Daisy Miller

The novel Daisy Miller serves as a psychological description of the mind of a young woman, and an analysis of the traditional views of a society where she is a clear outsider. Henry James, the author of the novel, uses Daisy’s story to discuss what he thinks Europeans and Americans believe about each other. Most European looks on an inferior way upon American travelers in Europe, especially when they do not follow the customs and culture of their country. Through the novel we can note that this is prevalent because Mrs. Costello, the aunt of Winterbourne’s, since the beginning did not like Daisy because she was the kind of girl that was “common”. Therefore we can say that Mr. Costello see the Americans in a negatively way to the point that she refuses to know her.

Also, in my opinion, Daisy Miller was a pretty American flirt who doesn’t care what people thinks about her. She is nice and sweet, but also rebellious and ignorant. She doesn’t care what people think about her because in the novel when Mrs. Walker told her to go to the house because it was improper to her to be walking out with a men, Daisy answers that she doesn’t care what people think about her. Therefore, we can say that she symbolize America because it is about freedom of choice and everyone has different cultures and customs. In addition, she was also an ignorant. Her ignorance was the one that led her to death. If Daisy had listened to others instead of ignoring them and being self-centered, she would have stayed alive. In conclusion we can say that Daisy represent the Americans travelers in Europe and Winterbourne represents the European outlook on American traveler.

My Definition of Journey

Each person life is a journey. For me the word journey means happiness. It means happiness because every time that I travel with my family we have a good time. Besides having a good time, when we travel we also learn about the culture of others. For me learning about the culture of others is very important because that is the way in which we learn about the historical events that have happened throughout our history. However, it also enriches us as human beings and gives us more knowledge.

One experience that I had was when I went to Russia. In Russia the culture is very different of us, including the language. Every time that I went to a restaurant I ordered the food by signals because most of the Russians doesn’t speak even English. This was the first thing that surprised me because all the places that I’ve been through the people speak Spanish or English. Even though, in that trip to Russia I learned a lot about their culture. Therefore, in my opinion, I was more a traveler than a tourist. I was more a traveler because in that trip I took field trips that took me around the city. The favorite field trip for me was the one that took me to the “Plaza Roja”  (Red Square) in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets, which connect to Russia's major highways, originate from the square. Finally for me this trip is an unforgettable one.

 

A Day as a Journey

Since I left the classroom on Wednesday at 2:30 pm, I was looking my surroundings like if I where a traveler. The first thing that I noticed was when I was walking to my car, that I talked to myself and asked what things I would like to do if I where a traveler in Puerto Rico. Then, I got into the car on my way to the mall. Along the way, I noticed a sign about things that a traveler would like to do. The sign that I saw was about Toro Verde. Toro Verde is an adventure park located in Orocovis. Therefore, if I were a traveler I would definitely go there. Over time, I got to the mall. In the mall I went straight to lunch. Was at that moment that I realized that I was not a traveler because the first thing I would have done was to go shopping. I say this because every time I’m in another country, like a tourist, I go shopping. Besides that, a tourist or a traveler would not go to a mall to just eat. After that, on my way to my house there was a lot of traffic, to the point that I was a little bit mad because I wanted to get home, I was very tired. This is a comparison with someone that lives in here and a traveler because as a traveler I wouldn’t get mad.

         The next day, I woke up and went to the University. If I were a traveler I would have been excited because I would see the campus and the structure of the University of Puerto Rico and can compare it with that of my country. Besides that, is interesting the method of study of other people of a different country.    

         Finally, after I went to the University and took my classes, I went home. On my way to my house I noticed that Puerto Rico is a beautiful place to visit and that it have a lot of things that a traveler would do.

 

Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo is an animated film, set in the ocean off Australia. It begins with two clownfish, Marlin and Coral laying and fertilizing their eggs in a coral reef. A predator fish, however, attacks the family, eats Coral and destroys all the eggs except one. Therefore, Marlin dedicates his life to his one remaining offspring: Nemo. Once Nemo was born, Marlin becomes overprotective, refusing to allow Nemo to have any independence or freedom because he was afraid of losing his only son as the same way he loses his couple. Eventually, Nemo defies his father, leaves the safety of the coral reef and heads out into the open ocean where a diver captures him. Nemo defies his father because he was so overprotective with him that he was tired of him.

Therefore, in the movie Finding Nemo the concept of journey is seen clearly in an emotional way. His father, Marlin, began a long journey in order to find his son Nemo. He traveled from the middle of the ocean all the way to Sydney, Australia. Along the way he found different fishes and learned about all the dangers that are out in the open ocean. In my opinion, Marlin, can be considered a traveler and not a tourist because he actually wants to know how to get to Sydney, and he al learned about the currents of water that take him to his final destination. Also he is a traveler because he isn’t going over to Sydney for vacation, he is going there to find and rescue his son. Finally, as in every Disney movie he reunites with his son. However, Nemo also learned that if he wants something and he is willing to do it, all it needs is the will power. However, that is the way in which he got out of the aquarium he was trapped in and reunited to his dad.

Conference: Tourist vs. Traveler

The theme of the conference that we had last week was about the comparison and contrast of the books Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald and A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid. The thing that caught my attention the most was the concepts of traveler vs. tourist. A tourist is a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure. While a traveler is a person who goes from one place to another, as a trip, a journey. In my opinion, a traveler is a person who wants to know more about the history and culture of the place that is visiting.

In the book the Holy Cow Macdonald narrates the experiences that she had in India as a tourist and how as the time passes she became a traveler. Otherwise, in A Small Place, the author addresses the reader as a tourist while encounters different parts of Antigua.

We can note that at the beginning Macdonald had a negative perspective of India but at the end she had made a start along the path to personal transformation and inner peace. An example seen in the book is when she takes first the calming of Vipassana. She mentioned:    “ Vipassana centers are all over India but I choose one that I hope will be the quietest in this chaotic country.” (79). Through this quote we can see that Macdonald observes the people very closely and try to understand their faith, belief and religion. She also ravels to Kashmir and closely observes the Muslims and their ability to surrender and sacrifice, visits the Vatican of Sikhs – the Golden Temple and spends some days in the Buddhist Monastery. Therefore we can say that she experiences different faith from different angles; meaning that she ends to be a traveler that learn more about the culture and the historical aspects of others. 

In conclusion, Kincaid expresses her opinion about the life of Antigua. She tries that the reader looks beyond the beauty of Antigua and explore the reality and truth behind it. In the book, the tourists for the author are people that might observe things without understanding its significance. Otherwise, in Holy Cow, we can appreciate, in my opinion, two different perspectives. The two perspectives are: the author as a tourist and the author as a traveler. As a tourist, for Macdonald, all seems ugly and negatively in India. But then, when she came back, she became transformed as a human being. India challenges Macdonald’s health, her self-esteem, and her disdain for spiritually and sends her back to Australia a richer, more spiritual and insightful woman. Therefore, through both books we can see the different perspectives that the authors have about tourist vs. traveler.