“Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,          If Mem’ry o’er their tomb no trophies raise, Where thro’ the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault          The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.” (10 Gray) In this stanza, Thomas Gray turns his voice toward the powerful, the aristocrats, the historians, and architects of cultural memory;… Continue reading Close Reading- Rania

I wanted to compare these two quotes to show the psychological burden of slavery. Highlighting the Weakness of the word ‘Freedom’ in a world where blackness = enslavement.  “These words of my master were like a voice from heaven to me; in an instant all my trepidation was turned into unuttered bliss; and I most… Continue reading EQUIANO 2 – Rania

Chapter one is a foundational piece that establishes the cultural richness of his homeland. Equiano not only preserves the memory of his early life but also constructs a powerful argument against the dehumanizing of African people. His details serve as a counter narrative to prevailing European stereotypes of African societies as uncivilized. An interesting aspect… Continue reading Equiano

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page  Rich with the spoils of time did ne’er unroll;Chill Penury repress’d their noble rage,  And froze the genial current of the soul. Full many a gem of purest ray serene,  The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear:Full many a flow’r is born to blush unseen,  And waste its sweetness on the… Continue reading ELEGY Written in a country churchyard

David Hume’s essay on The Standard of Taste explores the natural of beauty, artistic judgment, and the subjective and objective dimensions of taste. He begins by acknowledging the diversity of human’s taste, what one person might find beautiful, another find it repulsive. He recognizes that different individuals, cultures, and eras have varied preferences when it… Continue reading Rania- Taste

In Orientalism, Edward Said argues how Western portrayals of the east have been shaped by distortion and inaccuracy. He expresses two major concerns, “My two fears are distortion and inaccuracy, or rather the kind of inaccuracy produced by too dogmatic a generality and too positivistic a localized focus.” (pg 16-pg11pdf). This quote captures Said’s warning,… Continue reading Rania- Orientalism

I really enjoyed reading The Fable of the Bees. What was interesting to me the most was the ending when the author mentions “ So vice is beneficial found, when it’s by justice lopped and bound; nay, where the people would be great, as necessary to the state, as hunger is to make them eat.… Continue reading Rania (Fable of the bees)

Fantomina is more than just a story of Romance and deception, it’s a critique of how women’s roles were confined by societal expectations, forcing them to navigate the world where values tied them to purity. The protagonist’s decision to change herself repeatedly to maintain Beauplaisir’s attention highlights a central truth about gender dynamics; men were… Continue reading Rania- Fantomina

one quote I found interesting from ‘The Tatler ‘ is, ” Though the other papers which are published for the use of the good people of England have certainly very wholesome effects, and are laudable in their particular kinds, yet they do not seem to come up to the main design of such narrations, which,… Continue reading Rania- Culture post 2