Blog Buster!

  What can older people learn from your generation? The principle of age has never been totally defined in my mind. Would an older person be able to understand the modernity brought by the newer generations that don’t stop coming? Surely there is a midpoint where they both connect and understand each other, because like it or not they were once young and that is the singularity that generates this bond. My opinion is that elderly people, despite having a good dose of knowledge and experience, learn every day with the youth and that’s what makes them inserted into a society that changes very often. A few years ago, I used to hang out with my grandparents when they were alive and I quite didn’t understand why they had some difficulties accessing their bank accounts, telephone number, apps and even modern cars. I understand that, being close to my grandparents, at that moment, was a shock between generations and I was too young to notice. I learned from them on how to cook, how to...

  Libra , by Don DeLillo Truth and Paranoia  by: Pedro Oliveira de Miranda       An interesting factor, possible to be noticed in Libra is that the book does not really focus on trying to discover who in fact killed John F Kennedy, but instead, the narrative tries to give us a glimpse of whether the truth can be really known by someone. Just like in Rag Time, DeLillo creates a fragmented plot that mirrors the chaotic character which surrounds historical events. As a reader (and a non  native English speaker), this style made me a little uncomfortable while reading and understanding what the book is really about, but that made me realize that in Libra , lack of coherence is not an issue to be solved; it is the main point of the narrative.     Certainly, the element that most stood out in the book was the constant presence of Paranoia. Characters, like Lee Oswald, often believe that every action is connected with a larger/bigger plan. It mi...

 Kindred  The Time Travel  by: Pedro Oliveira de Miranda        Kindred, a novel published in 1979 by the African American writer Octavia E. Butler, important figure in the science fiction landscape, tells the story of Dana, a Black women from the 20th century who is mysteriously transported to a different period of time from the one she was present on. Dana appears inside of a plantation during the slavery era in  the United States, forcing her to face the violence and oppression of the relations related to this period. However, Butler didn't use time travel merely as a narrative device, but instead a complex metaphor that exposes the connection between past and future.     One of the main functions of time travel in Kindred is its ability to eliminate the distance between the past and the present, used by the author to force both Dana and the reader to face and confront the history not as something distant and immutable, but as an ong...

 Mumbo Jambo  The Modern Jes Grew by: Pedro Oliveira de Miranda      In the early 1970s, Ishmael Reed, renowned north American poet and essayist, known for blending satires and cultural criticism in his works, developed a well-defined concept present in the African cultural environment named as Jes Grew. Reed created Jes Grew as a way to represent the African cultural dissemination in the middle 20's. In his novel, Mumbo Jambo, this concept is represented by him as a literal virus outbreak that clearly is a metaphor to this contagious diffusion of African customs such as music, religion, fashion and more.        Even though Mumbo Jambo was written over fifty years ago, From hip-hop to fashion, the essence of Jes Grew  is still resonating in our everyday life. But could Jes Grew today be something greater? How might this "cultural virus " would evolve in a massively globalized modern world, the same one whic...

  History X Fiction in Rag Time   (E.L Doctorow) What is Ragtime ?;     Ragtime,  by E. L. Doctorow is a historical fiction novel first published in 1975, set in the early 20th century, primarily in New York City and its surrounding areas between 1902 and 1915. The narrative centers on a wealthy, unnamed family in New Rochelle, New York,  the family's business involves manufacturing flags and fireworks, reflecting the patriotic fervor of the era. The story unfolds through the eyes of the young boy, whose naive perspective allows for a panoramic view of the diverse lives and social upheavals of the time.     It is totally possible to stablish a relationship between the title of the book and a classical musical gender called Ragtime, created by Afro-American communities  in the 1890s to 1910s, which would later be unpopularized by the ascension of jazz. Looking further it's real possible to identify in the book the importanc...