Reading Response

Student’s Name

Institution

Book Report

Question 1

Maldoror and the Complete Works of the Comte de Lautreamont was written by Comte de Lautreamont. It is a text which portrays a clear distinction between humanity and animality. These concepts clearly come out as a result of the influences of Maldoror. As he explains, Maldoror is a devil figure which presents a scaring personality who mysteriously conducts him throughout the novel. He is in opposition of the concept of humanity. He seeks for fulfillment in his life. However, he does not show any regard to the super natural being who is more powerful as compared to him. In fact, he is an example of the defiant devil that rebelled with the creator after establishing an alternative competing force. He is ready to face the reality of life. His revelation cannot be easily comprehended by a benevolent human being. In his struggles, he seeks for a soul which resembles him. However, he fails to achieve this desire possibly because of the failure of the intervention of a holy other. When he came across a beautiful lady, he was relieved and believed that he eventually found the beauty which he had been looking for all along. This explanation indicates the important role of humanity in man’s daily life.

Meanwhile, animality is represented by the author when Maldoror compares the distinguishing traits of human beings to animals. He explains that animals are different from human since they lack benevolence. He says ‘Wolves and lambs look not one another with gentle eyes.’ Meaning, they do not possess the qualities of humanity which calls for goodness. Therefore, animality is not linked to goodness and justice which constitute the pillars of humanity. Maldoror and the Complete Works of the Comte de Lautreamont must be fully interpreted by an open mind. It is quite surrealist creation and may be challenging to comprehend and understand. Despite this, concept of animality and humanity clearly come out.

Question 2

The Black Boy is an autobiography which was written by Richard Wright. It gives the life history of his life. As a child, he was born and raised in a poor family. On the example of hunger which I can give is hunger for food. This family was very poor; thus, they did not have enough food to eat. It happened because of the misfortunes the family was confronted with. First, his biological father decided to dissert the home and leave them under the care of his ailing mother. However, his mother could not provide for him. Apart from being single, she was ailing. The condition of his mother compelled him to be under the care of his grandmother and other uncles.

Still, he did not get the satisfaction he needed. His desire for a happy life made him to engage in immoral practices. At one time, just before relocating to the North, he stole money. It was the only solution he had in order to get food. Otherwise, he would not survive. Later, his desire for providing for his family compelled him to move to Chicago. He thought that there were a lot of opportunities that would guarantee him a job. He was convinced that it would help him redeem his family from starving to death. Unfortunately, this never came to be true since he never got the job he was hoping for. Still he was a victim of racism which had already driven him out of his motherland. Eventually, he landed only into menial jobs which would not provide him with the required resources to support his hungry family.

Question 3

The way in which Unplugging Philco was written presents it as a post 9/11 novel. The reaction of the government of the United States of America after the occurrence of the historical Horribleness explosion is symbolic of what happened after the infamous 9/11 terrorist attack. After shaming the government, it was obliged to come up with stern measures in order to ensure the safety of its citizens and prevent the nation from experiencing the same ordeal. Security was beefed up at the major entry points- air and sea ports. Immigrants were vigorously grilled to ensure that they were not in a position of infringing the safety of the Americans. In short, the government declared war on terrorism.

This is the same scenario depicted in Unplugging Philco. It is a futuristic novel which gives a clear picture of what happened after the New York attack. Everything which was experienced by Wally Phililco foreshadows of the post 9/11 attacks. Just the same way security became prioritized. People in Wally’s neighborhood had to be ready to carry the newly introduced Single Universal Citizen Identification Card (SUCKIE). This is an identical card which had to be produced by any person whenever needed. At the same time, there was an introduction of a National Information Collection Network (SNITCH) which was an instrument used to gather intelligence report to the security agencies. Lastly, there was the introduction of surveillance mechanism which was used to monitor suspects. Wally was one of the people who were put on a full time electronic surveillance. All these initiatives are similar to what happened after the 9/1 attack. The government took the safety of its population very seriously.