Colin Lebzelter ENG3299 Blog

 The Doors Open at Three G Cabrera Infante     The Doors Open at Three follows an odd love story set in a funeral home. The setting of a funeral home by itself brings up all sorts of questions and implications. Dealing with death as regularly as people in funeral homes definitely takes a toll on the staff working there, there are those that are forced to work there and those that want to work there. Regardless of the type of person, you see the world differently in working in that type of environment. Silvestre and Virginia clearly have chemistry and a desire to be together that is just not possible because of their class differences. "The idea of loneliness horrified me more than loneliness itself, but I knew it was inevitable", there's a certain relatable painful reality to this line. Silvestre understood that things probably wouldn't work with Virignia as they were in such different social classes but still held onto hope that drove him through the day anyway. Desp...

 The Caribbean with Simon Reeve      Reeve takes to the effectively war-torn nations of Nicaragua and Honduras, and what he finds is startling. At the time of filming Nicaragua had a plan for a mega-canal to cut through the nation to allow for super-ships to pass through Central America. While I understand that this would making global shipping vastly more efficient, I believe the environmental consequences of such an operation to be far too costly. The locals "don't understand how the canal would benefit them" and that's simply because it wouldn't in many ways. It takes an extended period of time for the benefits of a mega-project like this to reaped. In the near term the people of Nicaragua would see their homeland absolutely destroyed, people displaced, and major habitat loss. Down the line jobs could be created relating to the canal and it's maintenance as well as service positions due to the new traffic that would flow through the nation. I think that if ...

The Caribbean with Simon Reeve Part 2        Simon Reeve goes to Barbados and immediately there is a paradigm shift of sorts. To start it seems like money flows in Barbados but not from the people that are native to there but from the people that are moving there. Barbados is a mostly African-descent nation that is also one of the cheapest Caribbean islands. With this influx of new people the island is now different then it used to be with a better economy and mansions going up everywhere. One island native said "they just don't want a black man on the beach" speaking to the apparent westernization of the island with the recent influx of ex-pats. A local rejected 8 million dollars for his small plot of beachfront property as he valued his home and land more than money. I think the man makes a fair argument and points at something that can be seen all over the world. It is commonplace in major cities that when an industry or attraction brings in new people the ci...

  The Caribbean with Simon Reeve Part 1     Simon Reeve heads to the island of Hispanola as well as Puerto Rico and sees a side of the island most tourists don't see. In working with the local Police Reeve gets a first-hand look at how gritty drug interdiction is in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is the more affluent nation on the island of Hispanola in comparison to Haiti but is obviously no paradise. Sometimes it seems like the Dominican Republic is a paradise but that clearly isn't the case. The Dominican Republic surprisingly finds itself in a drug war you've never heard of. Combine that with drive-thru margarita bars and a drinking and driving problem that makes driving in the Dominican Republic more dangerous then anywhere else in the world the country appears to be thinly gilded only by vacation brochures. Move over to Haiti save the clear income disparity, the only thing that seems to separate the two nations is their presentation.    ...

 Red Dirt Don't Wash     Red dirt don't wash follows a Native gardener named Adrian's hapless efforts at courting a maid named Miranda. Adrian gets to know Miranda and develops an interest in her while acknowledging that he believes she is out of her league. Despite believing Miranda is too good for him, Adrian takes measures to improve himself and work up the courage to ask Miranda out thinking that changing himself a bit would make a difference. What makes this story impactful is understanding the stubborn and wishful perspective Adrian has. He is interested in a girl he understands things most likely work with and obsesses over her thinking that he may have a chance to make something happen when in reality he has nothing close to a chance. He could believe all he wanted, he could try to change all he wanted, but at the end of the day there was absolutely nothing he could do outside of changing the very fabric of his identity to get her.  Many people go through thi...

 Triumph C.L.R. James      Triumph depicts the struggles of low-income women on the island of Trinidad. This story depicts the effects of poverty in the post-colonial world, and while slavery no longer exists at this point hard labor is still very present. This story does a good job of showing how difficult life in poverty is at this point in Caribbean history. The women the story centers around are subject to beating and mistreatment by the men in their lives in a way almost reminiscent of slavery. This story causes you to greatly empathize with the citizens of the island and their struggles. This story also emphasizes the struggles that women faced during this period in being unvalued by a patriarchal society that couldn't seem to find a place for women. "He had beaten her once more, very badly indeed and left her. Even this was not an irremediable catastrophe"(Page 37), this line speaks to how used to beatings the women had become to a point where they just accept...

  Some People Are Meant to Live Alone Frank Collymore      Frank Collymore's story follows an odd man in isolation named Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur himself may not be that odd of a man but it's the isolation and mystery that follows him that makes people fear him. This goes along with the notion that people fear the unknown and things that they don't understand. Along with that living in social isolation is considered to be out of the norm. Naturally, there are introverts and extroverts in this world but extreme recluses are often regarded as strange or even crazy. Some people prefer being alone and are content in that but humans being the social beings that we are tend to have a hard time understanding this concept. Some people can handle loneliness better than others and indeed as the text implies I do believe some people are meant to be alone. But these people that seem so along to us on the outside may truly be less lonely than the masses. While it can seem like ...

  The Caribbean Islands: Globe Trekker     The Caribbean is a region surrounded by a rich history shrouded in colonial ruins and windows into the past. A large portion of the Caribbean is made up of individuals of African descent originating from the colonial slave trade. I think the Caribbean offers an experience few other places in the world do, very few places have the rich biodiversity and rugged terrain that the Caribbean does. For people interested in colonial history the Caribbean is a great place to go as people can explore old structures and visit old ruins. The African culture that now calls the Caribbean home is shown by the Rastafarian religion among locals as well as a laid-back attitude. It becomes obvious how the Caribbean effects and draws in the people around it.       Nature in the Caribbean has adapted to the man-made structures around it. Flora and fauna have grown over shipwrecks and structures on land have been reclaimed by nature...

  Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers Jean Rhys     A peculiar man by the name of Mr. Ramage takes center stage in Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers. The story is in some part a commentary on how rumors can get out of hand and how strong opinions can easily be formed. "But Already public opinion was turning on Ramage", after Ramage was found dead many people still described him as essentially a crazy person and a nuisance. What's odd about Ramage's descent into infamy on the island is that much of it was circumstantial and built on speculation. "if he had shown the slightest consciousness of the fact that he was stark naked", Ramage begins to find problems after being caught naked coming out of the ocean. There didn't appear to me mal-intent in his actions he just happened to be found at the wrong time. This is much more commonplace today with the internet and social media often catching celebrities doing misleading things or at the wrong time entirely but never meant for the v...

 Mary Prince      The History of Mary Prince follows a startling first-hand account of what life as a slave in the Caribbean was like. It was released to mainstream audiences and Europe but does not provide a Eurocentric swing on slavery or the black community the way Oroonoko does. Mary Prince is very descriptive in giving a look at the struggles of slaves and gives the general public a real look at what it is like to be a slave. In reading Mary Prince the shocking part is the atrocities that the slave owners are able to commit and the physical and psychological abuse that slaves have to endure. Mary Prince hops from slave over to slave over and doesn't see any relief from the abuse which points to the idea of systematic abuse and human rights violations over the majority of slave owners. It would appear this narrative derives that lenient slave owners were the exception at this time. Mary Prince is desperately trying to bring these atrocities to the unknowing publi...