For my final project, I chose to pursue the second option, focusing on Thomas Gray’s poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and drawing connections to the horrific acts and ongoing genocide faced by the Palestinian people. 21st stanza Their name, their years, spelt by th’ unletter’d muse, The place of fame and elegy supply: … Continue reading final Yasmine
Author: yasmine azokari
Yasmine Equiano 2
At the end of The Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano reflects not just on the events of his life, but on their larger meaning. He emphasizes that his story is told plainly and truthfully not to entertain, but to witness. He wants readers to understand that every moment, no matter how small, contributed to the… Continue reading Yasmine Equiano 2
Yasmine: Sentimental Journey
Reading A Sentimental Journey and reflecting on the way Yorick feels his emotions so intensely made me think a lot about how I react to images of suffering — especially the horrific ones coming out of Gaza. Like Yorick, I sometimes get caught in the emotional pull of what’s happening in the world. For example, when he… Continue reading Yasmine: Sentimental Journey
Yasmine: The Interesting Narrative
At the start of The Interesting Narrative, Olaudah Equiano comes across as really humble and honest. He admits it’s “difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape the imputation of vanity,” and says he’s not “a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant,” just a regular guy. Even after everything he went through, he… Continue reading Yasmine: The Interesting Narrative
Yasmine: Elegy in a Country Churchyard
Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is quiet, but haunting. It doesn’t shout—it lingers. It begins at sunset, with the day fading and the living retreating, and shifts our gaze to the forgotten dead beneath the soil.These weren’t kings or poets. Just villagers. Farmers. People who lived, worked, loved—and then vanished into history… Continue reading Yasmine: Elegy in a Country Churchyard
Yasmine: Sentiment & Taste
David Hume’s Of the Standard of Taste can be compared to modern debates about personal preference—while individual opinions vary, some artistic and cultural works achieve lasting recognition. He acknowledges that taste is subjective—what one person considers high fashion, another might see as outdated or excessive. However, Hume also argues that certain artistic qualities endure over… Continue reading Yasmine: Sentiment & Taste
Yasmine: Orientalism
Edward Said’s “Orientalism”’ was the main reading that captured my attention. It’s in this text that Said, helps us see how the West has often described the East as strange, inferior, and totally different. This way of thinking makes the West seem superior and gives it an excuse to control Eastern lands by turning Eastern… Continue reading Yasmine: Orientalism
Yasmine: Gulliver’s Travels
Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” is basically the 18th-century version of a really clever roast, and nowhere is that clearer than in the scene where the Lilliputians slap a bunch of ridiculously specific rules on Gulliver’s so-called “freedom.” These tiny tyrants, who are about as intimidating as a group of aggressive hamsters, take it upon themselves… Continue reading Yasmine: Gulliver’s Travels
Commerce Yasmine
After reading this week’s material, I couldn’t help but think about today’s world. In David Hume’s Political Essays, he examines the connection between commerce (trade and industry), a state’s strength, and the happiness of its people. This idea is clearly seen in the U.S., which spends heavily on military aid (like supporting Israel) while struggling with problems at home, such… Continue reading Commerce Yasmine
Yasmine (Fantomina)
After reading “Fantomina” By Eliza Haywood, only one word comes to mind, genius. Who knew that the 18th-century version of “reinventing yourself” involved a game of disguise—prostitute, maid, widow, masked noblewoman just to keep one man interested, who is not even a 10. Rather than resigning herself to Beauplaisir’s interest, she took control of the… Continue reading Yasmine (Fantomina)
