Whenever we think about our past, unforgettable moments come to our minds which are usually related to some important people, like a relative, and sometimes connected to some particular place. However, our most treasured memoirs are about those who are no longer with us. These memories of the past are depicted in an extract adapted from the short story ‘The Boat’ by Alistair Macleod, and in a poem entitled “Childhooe” by Edwing Muir. Though both texts deal with the same theme, they are two different stories with two distinct points of view.
To sum up, remembering the past can bring back happy or sad memories but the important thing is not to forget our beloved, especially those who remain alive only in our memories. These two texts, the extract from the short story ‘The Boat’ and the poem ‘Childhood’ evoke the most precious moments lived by people who are no longer alive. The first story depicts a father see from the eyes of his little child, and the second is about a child who is described by somebody else. I think both texts may find among the readers many people identified with some aspects of one or both of the stories, and they may also bring to their readers’ minds many memories of their own past.
lunes, 2 de marzo de 2009
Entry nº 49: What makes for a great family holiday
In order to have a great family holiday you need to plan everything with anticipation before going away, one way is staying at an all-inclusive hotel where everything is catered for. These all-inclusive holidays come at all-inclusive prices, which you pay before you go away. You have to make sure the hotel has all the facilities you require such as children facilities and supervised activities for teens.
Another option is to stay in a resort that offers a Holiday Nany, she will look after you, your suit and especially your children; and in these hotels everything is nearby and acitvities are supeviced.
So if this Summer your are thinking of having the best holidays of your life take into account this advices and choose the one that best fits your interests and expectations.
Another option is to stay in a resort that offers a Holiday Nany, she will look after you, your suit and especially your children; and in these hotels everything is nearby and acitvities are supeviced.
So if this Summer your are thinking of having the best holidays of your life take into account this advices and choose the one that best fits your interests and expectations.
Entry nº 48: Comparative Commentary: Strawberry
Strawberries are usually connected to desire and this desire can have different connotations, like for example the connection of strawberries and the eating desire that these fruits provoke or strawberries and the aphrodisiac properties that are attributed to them which will provoke sexual desire. Each of these issues related to strawberries are dealt with in literature, some examples are an extract entitled ’Strawberries’ from the book The Farmers (Market Cookbook) by Nina Planch, and the poem ‘Strawberries’ from the book Collected Poems by Edwin Morgan. Although both texts share the same title, each of them deals with one of the issues already mentioned respectively.
On the one hand, the text in prose written by Nina Planch has the purpose of informing the readership about the characteristics of strawberries in relation with their culinary properties. In the first paragraph the writer begins with a quotation to exalt the flavour of the fruit ‘Doubtless God could have made a better berry,’ said Yeats. Within the same paragraph the author, following the same purpose, refers to Wimbledon as being associated with the summer season in which strawberries are at their peak, that is properly mature: ‘Strawberries are at their peak in June and July. It is no accident that Wimbledon is associated with strawberries,’ In the same way, the description of a strawberry at its peak provokes on the reader the desire of eating the fruit as in lines: ‘A strawberry should be dense and juicy, red to the core, fragant and sweet’ (second paragraph). ‘A perfectly ripe strawberry is firm, almost crisp. It should slice easily ’ (third paragraph). In contrast, the description of the overripped fruit has the opposite effect and informs the reader about the period of time in which strawberries can be consumed: ‘ They’ll ripen within a day, while a ripe strawberry begins to go mushy and ferment in the same period. An overripped berry is purple, not red, and dull, not shiny.’ (third paragraph). Finally, the last paragraph is devoted to provoke the desire of eating the fruit by giving different ways of flavouring it: ‘The strawberry’s classic partner is rhubarb, at its peak in May or June. Italians sprinkle fine balsamic vinegar on sliced berries. Black pepper and fresh orange juice are also nice with them.’
On the other hand, the poem Strawberries by Edwin Morgan deals with the sexual desire provoked by strawberries when eating them as an aphrodisiac fruit. The purpose of the persona in this case is highly achieved by the use of different literary devices, one of them is the use of words like sultry, feast, eager and heat, among others, with a sexual connotation as in the following lines: ‘ that sultry afternoon’ (line 3), ‘not hurrying the feast’ (line 13), ‘from your eager mouth’ (line 22) and ‘the heat intense’ (line 30). The idea of remembrance of a unique occasion associated with strawberries is provided in the first lines: ‘There were never strawberries /like the ones we had /that sultry afternoon’ (lines 1 to 3)
As well as in the previous text, the summer season is associated with strawberries in their peak to provoke desire: ‘the strawberries glistering /in the hot sunlight’ (lines 9 and 10) /‘the heat intence /and summer lightning’ (lines 30 and 31)
The visual and sensory images described through out the poem are also quite effective in provoking the sense of desire onthe reader, for example: ‘the blue plates in our laps /the strawberries glistering /in the hot sunlight /we dipped them in sugar’ (lines 8 to 11) /‘and I bent towards you /sweet in the air’ (lines 18 and 19) /‘from your eager mouth /the taste of strawberries /in my memory’ (lines 22 to 29)
Another interesting device present in the poem is the parallelism in the use of the ing form of verbs like sitting,facing, glistering, looking and not hurrying; connecting the past events with the present. Similarly, the use of let constructions give a sense of coming back in time to revive that desire, that unique occasion, as in lines: ‘let me love you /let the sun heat /on out forgetfulness’ (lines 26 to 28) /‘let the storm wash the plates’ (line 33).
In conclusion, different aspects of a same topic can be described in literature, depending on the type of text and on the purpose that each text has. This is the case of the topic of strawberries and the different kinds of desire that these fruits can provoke. In this case two different text, a text in prose and a poem deal respectively with the desire of eating strawberries and with the sexual desire that strawberries, as an aphrodisiac fruit, can provoke. And making use of different literary devices both authors achieve quite effectively their purposes.
On the one hand, the text in prose written by Nina Planch has the purpose of informing the readership about the characteristics of strawberries in relation with their culinary properties. In the first paragraph the writer begins with a quotation to exalt the flavour of the fruit ‘Doubtless God could have made a better berry,’ said Yeats. Within the same paragraph the author, following the same purpose, refers to Wimbledon as being associated with the summer season in which strawberries are at their peak, that is properly mature: ‘Strawberries are at their peak in June and July. It is no accident that Wimbledon is associated with strawberries,’ In the same way, the description of a strawberry at its peak provokes on the reader the desire of eating the fruit as in lines: ‘A strawberry should be dense and juicy, red to the core, fragant and sweet’ (second paragraph). ‘A perfectly ripe strawberry is firm, almost crisp. It should slice easily ’ (third paragraph). In contrast, the description of the overripped fruit has the opposite effect and informs the reader about the period of time in which strawberries can be consumed: ‘ They’ll ripen within a day, while a ripe strawberry begins to go mushy and ferment in the same period. An overripped berry is purple, not red, and dull, not shiny.’ (third paragraph). Finally, the last paragraph is devoted to provoke the desire of eating the fruit by giving different ways of flavouring it: ‘The strawberry’s classic partner is rhubarb, at its peak in May or June. Italians sprinkle fine balsamic vinegar on sliced berries. Black pepper and fresh orange juice are also nice with them.’
On the other hand, the poem Strawberries by Edwin Morgan deals with the sexual desire provoked by strawberries when eating them as an aphrodisiac fruit. The purpose of the persona in this case is highly achieved by the use of different literary devices, one of them is the use of words like sultry, feast, eager and heat, among others, with a sexual connotation as in the following lines: ‘ that sultry afternoon’ (line 3), ‘not hurrying the feast’ (line 13), ‘from your eager mouth’ (line 22) and ‘the heat intense’ (line 30). The idea of remembrance of a unique occasion associated with strawberries is provided in the first lines: ‘There were never strawberries /like the ones we had /that sultry afternoon’ (lines 1 to 3)
As well as in the previous text, the summer season is associated with strawberries in their peak to provoke desire: ‘the strawberries glistering /in the hot sunlight’ (lines 9 and 10) /‘the heat intence /and summer lightning’ (lines 30 and 31)
The visual and sensory images described through out the poem are also quite effective in provoking the sense of desire onthe reader, for example: ‘the blue plates in our laps /the strawberries glistering /in the hot sunlight /we dipped them in sugar’ (lines 8 to 11) /‘and I bent towards you /sweet in the air’ (lines 18 and 19) /‘from your eager mouth /the taste of strawberries /in my memory’ (lines 22 to 29)
Another interesting device present in the poem is the parallelism in the use of the ing form of verbs like sitting,facing, glistering, looking and not hurrying; connecting the past events with the present. Similarly, the use of let constructions give a sense of coming back in time to revive that desire, that unique occasion, as in lines: ‘let me love you /let the sun heat /on out forgetfulness’ (lines 26 to 28) /‘let the storm wash the plates’ (line 33).
In conclusion, different aspects of a same topic can be described in literature, depending on the type of text and on the purpose that each text has. This is the case of the topic of strawberries and the different kinds of desire that these fruits can provoke. In this case two different text, a text in prose and a poem deal respectively with the desire of eating strawberries and with the sexual desire that strawberries, as an aphrodisiac fruit, can provoke. And making use of different literary devices both authors achieve quite effectively their purposes.
Entry nº 47: Walt Whitman Poem Analysis: ‘The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are’
The first line of the poem is quite significative since he exclaims: " The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are; the " I " is not the individual but the collective American Ego, whose voice he believes himself to be. As representative democratic bard, Whitman exhibits complete freedom from conventionality, a very deep human love, hope for all, faith in the rationality of the world, courage, energy, and the instinct of solidarity, as shown in the line:” The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are ”; As he writes in these poem from "A Song for .Occupations," "The President is up there in the White House for you... it is not you who are here for him," a sentence not to be judged by the standards of descriptive accuracy but to be invoked as a rallying cry.
Whitman wants to help America to find her soul. A future given up to the despotism of business, to the sway of the smart, vulgar, money-making animal, to dyspeptic middle-class religionism, to the election of lying rogues to office, to the universal reign of the mediocre and the commonplace this is indeed a future from which the human race may well shrink.
This anthropocentric position in literature as in philosophy will produce vast results. The State, religion, industry will be directed solely towards the good of man. In times past, humanity has been sacrificed to regal power, to the assumed rights of a caste, to the supposed claims of an external deity on the implicit obedience of his creatures. Today man is enslaved to money-making, in thrall to machinery, a weary drudge attendant on the incessant demands of the iron monster which he serves. All these forms of slavery are at variance with democracy, every one must be abolished root and branch. The State exists for no other purpose than to realise the collective will of its subjects. If a man sees nothing divine in himself and his fellows, he shall find no divinity in the world at all, this is expressed in the third stanza:
“All doctrines, all politics and civilization exurge from you,All sculpture and monuments and anything inscribed anywhere are tallied in you,The gist of histories and statistics as far back as the records reach is in you this hour _ and myths and tales the same;If you were not breathing and walking here where would they all be?” Whitman is saying that industry shall clothe, feed, and comfort men; man shall not be the slave of the machine. This is the meaning of democracy. It is no crude theory of negation. It does not deny the validity of the great institutions and ideas which have for untold ages expressed in form or language, in sacrificial rite and sacred hymn, the spiritual life of man. But it transforms and develops these, it expresses them in terms of thought, it seeks to raise humanity to loftier heights through their agency.
In the lines addressed "To You," the poet speaks from his heart to the average man, like in the lines: “The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are;”... “If you were not breathing and walking here where would they all be?”;... “All architecture is what you do to it when you look upon it; Did you think it was in the white or gray stone? or the lines of the arches and cornices?” To state Whitman’s fundamental democratic ideas in as concise a way as is possible. He is, at the outset, neither absolutely collectivist nor individualist. The care and culture of the individual, his spiritual growth, is, indeed, the final end. The whole vast array and pomp of nature exists to form spiritual individuals. The individual is no mere function of a social whole, no mere cog or pin in the machinery.
Yet, on the other hand, he sees that the spiritual individual is made a reality by the social whole of which he is a part. The engineer on the train is not a part of the machinery, but a human being having the same desires as the President or the Secretary of State.
He always comes at last to the individual, no doubt. But that individual is a mere undifferentiated potentiality by himself ; his spiritual life is only possible through his interaction with the social whole.
Historically, Whitman belonged to that remarkable generation of American writers who created the Church of the Self. They believed that each of us should be God to ourself, that our highest authority should by our inmost thoughts and feelings. This idea is reflected in the last stanza.
In conclusion, this poem should be read as a manifesto of values, a guide to a worthy life. Whitman stands at the birth of a vast modern world, whose future growth he seeks to penetrate. It is not egotism, it is the identification of a great individual nature with the spirit and life of modern humanity.
Whitman wants to help America to find her soul. A future given up to the despotism of business, to the sway of the smart, vulgar, money-making animal, to dyspeptic middle-class religionism, to the election of lying rogues to office, to the universal reign of the mediocre and the commonplace this is indeed a future from which the human race may well shrink.
This anthropocentric position in literature as in philosophy will produce vast results. The State, religion, industry will be directed solely towards the good of man. In times past, humanity has been sacrificed to regal power, to the assumed rights of a caste, to the supposed claims of an external deity on the implicit obedience of his creatures. Today man is enslaved to money-making, in thrall to machinery, a weary drudge attendant on the incessant demands of the iron monster which he serves. All these forms of slavery are at variance with democracy, every one must be abolished root and branch. The State exists for no other purpose than to realise the collective will of its subjects. If a man sees nothing divine in himself and his fellows, he shall find no divinity in the world at all, this is expressed in the third stanza:
“All doctrines, all politics and civilization exurge from you,All sculpture and monuments and anything inscribed anywhere are tallied in you,The gist of histories and statistics as far back as the records reach is in you this hour _ and myths and tales the same;If you were not breathing and walking here where would they all be?” Whitman is saying that industry shall clothe, feed, and comfort men; man shall not be the slave of the machine. This is the meaning of democracy. It is no crude theory of negation. It does not deny the validity of the great institutions and ideas which have for untold ages expressed in form or language, in sacrificial rite and sacred hymn, the spiritual life of man. But it transforms and develops these, it expresses them in terms of thought, it seeks to raise humanity to loftier heights through their agency.
In the lines addressed "To You," the poet speaks from his heart to the average man, like in the lines: “The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are;”... “If you were not breathing and walking here where would they all be?”;... “All architecture is what you do to it when you look upon it; Did you think it was in the white or gray stone? or the lines of the arches and cornices?” To state Whitman’s fundamental democratic ideas in as concise a way as is possible. He is, at the outset, neither absolutely collectivist nor individualist. The care and culture of the individual, his spiritual growth, is, indeed, the final end. The whole vast array and pomp of nature exists to form spiritual individuals. The individual is no mere function of a social whole, no mere cog or pin in the machinery.
Yet, on the other hand, he sees that the spiritual individual is made a reality by the social whole of which he is a part. The engineer on the train is not a part of the machinery, but a human being having the same desires as the President or the Secretary of State.
He always comes at last to the individual, no doubt. But that individual is a mere undifferentiated potentiality by himself ; his spiritual life is only possible through his interaction with the social whole.
Historically, Whitman belonged to that remarkable generation of American writers who created the Church of the Self. They believed that each of us should be God to ourself, that our highest authority should by our inmost thoughts and feelings. This idea is reflected in the last stanza.
In conclusion, this poem should be read as a manifesto of values, a guide to a worthy life. Whitman stands at the birth of a vast modern world, whose future growth he seeks to penetrate. It is not egotism, it is the identification of a great individual nature with the spirit and life of modern humanity.
Entry nº 46 : Walt Whitman Poem Analysis : Souls of men and women!
In this poem, Whitman is thinking not of his own individuality, but of modern humanity in its actual types, especially as found in America, whose representative he is. Whitman stands at the birth of a vast modern world, whose future growth he seeks to penetrate. He peers down the " democratic vistas " of the opening age, and discerns afar the great new shapes looming up in the dim distance. It is not of his own personal ego, it is of the tidal rush of new virile life on the American continent, that he writes. The " I " constantly sprinkling the poem is not the individual but the collective American Ego, whose voice he believes himself to be.
On the other hand, what is named the primary imagination: "a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM ", is present in the poem. Whitman's " I " would be the part of himself that he associates with the creative impulse what is evidenced in the following lines: “ I own publicly who you are, if nobody else owns... and see and hear you, ...” All these I see, but nigher and farther the same I see; None shall escape me, and none shall wish to escape me.” ... “ I bring what you much need, yet always have, I bring not money or amours or dress or eating... but I bring as good;”
He speaks for the modern man of his own country ; for he reminds one perpetually that he claims nothing for himself which he does not concede to all. No, it is not egotism, it is the identification of a great individual nature with the spirit and life of modern humanity. He is America’s voice, the voice of the average American spread over a vast and still ragged continent, flush with life, energy, and hope.
His task is to foreshadow the future of the democratic life there, to announce things to come. Whitman wants to help America to find her soul. Redemption will come, thinks Whitman, through the spiritual influences of the great poet, bard, seer what you will. From the first to the fourth stanzas, he will speak to the people on equal terms. He is to lead the people, not as a master from above, but as a friend and comrade in their own ranks:
“ I see not merely that you are polite or whitefaced... married or single...
... a lady or gentleman in a parlor... or dressed in the jail uniform...
or pulpit uniform,”...
...“The wife _ and she is not one jot less than the husband,The daughter_ and she is just as good as the son,The mother_ and she is every bit as much as the father.”
...“Offspring of those not rich _ boys apprenticed to trades, Mechanics, southerners, new arrivals, sailors, mano’warsmen, merchantmen, coasters, All these I see, but nigher and farther the same I see;None shall escape me, and none shall wish to escape me.”
Whitman’s idea of the modern redeemer, the light-bringer, the friend of man, may be summed up in his own words:
“ I bring what you much need, yet always have,I bring not money or amours or dress or eating... but I bring as good;And send no agent or medium... and offer no representative of value_ but offer the value itself.”
Whitman wants to tell us that the modern man, as a democrat, shares in the general life of mankind ; a true and fruitful idea.
Whitman stands in an anthropocentric position; it is, indeed, the central in spiring thought of Whitman’s writings. In the lines addressed "To You," the poet speaks from his heart to the average man:
“ It is not you I go argue pro and con about, and to settle whether you are alive or no;”... “ It is for you whoever you are”.....” You may read in many languages and read nothing about it; You may read the President's message and read nothing about it there,”...
Now, to state Whitman’s fundamental democratic ideas in as concise a way as is possible. He is, at the outset, neither absolutely collectivist nor individualist. The care and culture of the individual, his spiritual growth, is, indeed, the final end. This development of the individual is so dominant in Whitman’s mind, that, though he writes of the "Modern Man," he is always actually thinking of particular types, distinct people:
“ Citizens of old states or citizens of new states...
Not only the free Utahan, Kansian, or Arkansian...
Grown, half-grown, and babe _ of this country and every country, indoors and
outdoors I see... and all else behind or through them.”
Yet, on the other hand, he sees that the spiritual individual is made a reality by the social whole of which he is a part. Man is not man except as son, lover, friend, citizen. The world pours its life into a man, and he in turn renders back in new forms the gifts so bestowed. Whitman always comes at last to the individual, no doubt. But that individual is a mere undifferentiated potentiality by himself ; his spiritual life is only possible through his interaction with the social whole. Freedom, brotherhood, democracy. Walt Whitman has come to represent the best of American beliefs.
By the end of the poem, he adresses us, to think of this journey of appreciation. His optimism isn't triumphalism, or even happiness, but the confidence that each of us can find our rightful place in the world. As representative democratic bard, Whitman exhibits complete freedom from conventionality, a very deep human love, hope for all, faith in the rationality of the world, courage, energy, and the instinct of solidarity. All lines seem to be converging towards a new point in the distant horizon, a new type of life and to a new attitude of the individual towards the world.
On the other hand, what is named the primary imagination: "a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM ", is present in the poem. Whitman's " I " would be the part of himself that he associates with the creative impulse what is evidenced in the following lines: “ I own publicly who you are, if nobody else owns... and see and hear you, ...” All these I see, but nigher and farther the same I see; None shall escape me, and none shall wish to escape me.” ... “ I bring what you much need, yet always have, I bring not money or amours or dress or eating... but I bring as good;”
He speaks for the modern man of his own country ; for he reminds one perpetually that he claims nothing for himself which he does not concede to all. No, it is not egotism, it is the identification of a great individual nature with the spirit and life of modern humanity. He is America’s voice, the voice of the average American spread over a vast and still ragged continent, flush with life, energy, and hope.
His task is to foreshadow the future of the democratic life there, to announce things to come. Whitman wants to help America to find her soul. Redemption will come, thinks Whitman, through the spiritual influences of the great poet, bard, seer what you will. From the first to the fourth stanzas, he will speak to the people on equal terms. He is to lead the people, not as a master from above, but as a friend and comrade in their own ranks:
“ I see not merely that you are polite or whitefaced... married or single...
... a lady or gentleman in a parlor... or dressed in the jail uniform...
or pulpit uniform,”...
...“The wife _ and she is not one jot less than the husband,The daughter_ and she is just as good as the son,The mother_ and she is every bit as much as the father.”
...“Offspring of those not rich _ boys apprenticed to trades, Mechanics, southerners, new arrivals, sailors, mano’warsmen, merchantmen, coasters, All these I see, but nigher and farther the same I see;None shall escape me, and none shall wish to escape me.”
Whitman’s idea of the modern redeemer, the light-bringer, the friend of man, may be summed up in his own words:
“ I bring what you much need, yet always have,I bring not money or amours or dress or eating... but I bring as good;And send no agent or medium... and offer no representative of value_ but offer the value itself.”
Whitman wants to tell us that the modern man, as a democrat, shares in the general life of mankind ; a true and fruitful idea.
Whitman stands in an anthropocentric position; it is, indeed, the central in spiring thought of Whitman’s writings. In the lines addressed "To You," the poet speaks from his heart to the average man:
“ It is not you I go argue pro and con about, and to settle whether you are alive or no;”... “ It is for you whoever you are”.....” You may read in many languages and read nothing about it; You may read the President's message and read nothing about it there,”...
Now, to state Whitman’s fundamental democratic ideas in as concise a way as is possible. He is, at the outset, neither absolutely collectivist nor individualist. The care and culture of the individual, his spiritual growth, is, indeed, the final end. This development of the individual is so dominant in Whitman’s mind, that, though he writes of the "Modern Man," he is always actually thinking of particular types, distinct people:
“ Citizens of old states or citizens of new states...
Not only the free Utahan, Kansian, or Arkansian...
Grown, half-grown, and babe _ of this country and every country, indoors and
outdoors I see... and all else behind or through them.”
Yet, on the other hand, he sees that the spiritual individual is made a reality by the social whole of which he is a part. Man is not man except as son, lover, friend, citizen. The world pours its life into a man, and he in turn renders back in new forms the gifts so bestowed. Whitman always comes at last to the individual, no doubt. But that individual is a mere undifferentiated potentiality by himself ; his spiritual life is only possible through his interaction with the social whole. Freedom, brotherhood, democracy. Walt Whitman has come to represent the best of American beliefs.
By the end of the poem, he adresses us, to think of this journey of appreciation. His optimism isn't triumphalism, or even happiness, but the confidence that each of us can find our rightful place in the world. As representative democratic bard, Whitman exhibits complete freedom from conventionality, a very deep human love, hope for all, faith in the rationality of the world, courage, energy, and the instinct of solidarity. All lines seem to be converging towards a new point in the distant horizon, a new type of life and to a new attitude of the individual towards the world.
Entry nº 45: Poem: I celebrate the life in my hometown
I celebrate the life in my hometown,
I celebrate the daylife and the nightlife,
The people, their work and the gathering places,
I am all those who live here and die here without
Knowing any other town or city,
Those whose entire lives have walked along these streets,
Seen the same faces and visited the same places.
Knowing one of us is knowing the whole town,
In all of us is the spirit of men and women working
At the sugar factory, or in the sugar fields, or in the lemon fields;
In all of us are the pedestrians walking in circuls on Saturday nights;
In all of us are the festivals and celebrations throughout the year
The festival of Saint Joseph our patron saint, in March;
The Spring celebrations for the youth and the festival
To celebrate the end of the harvest,
And in Summer, the carnival and the paraids.
In all of us are the warm greetings when you pass by,
The birds singing and the blue sky, and the children
Flying their kites in the green squares
The peaceful nights, the full moon and the bright stars,
The windows without grills;
The public swimming pool at the public sports center
All these are part of you and I
All these can only be found in our hometown,
our souls and our roots are here, in our little lively city.
These words are for you that think our town is small and boring,
for you that believe there is no life and no future in here,
I tell, you my neighbour, there is no place in the world,
Like Bella Vista, our hometown.
I celebrate the daylife and the nightlife,
The people, their work and the gathering places,
I am all those who live here and die here without
Knowing any other town or city,
Those whose entire lives have walked along these streets,
Seen the same faces and visited the same places.
Knowing one of us is knowing the whole town,
In all of us is the spirit of men and women working
At the sugar factory, or in the sugar fields, or in the lemon fields;
In all of us are the pedestrians walking in circuls on Saturday nights;
In all of us are the festivals and celebrations throughout the year
The festival of Saint Joseph our patron saint, in March;
The Spring celebrations for the youth and the festival
To celebrate the end of the harvest,
And in Summer, the carnival and the paraids.
In all of us are the warm greetings when you pass by,
The birds singing and the blue sky, and the children
Flying their kites in the green squares
The peaceful nights, the full moon and the bright stars,
The windows without grills;
The public swimming pool at the public sports center
All these are part of you and I
All these can only be found in our hometown,
our souls and our roots are here, in our little lively city.
These words are for you that think our town is small and boring,
for you that believe there is no life and no future in here,
I tell, you my neighbour, there is no place in the world,
Like Bella Vista, our hometown.
Entry nº 44: Fat and happy
I can’t understand why I can’t be fat and happy. I have never been thin but in a period form my 16 to my 22 years old I used to be rather slim. But after I got married, I gained more than 10 kilos and now I am trying as hard as I can to lose some weight. Since a month ago, I’ve lost 5 kilos more or less but I still can’t fit on the clothes I used to wear while I was single. All this stuff of trying to lose weight involves eating less food, abandoning sweets and fried food, eating more boiled vegetables and fruit instead of fatty things. And of course doing some exercise but I must confess it is a challenge to me because I feel terrible when I have a desire for something that I shall not eat. This gets even worse when I cannot manage the temptation and I eat those things because I think that it is useless, that I always be fat and I will probably become obesse one day and I feel terrible.
I love eating especially sweets, cakes, desserts and chocolates. I don’t know if I am wrong but I do not feel bad for being fat. What annoys me is the fact that I can’t find clothes of my size, or if I find something, these clothes are always very expensive and I do not have money enough to pay for them. So I have to quit on my habits and do anything possible to control myself and lose weight. It is not my aim to be as thin as models are, but I would like to be able to wear my old clothes again because those clothes are not so old in fact, and I do not have much cloth now.
From my personal experience, I know you can be loved by anyone if you are fat, the problem is that society do not accept fat people. If you apply for a job as a secretary they won’t choose you, if you teach the student laugh at you. Any kind of job related to dealing with people will reject you, so the hidden message is ‘ if you are fat just disappear ‘. These employees push you to live indoors jaled inside your house. The media are the main responsable and transmisor of this message but even the media are controlled by the market.
As nowadays everything is valued by its cost, nothing sells better than beauty and the modern stereotype of beauty is a skinny person who is surrounded by the latest fashionable luxuries. The media also transmit a confusing message, because on the one hand, they show tv and radio programms that encourage acceptance to everybody, critisize discrimination of any type and the skinny and materialist image of the beauty stereotype. But in the everyday life, in real life, we know that in this world there is only place for the smaller and more beautiful group, the skinny ones; while the ugly or fat ones are rejected from any place.
I love eating especially sweets, cakes, desserts and chocolates. I don’t know if I am wrong but I do not feel bad for being fat. What annoys me is the fact that I can’t find clothes of my size, or if I find something, these clothes are always very expensive and I do not have money enough to pay for them. So I have to quit on my habits and do anything possible to control myself and lose weight. It is not my aim to be as thin as models are, but I would like to be able to wear my old clothes again because those clothes are not so old in fact, and I do not have much cloth now.
From my personal experience, I know you can be loved by anyone if you are fat, the problem is that society do not accept fat people. If you apply for a job as a secretary they won’t choose you, if you teach the student laugh at you. Any kind of job related to dealing with people will reject you, so the hidden message is ‘ if you are fat just disappear ‘. These employees push you to live indoors jaled inside your house. The media are the main responsable and transmisor of this message but even the media are controlled by the market.
As nowadays everything is valued by its cost, nothing sells better than beauty and the modern stereotype of beauty is a skinny person who is surrounded by the latest fashionable luxuries. The media also transmit a confusing message, because on the one hand, they show tv and radio programms that encourage acceptance to everybody, critisize discrimination of any type and the skinny and materialist image of the beauty stereotype. But in the everyday life, in real life, we know that in this world there is only place for the smaller and more beautiful group, the skinny ones; while the ugly or fat ones are rejected from any place.
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