Throughout this course, there has been a number of pieces that have left considerable impressions on me and that have left me questioning myself and the world I live in. One piece that hit me considerably hard was Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Initially, I couldn’t understand where the piece was going, but the ominous tone that was set in the first few lines reeled me in and I was instantly sucked in. My love for this book stems from the fact that not only do I see myself in this piece, but I see the world around me as …

Character List:   Liza: The perfectionist from Long Island. Liza has never seen a grade lower than an A in her life and reeks of pride and self-absorption. She comes off as arrogant, strong, and confident, but on the inside, she’s really just an insecure girl who comes from a judgmental family. From this program, she wishes for nothing but a degree and a job. She thinks making friends will only leave her vulnerable for being taken advantage of.   Elaine: A shy and nervous genius from Brooklyn. Elaine has almost no self-confidence or social skills. She spends most of …

Death; something that is inevitable, but a complete mystery at the same time. A topic associated with sorrow and grief but simultaneously with relief and joy as well. Death. How should one feel towards it? Many people fear its arrival as there is no sure way of knowing when it will come, how it will manifest itself, and what it will feel like. The only people who know how death feels are those who have already died but even if those people could share their experiences, everyone’s death is unique to their own. So how should one feel towards death? …

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro can be compared to Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor as both pieces share a similar theme of differences being dehumanizing. In addition, both pieces also illustrate this theme by showing how the power of words play a huge role in emphasizing people’s differences which causes judgment and discrimination. In Illness as Metaphor readers are shown the two kingdoms that exist in society; the land of the ill and the land of the healthy. When describing the land of the ill, Sontag reveals how depending on the illness you had and what association people made with the illness, your …

When I was in tenth grade, I used to hang out with this twelfth grade by named Paul. He was charismatic, charming, and pretty good looking. He wanted to date Hannah, my best friend when we first met, and he ended up confiding in me about their ups and downs throughout the relationship. When they broke up, we still remained friends and continued the schedule we had created. Every day, he would pick me up from school, take me out to lunch, and then walk me to the locker rooms for after-school track. Thinking about it now, we were inseparable, …

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro has a distinct genre that can be looked at from two different perspectives. In terms of literary genres, this novel can undoubtedly be categorized as speculative fiction. Speculative fiction is a general genre that encompasses many other genres from a narrative point of view. This can intimately be described as a narrative that contains some supernatural or visionary elements. In my own words, this means that it is a made up story that entails an experience or journey which readers join the narrator on. This story, however, includes theories of what the author thinks may happen in the future as a …

It’s been five years since I last saw my cousin Nicole and I’m nervous to see her. Knock, knock, knock. I can feel my hands sweating as I stand waiting in the porch of a bright yellow house with flowers that seem to bring life to the dying community that surrounds it. A short chubby woman peeks out from behind the door with a suspicious look on her face. Her expression slowly melts into a grateful smile as she gestures for me to come in. “I thought you were one of those pesky motorized scooter salesmen. Ever since word got out about Nicole, …

When people think of doctors, they think of the people who create, maintain and protect life. They think of the individuals who cure diseases, prescribe medicine, and shock hearts back into rhythm. That assumption is correct, but what happens when you die? In history, when something traumatic happens, we reflect and learn from our mistakes to ensure it doesn’t happen again. The same thing happens when someone dies. Every day, there are doctors who speak to our dead to ensure that other doctors can prevent past mistakes from happening again. They work backward to put all the puzzle pieces together, …