Literature Analysis #2

1.      Dreaming in Cuban, by Cristina Garcia is a story of a family and their migration from Cuba. It portrays the problems that the Pino family faces. Problems such as mental illness, death in the family, and loyalty to ones country. It also shows the obstacles that part of the family has to overcome in moving to America, and the obstacles that the rest of the family faces staying behind in Cuba.

This novel is divided into three books. Each book consists of several chapters of narration and one or more chapters of letters written by Celia, which is the mother. Each chapter is from a different point in each characters life. It helps show the progression of the character into the present. Celia Del Pino and Jorge Del Pino are the parents of Lourdes, Felicia and Javier who each have children of their own. Half of the story takes place in Cuba during the communist revolution, and the other half takes place in modern day America. A big mystery in the beginning of the novel is whether Jorge is dead or not, at the end of the story we find out he is.

2.      The theme of this novel is “Family Relationships.” The novel shows the way in which families can be twisted by physical separation, politics, and lack of communication, But regardless of what happens, a family is still a family.

3.      The novel’s tone is both solemn and blissful. The Pino family is going through a very difficult time trying to migrate to America and forgetting the past. Although they have many obstacles in their way, they are still a happy family because they manage to stay somewhat united after everything and continue to have high hopes for a better future.

·         “Celia grieves for her husband, not for his death, not yet, but for his mixed allegiances.”

·         “He will bring you and your father peace, a peace you never knew while he lived on this earth.”

·         “A sudden wave engulfs her, and for a moment Celia is tempted to relax and drop.”

4.      Cristina Garcia has a very unique way of writing. She was clever in the way she wrote her novel and grabbed her audiences’ attention and maintained it throughout the entire novel. Some of the most helpful literary elements and techniques used to express her tone and theme were: imagery, allusions, structure, diction, and symbolism. These five elements successfully tied her story and made it flow perfectly. Cristina was extremely descriptive throughout the entire novel and her diction was understandable for all ages.

·         "The sun yells at her through the paper window shades." - Imagery

·         ."Give the revolution a try, be a new socialist woman , a Fighter for Learning." –Allusions

·         Garcia’s structures her novel differently from most authors. She divided her it into three books. Each chapter is from a different person’s view point. Garcia also includes letters written by some of the characters. –Structure

·         “Her mother hurriedly wrapped gold-rimmed goblets with newspaper and packed them into a scuffed leather suitcase, all the while listening to the warnings on the radio.” –Diction

·         Symbolism is shown through the tree mentioned in the novel. It grows and forms new branches and after a while the leaves begin to fall off, but they never stop growing back, similar to a family. Families can go through many hardships and misfortunes, but they will always continue growing together as a family. -Symbolism

"Tools That Change the Way We Think."

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)

Answer this not-so-simple question: How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think? Focus on your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sense of time and priorities, and the subjects/topics that interest you most. If you find "thinking about your thinking" difficult to assess, try the following strategies: compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed; compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today; read up on what education leaders and thinkers have to say about generational differences in thinking (and remember to cite your sources).

The extensive use of Internet/media/technology has had both a negative and positive impact on me. Although I am learning a lot of new information faster, I feel like it is actually dumbing me down. I feel lazier and more dependent on technology. When I want to figure something out or learn about a new topic I usually just go on Google and read the first few links. It takes the challenge and fun out of searching for your answer for a long time. Before all this new technology came into my life I was more concentrated and focused. It’s a lot more difficult for me to stay focused on my work because either I’m listening to my IPod, texting someone, or checking my Facebook. There is so much more distractions. Even though I have all this overwhelming information I still feel like I’m not learning much. It’s so easy to find the answers that moments after reading them, I typically forget them. They aren’t engraved into my schemata. I kind of wish we didn’t have so much technology/media for a while just to see how much more or less we would actually learn. Unfortunately, I no longer think as hard and critically as I use to.

"In Search Of"

This information kind of scares me. I’m only being shown things that “it” thinks I want to see, but not the things I should really be seeing. Like Eric Schmidt said, “It will be very hard for people to watch or consume something that has not in some sense been tailored for them.” Because of the filter bubbles we aren’t able to see the stud that is deleted.

First of all, now that I know about filters, I decided to not only do my research on my home computer, but also on my brother’s phone. I started with Google. The first few links that appeared were different. One was about his ancestry and schooling and the other was his biography and childhood. It surprised me to see that when I searched on my brother’s phone, no pictures came up.

"Notes on Hamlet"

To be completely honest, I really didn't want to read this novel. I thought it woud be pointless and annoying. Once I began reading it, the intense characters and action packed events caught my attention. I thought maybe Hamlet would be the only normal character in the play, but it turns out he is the most insane one. He is completely mad and cannot make a decision. It annoys me that he won't just kill his uncle right away, or atleast tell other what Claudius did. After Hmalet killed Polonious, I see Hamlet's life quickly going down. He will most likely be put in prison or killed and everyone will think he is crazy and turn against him.

"Who Was Shakespeare?"

It is said that William Shakespeare's actual birth day is unknown, but it is traditionally celebrated on the 23rd of April. We know he was intelligent due to his schooling. He began school at the age of 6 at

Stratford grammar school. Today's students dread the thought of Shakespeare. We relate his work to somthing boring and unnecessary. After beginning his famous play Hamlet, I realized that aside from the confusing words, the characters and events are very interesting. They sucked me in and want me to keep reading the rest of the play.  What still causes me struggles is the diction and syntax. Some of the words he uses are no longer used today.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?"

Before becoming a user on Facebook, I felt like an outsider. I thought it was the top coolest thing and I was one of the only ones without one. Once starting my own account I was pleased to see that you can not only meet new people and send messages, but also post pictures or videos. In my eyes the greatest benefit is being able to keep in touch with far away family and friends for free. I'm able to communicate with family in Chicago, as well as in Mexico. Although facebook seems great, it still has its flaws. Some of the many risks is all the ads and pop-ups that come up. Also many people can make false accounts and unfortunately become friends with young children. It isn't a very safe program. After reading the article I now see that they really aren't even trying to improve the privacy on Facebook! What's up with that?