Author: Karla Morales

My favorite story so far has been “Assimilation” by Doctorow because this story shows how the ethics that Ramon has takes a toll in the decisions he makes. Ramon works as a dishwasher in a Russian restaurant and he is offered a chance to make three thousand dollars and the chance to become a busboy, the one thing he has to do in return is that he has to marry his bosses niece who is named Jelena in order for her to get a green card. I really enjoyed reading this story because it gives you a clear idea of Ramon’s situation, of how different he is compared to his brother Leon and we  get to see how he stands up to Borislav’s requests. In the story it is mentioned that even though it was an  arranged marriage he still wanted to learn everything about Jelena, not only for when they would be questioned by immigration but because he felt it was his duty as a husband. He takes the time to walk her to  home from work and on the way he tries to ask her questions. The main characters in this story are Ramon, Jelena, Leon and Borislav. Ramon makes the decision to marry Jelena and  Jelena has to be in an arranged marriage for her benefit. Leon is the person who warns Ramon saying that Jelena asked him to hit her because if Ramon did then she could get divorced and fix the whole paperwork in two weeks instead of two years. I think that Ramon holds deontology and virtue ethics because he constantly worries about who he is and who he wants to be. Ramon is struggling to achieve his dream of finishing film school, he could take the easy way out and ask his brother for financial help but instead he wants to do it the right way. 

Karla Morales

ENG 2001-O525

The spirit of perverseness is the force that drives people to do things that they know will be bad for themselves and others. In the stories “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both have a character who uses the force of perversion in order to destroy the lives of their loved ones. The narrator in the story “The Black Cat”, and John in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, both create an atmosphere that eventually leads to destruction and tragic events. 

In the story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator confesses his love for animals such as cats and dogs and he marries a woman at a young age. He has a favorite animal which is a black cat named Pluto. Shortly after, he starts suffering from violent mood swings which is the result of his alcoholism. He starts to mistreat his wife and animals, eventually he lashes out on Pluto after getting home drunk one night. The narrator proceeds to take a pocket knife and he cuts the cat’s eyes. The following day he hangs the car from a tree and on the night of Pluto’s death, his house sets on fire. The only thing left standing is a wall with the impression of a black cat. One night after being out drinking he stumbles into a black cat who resembles Pluto and the cat becomes a part of his household. The spirit of perverseness takes over once again leading to his murderous thoughts. One day he trips on the cat and he decides to grab an axe but unexpectedly , the wife defends the animal. The narrator disapproves of this and decides to bury the axe of his wife’s head. The police arrive on the fourth day and discover what he has done.

In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator begins by informing the reader that her husband has taken her to a summer vacation. They are staying at a house that has been empty for a while. She discusses that she suffers from depression and her husband John who also happens to be her doctor constantly disregards her illness and her thoughts.  The solution that is given by her husband John is to not do anything that will make her use her imagination such as writing. She makes the decision to keep a secret journal in order to relieve her mind. She starts to focus more on the house, especially the yellow wallpaper that has different patterns. She becomes more and more fixated on the wallpaper but John refuses to change the wallpaper because he doesn’t want to feed into her worries. She starts seeing a particular pattern and as she spends more time alone, her goal is now to figure out what the pattern of the wall is. The wallpaper starts to take over her imagination because it seems to be the only source of entertainment. She starts sleeping less and mentions that she can smell the wallpaper all over the house. Now the wallpaper starts taking the shape of a woman who is struggling inside the room’s yellow wallpaper. In an effort to help out the woman, she tears  it down. By the end of the story she has gone completely insane thinking that she is the trapped woman.

In the story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the paradox can be that Emily is both weak and strong. After the death of her father, the townspeople start viewing her with pity. It is very evident that he was a controlling parent due to the fact that he rejected many potential suitors for Emily. The death of her father was very hard on her because she refused to acknowledge that he had passed away but eventually she was able to give up his body. One way that she is strong is because she found a way to get away with paying taxes in Jefferson and she reassured  the officials that she is not required to pay them. I think that the redemption was the death of Emily’s father because after his death she was able to do what she wanted without her dad being in the way of her decisions. 

In the story “Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville the paradox is that the lawyer sees Bartleby as a charity work, he pities him but soon he realizes that he is a useful worker.The redemption in this story is Bartleby’s death because although he passed it showed how strong he was towards what he thought was right and wrong.

In the stories “House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges and “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, both stories include gothic elements such as mysterious characters, plot points and settings. In “House of Asterion”, the character we will be discussing is the narrator who is described as being arrogant and having a dislike for humankind which he claims to be false. At the end of the story he reveals that he is a bull with a man’s face called Minotaur. In the story “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, the character is the old man who has a human body and wings. He was bald, had very few teeth in his mouth and was in very bad condition. The angel speaks in a dialect which makes it difficult for the locals to communicate with him. He was treated like a circus animal while he was being held captive by Pelayo and his wife. Father Gonzaga had a suspicion that the angel was an impostor because he didn’t fit the description of what an angel should have been like, all because he was much too human, did not understand the language of God and had parasites. One outstanding characteristic of the angel is that he had enormous patience, despite the horrible treatment he received , he managed to never lash out of anyone. At the end, he gets enough rest and strength to be able to fly away. 

In “House of Asterion” and “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” the point plot is death/near death. In the first story, the narrator reveals that every nine years , nine people enter his house but do not leave, they end up dying. One of those nine people who entered into his home revealed that his redeemer would come. In the second story, near death is experienced when we find out that the angels’ purpose on earth was to take Pelayo’s sick child to heaven. The angel also experienced near death because while he was captured, the people would throw stones at him and try to pluck out his feathers. The old man is kept in a chicken coop for a couple of years and just when Pelayo and Elisanda think he is experiencing near death, the angel regains his strength and takes off. 

The gothic setting of the story “The house of Asterion” is described as a house with no doors or furniture and whoever steps a foot in there will find peace and solitude. He also adds that there’s no locked doors as well as no locks on the doors. He goes on to describe that his house is repeated many times and that “any place is another place”. In “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, the story first takes place Pelayo’s courtyard which is where he discovers the old man who turns out to be the angel.