Why My Spring Break Was Epic

For my spring break I went on a three city tour of Eastern Europe: Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. I got to see a church that was hundreds of years old, listen to a Mozart concert in the city where Mozart was born, and I got to lounge in an open air thermal spring bath in the center of Budapest. The food was amazing and the cities were all beautiful and unique, so spending hours walking around all of them were pleasures in and off themselves. Not to mention the ruin-clubs that my dad and older sister took me to (clubs in the remains of houses that belonged to Jews prior to WWII and that now remain uninhabited) where they tried to legally get me wasted; unfortunately their efforts were futile, as I do not particularly like the taste of beer (though the hard cider was ok). This was an epic vacation and I'm so glad I got to have this experience with my dad and older sister (my mom and younger sister were enjoying a college tour road-trip across the southeast coast, so they got a pass).

Pride and Prejudice Post 1

I really like Jane Austen's critique of some of the more ridiculous aspects of high society through characters like Mrs. Bennet and the Lady de Bourgh. I think her dry sarcastic humor is brilliant in this regard. However, I find it interesting that Mr. Darcy, who I don't think is meant to be a sympathetic character (at least I hope not, because I find him insufferable, and it saddens me that he and Elizabeth end up together) also constantly critiques the behavior of some of the other wealthy and vapid individuals in the novel.

I also really like the dynamic amongst the Bennet sisters. I might be reading too much into it, but it seems like an interesting a subversion of what I perceive to be a trope of sisters who are incredibly competitive and don't like each other. Especially in the case of Jane and Lizzie, at least so far, I understand their relationship to be one of mutual support and love. However, I think it's a little unfortunate that other women in the novel often times fall into the trope of being empty or backstabbing (really everyone except Jane and Lizzie; even their sisters, while friendly, seem to be frowned upon as "silly" or vapid), although I will admit there is a proportional dearth of good, thoughtful men in the novel as well (Mr. Bennet and Mr. Bingley, I think, are more or less the only ones).

Purple Hibiscus Post 4

One thing I like about Purple Hibiscus is that it doesn't just subvert traditional expectations of what Africa is, it also subverts Western beliefs about what Africa should be. Namely, the fact that Kambili's father and immediate family, which are wealthy, Christian, and ambitious in the traditional expectation by Westerners of what Africans should strive to achieve, are incredibly dysfunctional. The father's insistence on success and exceptionalism (something stressed by Westerners) manifests in an incredibly cruel and abusive system. His intense Christian religiosity, something many Western religious figures like the idea of, results in an incredibly judgemental and excessive worldview. Instead, it's the Aunt's family, which embraces African heritage and culture and other notions that are perhaps unwanted in the minds of westerners, which appears happy, healthy, loving, and safe. 

Purple Hibiscus Post 3

(Warning, I have finished the book, so I'm probably talking about things beyond where we were supposed to have stopped) One thing I started thinking about after the discussion I listed in on while I was sick was the color choices of the Hibiscuses. As you pointed out, there are not actually purple hibiscuses. It's a hybrid of the red and blue. I've also started to think about the purple hibiscuses being representative of wealth. It's an interesting juxtaposition because Kambili comes from a wealthy background, where she has the red hibiscuses. The purple hibiscuses, representing a different kind of wealth, are at her aunts house. Her aunt, despite being poorer and suffering great financial difficulty (seemingly the opposite of wealthy) has an emotional wealth. Her and her children are happy, they love each other, and they are not constantly afraid. Compared to Eugene's household, Kambili is poor in terms of feeling safe and loved and free. And her true self actualization and personal growth doesn't start until the end, when her father is dead and the purple hibiscuses have successfully transplanted.