois

Michel de Montaigne in “Of Cannibals” starts his essay off with a reference. He mentions King Pyrrhus and that he has an encounter with the Roman army. He calls them barbarians with just a simple look. The part that caught my eye was when Montaigne says “our eyes are bigger than our bellies.” This made me think, it was true because as humans we are always curious and want to know more. The things is we tend to bite off more than we can chew at times. The point he was trying to make is that we…

A tragic hero always has a hamartia which is a fatal flaw that would lead to their downfall, and in Cyrano’s case that would be his insecurity about his anomalously huge nose. Although he does have a huge nose that would be considered ugly, he is also very proud of his nose. Cyrano proves this by saying “ I carry it with pride...I have all those qualities” (Rostand 37). Although this quote reveals the way he feels about his nose, It seems as if Cyrano is only proud of his nose around anybody…

Many of us hear from a young age that beauty is generally a superficial aspect, one that is also seen through one’s personality, or even actions. “The Necklace” is a short story by Marjorie Laurie in which a young lady, Mathilde, loses a necklace she borrowed from a friend and her husband, Loisel, helps her retrieve it. The theme taken from this story is that true beauty goes past the skin. Marjorie Laurie uses literary elements, such as tone and mood, symbolism and irony, and characterization,…

Problems with Hurricanes by Victor Hernandes Cruz relies on humorous fiction to elucidate a comic impact on the readers, as well as an amalgamation of reality and fiction in an effective way. The utilization of fantasy enables Cruz’s imagination with freedom and thus the realm of reality does not dictate his views and events and thus impossible becomes actuality. The poem revolves around events of a hurricane and the manner in which individuals are more afraid of the falling fruits than natural…

People especially thought terribly of the cannibals in the New World. Montaigne chose to write about the cannibals to pull out these emotions of the people. These views of the cannibals were a part of what Montaigne thought and believed in. In Michel de Montaigne's essay “Of Cannibals” the author wants to instill in his reader the ability to reflect upon their biases and as a result be less judgemental. The essay is a great example of Montaigne’s relativism -- the belief that there are no true…

Once the three girls stroll in, Sammy pays a tremendous amount of attention analyzing their features. Beginning with the first girl describing that she has "black frizzy hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of those sunburns across the eyes."(page 69) He continues on about several other of her features that don't particularly appeal to his interests. Although Sammy gives both girls a lot of analysis, he focuses on what he doesn't like about them, even though he cannot stop giving them…

In order to begin to engage in a more critical analysis of why favelas specifically (besides location) were so vulnerable to exploitation and displacement measures, it is first necessary to understand their background. Favelas are urban ‘shanty-towns’ which were established after Brazil’s abolishment of slavery in 1888. Favelas developed due to Brazil’s inequitable racial disparities which prevented former Afro-Brazilian slaves, access to property rights and civil liberties. As a result, these…

In the time period of Edmond Rostand, a person’s honor was treasured. Honor determined a person’s character. Integrity and virtue meant everything. Likewise, upholding one’s honor is extremely important to Cyrano, the hero of Cyrano de Bergerac. Throughout the play he endeavors to be honorable in word and deed. Even at his death, despite all else, Cyrano recognizes the value of the rare and sacred white plume, his unstained honor. By showing honor in every aspect of his life Cyrano proves that…

In the story, The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant’s is about a middle class woman named Mathilde Louise that has altered her deportment; because of an accident in relation to her dream of living a luxurious life. She is discontent due to her current middle-class lifestyle; she thinks her beauty should earn her a higher place in society. She dresses as elegantly as possible. She thinks that having a dress is not good enough; then she asks her old school friend if she can borrow a necklace, which…

person to most, however he expresses an different side of him to those close to him.In Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano de Bergerac‘s witty,clever,brash, proud, and a sense of self-sacrificing affected his relationship with De Guiche negatively and affected his relationship with Roxanne positively. Cyrano’s sense of pride, and brashfulness, causes him to make a fool out of De Guiche at almost every turn. Cyrano’s sense of self-sacrificing to those close to him, causes Cyrano to…