Julia Pastrana

the birth of Julia Pastrana are somewhat blurred, it is likely that she was born somewhere on the Western slopes of Mexico’s Sierra Madre. It is believed that she was born in the year 1834. At that time, her physical characteristics of thick lips, wide ears and excessive hair growth caused great confusion: Some individuals theorized that she was the offspring of a human and an ape, a bear or a baboon, which led to her nicknames, ‘The Bear Woman,’ ‘The Baboon Lady’ and ‘The Ape Woman.’ Author Jan Bondeson Recounts Pastrana’s Early Life In Jan Bondeson’s book, “A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities,”, he writes that, "According to the exaggerated accounts in the contemporary exhibition pamphlets, an Indian woman named Espinosa had become separated from her tribe in 1830, and was believed to have drowned. Six years later, however, some cowboys found her in a cave. She told them that she had been captured by a party of hostile Indians, who had imprisoned her in the cave, but no human beings could be found nearby." A child was found with Espinosa, she stated that this child was not actually her daughter; even so, Espinosa decided to care for her and love her. The child was christened Julia Pastrana. Several years later, when Julia’s ‘mother’ passed away, she was sent to an orphanage in a nearby city. Julia was described as an intelligent, sweet and excessively hairy girl. Due to her unique physical characteristics, Julia quickly became somewhat of a local celebrity.…

Barbara Gowdy’s collection of short stories from We So Seldom Look on Love revolves around the foils and tropes of the disabled child, or those who are coined as the ‘other’. This essay will focus on Gowdy’s short story “Body and Soul”, which can be read in regards to the Julia Kristeva’s literary theory of abjection. This is because the short story begins with Terry’s abjection as an infant, and ends with Julie being disposed to a psychiatric home. Arguably, Gowdy’s short story can be perceived…

It was a beautiful night. Starry, with a pitch black sky, firmly stretched across the village. I switched on the television as i entered. Except for the sound of the news presenter that blasted, the room was completely silent. “The first female Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, has visited the Rwamiko school in Rwanda earlier today.” I glanced at the screen, riveted by the fiery, red headed middle aged woman that appeared alongside numerous children and a Regal sunbird that watched over…

to the revelation that vampires exist and want to become a visible part of the community. However, vampires must deal with abjection as they enter society: “We had all the other minorities in our little town-why not the newest,” Sookie Stackhouse, the novel’s protagonist, thinks, locating the vampire as the other. The normative boundaries are breaking down for both Sookie and the community where she lives as they are forced to incorporate the peculiarities of the vampires. It is this…

Julia took another large sip of her white wine. The date she was one—the fourth date in the span of a week—was proceeding at a pace Julia perceived as very slow. She looks down at her phone to check the time, and sees it has only been a minute since her date—Claude—left to take a phone call. “Gods and goddesses, please make this more bearable,” Julia grumbled underneath her breath seconds before her date appeared again at their table. “So, where was I?” Claude asked, returning to his seat,…

Robin Roberts is a co-anchor of ABC's “Good Morning America”. She is adored by many fans and people in the industry. Although she had highs and lows, Robin Roberts has had an interesting journey of her becoming a newscaster. Born in 1960, Roberts grew up in a small town in Mississippi. Her father, Lawrence E. Roberts, was famous for being a black fighter squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen. Her mother, Lucimarian Tolliver, is the first African-American to head the Mississippi Board of Education. The…

During both the Roman and Persian Empires, women played an important and pivotal role in their societies. These women held both public and political positions in their empires, and possessed the authority that women in previous times had never had before. Both the Roman and Persian women who obtained this power did so in different ways, and these women also both conducted themselves differently once obtaining this uncommon privilege. Livia and Esther were both some of the first patricians in…

Fifteen minutes till she needed to be on set. Today she was teaching the world how to make Homemade Onion Soup. All the ingredients, utensils, and random things all laid out nicely. The knives sharp, and the onions ready to be chopped. Everybody working getting the cameras ready. Julia came out just barely 2 minutes till they would start. Workers yelling out “places, places everyone.” Then the cameraman yells out 5..4..3..2.. “Hello…” Julia Child changed many people's lives with her cooking,…

In the movie, Erin Brockovich, Erin is portrayed as a determined, self-sacrificing, compassion and empathy character. Throughout the movie Erin does what she feels is her duty to get what hundreds of people deserve while sacrificing time away from her children. Erin Brockovich is a single mother of three kids that finds herself having a hard time getting a job. After Erin was involved in a car accident, which she wasn’t at fault, she begs her attorney, Ed Masry, to hire her at his law firm…

1. Personal conviction translates into action because when you strongly believe in something, you are more likely to take action due to your passion for it. For example, Erin personally connected with the residents of Hinkley and this fueled her decision to take action against PG&E in order to help the residents. In the movie, Erin first met Donna, a Hinkley resident, to inquire about her PG&E medical records. After finding out about Donna’s history of tumors, as well as PG&E’s claim that the…