Bonus: 1984

The novel 1984 by George Orwell has always attracted me because its setting depicts a dystopian society. I have always wondered how the future would unfold whether the human race is close to a utopian or a dystopian society. The mystery of the future taps my imagination, and I cannot help but imagine. The novel itself has a different writing style than a modern book such as What is the What or The Kite Runner, but in a sense, the writing style is refreshing. It makes the readers think a little bit harder especially when the characters in the novel uses Newspeak which is daunting and creepy.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Feminist thinking wrapped inside a creatively succinct black literature. Such is the case of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Upon reading this short novel, my mind was expanded and opened with the racism, sexism, and ageism that a person, in the novel's case, Janie, can face throughout his or her life. Before reading the actual text, I read the introduction and short essays of authors and leaders who were influenced by the novel, and their opinions stuck with me, troubling me throughout reading the novel if I was justified or objective with the subjects. Yet mid-way through the book, I let go of the my insecurities and read the book like a typical reader, still picking up the same lessons that I did during the beginning half of the novel. The book left me, as a woman, as a teenager, and as a non-white, empowered that regardless of the oppositions that I may face in the future, I can prevail just as Janie did in the novel.

What is the What

What is the What in and of itself is a great "fictional" novel, but absolutely amazing as an autobiography. One can really pick up literary usages, but also lessons that one can apply on life within the novel's passages. It's hard to determine which is actual and which is fictional, and it goes to show how the passages mesh together and flow very fluidly. The authors, Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak Deng have done a wonderful job in making a 500-page book widely entertaining and equally as lovable. The authors' message came through the pages of the novel. I have a new-found love for the Sudanese people- their memories are my memories, and their challenges my challenges.
I did not only acquire literary symbols appropriate to better my AP Literature understanding, but also a greater appreciation for life itself- its innocence, its futility, and especially its fragility.