In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz and Maximilian the Mystery of the Guardian Angel by Xavier Garza demonstrate how positive male role models are part of the Latino culture in literature as well as in real life. Throughout these two books which target young adults, Saenz and Garza emphasize the constant presence of positive male role models and the importance of their impact on the characters. Similarities between Garza and Saenz indicate that contemporary Mexican-American fathers/role models can be affectionate, involved, as well as morally and emotionally supportive which helps shape the young individual become a better person academically and socially. In Saenz 's work, the positive male role models are seen in the main characters, Aristotle 's and Dante 's fathers, and in Garza 's work, the positive male role models are seen in the main character 's (Max) father, uncle, and great-uncle. Dante 's father, Sam Quintana, an English professor, is portrayed as a caring, encouraging, and present father who is always there for his son. "You know what my father said to me? He said, 'Dante, you 're in intellectual. That 's who you are. Don 't be ashamed of that '" (Saenz 35). The role of the Dante 's father is much more than just being there, it is demonstrated in the open lines of communication he kept with his son and the self-confidence he instilled in Dante. Aristotle 's father, ex-Marine Vietnam War veteran, Jaime Mendoza,
In Larry Lankton’s text, “Beyond the Boundaries” we gradually enter an unknown world that is frightening yet filled with immense beauty for miles. Due to the copper mining industry, a gradual increase of working class men and their families start to migrate to the unknown world with unsteady emotion, yet hope for a prosperous new life. In “Beyond the Boundaries”, Lankton takes us on a journey on how the “world below” transformed the upper peninsula into a functional and accepted new part of the world.
In the novel by Benjamin Alire Saenz titled, “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” the novel is written in a first person perspective from the eyes of Aristotle, taking place during the 1980’s in El Paso, Texas. The novel itself has no direct plot, and it is mainly about Aristotle, a boy who is curious, angry, and solemn at the world, and his struggles about his adolescence and teenage mentality, along with his friend, Dante. Dante offered a unique perspective in contrast to Ari’s perspective; he was philosophical, outgoing and slightly dark mannered, as well as open and honest about his emotions. Dante “understands the world,” but mostly himself, unlike Aristotle, who doesn't understand anything about himself, his life, his family, or what manner he should undertake his life in. I really relate to the main character and his struggles with growing up, adolescence, and culture, as well as his overall loneliness. I can’t say the same for Dante however.
Another important issue that Cisneros addresses in her story is gender roles in the Latino community. In Mexico, being born a male is of higher prestige and value
Caminero-Santangelo, Marta. 2007. On Latinidad: U.S. Latino Literature and the Construction of Ethnicity. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Anthropology and genetics are two fields that, when put together, discover some amazing things. Most of these amazing things are written in the book The Journey of Man, by Spencer Wells. In it, he explains where humans originated from, and how we came to populate the entire globe. It is both humbling and riveting, and a great start to understanding how much work truly goes in to studying our past.
Hispanic-American population in the United states is dramatically increasing as a result of immigration patterns and increase birthrate of the ones already residing in the the United States. The movie Selena is an example of Latino family residing in the country who wants to fulfill the “American Dream”. Isolation and discrimination of Hispanic-Americans particularly Mexican family has also been illustrated in the movie. Despite social class stratification, Selena’s family try to breakthrough to the English-speaking audience mainstream to be accepted. In this film, the father is characterized as the head of the family - dominant, strong, aggressive, invulnerable, and superior. Portrayal of tight-knit family values and interdependence is seen in this movie, as well.
In Junot Diaz’s short story, “Drown” masculinity is a cultural imperative that prohibits young men, particularly those of Latino decent, from being able to express love in a meaningful way, or follow the desires of their heart. There are several factors prohibiting them from this pursuit. The absence of a father figure in the narrator’s life, and indeed in the life of many young Latino men, lead them to develop their own ideas of masculinity based on scant memories of their father prior to abandonment, or a fictionalized version told to them by others, as proposed by critic John Riofrio. Riofrio also asserts that this
All the light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, chronicles the lives and relationship between Marie and Werner, two children who grew up in France and Germany. The society around them forces discriminatory ideals that cloud their perception of the world, but they find its meaning through their own self-definition. In this, they are both guided by a single radio and the message and legacy that it contains. Throughout the book, the author isolated the two characters, but also created subtle connections between the two. The most important of which would be the radio. It created a bond between the two where they learned from each other’s experiences and struggles. All the Light We Cannot See recreates a new picture of the world by contrasting the two separate journeys taken by Marie- Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig to gain that image, which is guided by the power of a radio and the message it contains, ultimately leading to the meeting of the two characters that officially forms an image of the world where one’s actions are valued more than one’s physical features.
“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight.” (Paulo Coelho) No matter, how hard we try, true is success can be reached only through determination and from the knowledge of pervious failures. Although it is true that we need to spend a longer time by doing a task more than once, but that is how it gives us the strength of mind to do it better next time. Each and every pathway we take in our lives are a learning experience. Some of them are easier to cross and others are steeper, that are able to give us a stronger confidence in our task. Now, do we really need to go through failures and defeats to accomplish something? Many successful worldwide have sworn that success in life cannot come without great failures. Paulo Coelho a successful Brazilian novelist, the recipient of numerous international awards known for his spectacular literary work “The Alchemist” has a similar idea. He was like many of us when he started writing, having the fear that it is impossible to achieve his dream. Coelho doesn’t know that whether defeats or necessary or not, but he knows that they will happen. When we first start to fight our dream, we have no experience and mistakes are common. After all, life is too short to wake up with regrets and sadness.
David Adams Leeming said “ Great myths are never merely silly or superstitious tales and that myths give us insights into the nature of our world.” When you read that statement, you might think that it’s just an opinion and that it doesn’t have to do with the human race, but when you look at the society and world you’re living in and look at our leaders, you might realize that myths aren’t that silly and that some myths might represent or predict insights into the nature of our world. “The End of All Things” by Barbara Leonie Picard wrote that “The Norsemen believed that, as Odin had foreseen, the gods were doomed one day to perish, and she wrote that “There would be three winters more terrible than any that had ever gone before, with snow
Throughout the world today, countless religions and belief systems are still in existence. With that being said, a major question is formed, such as: how does one go about viewing and understanding this untold number of religions and systems? In hopes of better understanding and answering this question many philosophers have spent their lives studying the overall subject of religion. John Hick, for example, studied the implications of religion as a whole. Throughout Hick’s studies, he found his main focus to be pluralism and how these religious experiences impact those involved. John Hick used his knowledge to write a novel called, “The Fifth Dimension,” which is based solely off of his research and personal thoughts which appear to focus mainly on the subject at hand.
Dark Matter was first proposed by Fritz Zwicky in the 1930’s when he observed the motions of galaxies and he noticed that the amount of visible objects could not account for the observations he made. There had to be some “invisible” mass holding these galaxies together. It is known that 25% of our universe is made up dark matter versus 4% of the visible matter we know and interact with every day. The leading candidates for dark matter are MACHOs and WIMPS. Gravitational lensing is one of the ways we can infer the presence dark matter, since we cannot see it directly. With the discovery of dark matter, the standard model of physics no longer answers all the questions. For that, we need another model, called supersymmetry.
The book “Physics of the Impossible” was written by Japanese American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. Kaku generally writes books about physics or physics related topics. Among his three New Work Times best seller, Physics of Impossible is one in which Kaku utilizes discourse of theoretical advancements to acquaint themes of basic material science with the reader. In this book, Kaku represents physics in various ways so that the reader understands the significance of physics and implement in his/her life. Kaku makes many references to physics by utilizing popular culture references, especially to books and films, for example, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Flash Gordon, The Fly, The Invisible Man, and more. Kaku utilizes these cases to
This special reports dives into the changing business world of India. It starts off by describing a big day for India, one where county leaders discussed the fact that business people in their country feel disheartened and the dynastic culture of the entrepreneurs in India. “The world is Flat” by Thomas Friedman is mentioned as he describes India as a “silicon Valet with worse roads and spicier food”. And an idea of a new form of capitalism in India is discussed; stating that Indian capitalism is concentrated and that in the stock market debt levels are low and growth rates are strong. The idea of India’s sense of ownership is mentioned with the evidence that many Indian firms are under family or founder control. India is growing to be
Black holes are one of the most mysterious aspects of the Universe. Scientists know that black holes contain an insane amount of matter packed into a small space with a gravitational field so intense that not even light can escape it. This review will focus primarily on what is known about black holes, how scientists know black holes exist, current studies and experiments, and why they are studied. Based off the knowledge humans have already uncovered about black holes, they could change the future. Black holes could realistically be used to power starships, enabling humans to travel at near light speed to explore the Cosmos. Humans would be able to conquer the most unknown frontier yet.