Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi is about a girl named Gifty who was born to strict,  Christian, immigrant parents who are natives of Ghana. Gifty is a neuroscience PhD student who is doing a case study on reward-seeking behavior and addiction using mice as her subjects. Gifty trains the mice by teaching them how pressing a lever is associated with receiving a treat. She even takes the reward, Ensure, away to see their behavior when they relapse and administers mild electric shocks to them to see their reaction. The motive behind her study is due to the untimely death of her brother, Nana, who died from a heroin overdose. Nana…

CASE STUDY COMPARISON: ADDICTION & DEPRESSION The case study that I found on addiction and depression from the Laguardia Library Database is titled, “Critical appraisal and systematic review of genes linked with cocaine addiction, depression and anxiety”. This journal was also peer reviewed so it’s deemed credible. In this case study, abuse of the substance cocaine was primarily focused on. The connection between genetic factors and their association with addiction, depression, and anxiety were studied. People who are more vulnerable will likely fall victim to drug abuse as a way to combat stress. Peer pressure and both mental and emotional stress increase the likelihood of serious psychological disorders such as…

REWARD-SEEKING BEHAVIOR & ADDICTION: From a biological standpoint, reward-seeking behavior is motivated by the brain to act in a positive way in anticipation of getting something for survival, pleasure, satisfaction, or even approval from others. Some examples are food, money, interactions, sex, drugs, etc.  Unconsciously, we perform and behave in a reward-seeking way on a daily basis. Rewards increase the outcome of possible behaviors when the “prize” is dependent upon the predicted behavior itself. Rewards are used as reinforcements. When we know that we are doing an action for a reward, certain areas in the brain are instantly stimulated. These areas are the Ventral Tegmental Area, Nucleus Accumbens, and the…

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi is about a girl named Gifty who was born in Alabama to immigrant parents from Ghana. She is the narrator and main character who gives us insight on her trials and tribulations as she struggles between her dream as a Neuroscientist and her strict Christian upbringing. Gifty is extremely intelligent, humble, and analytical, however she is battling inner obstacles regarding her faith, culture, beliefs, and her identity. She’s trying to connect all of these things to science and have a clear understanding of it all. She has many responsibilities in the novel pertaining to her personal and professional life. Not only is she a Neuroscientist…

In “Sonny’s Blues”, the jazz club scene is where Sonny proves to his older brother, the narrator, that playing the piano as a jazz musician was his true calling all along, and not just a childhood dream. The narrator never supported Sonny’s dream and thought he was being delusional more than anything. That inner guilt remained in his heart knowing he broke his promise to their mother and left Sonny on his own. When they went into the nightclub in the final scene and he finally witnessed his brother’s raw talent on the stage, he then understood Sonny’s obsession as he redeemed himself with his solo performance. He was amazed…

      I believe racism stems from cruelty, hatred, dehumanization, and discrimination. To discriminate against someone involves giving prejudicial treatment based on race, gender, disability, age, status, etc. I don’t agree with any of these practices and we have fought for many decades to put an end to segregation, inequality, bias, and racism. In the story, Morrison withholds the race of each character, but instead provides certain traits, qualities, and behaviors which lead readers to draw their own conclusions based on personal individual perceptions and maybe even stereotypes. Even though the race of the characters are withheld, there is still a division amongst Maggie, who’s disabled and mute, and the other characters,…

Rukeyser broadcasts the social injustice of the tragedy using literature. She uses poetry to educate the readers about the incident from different perspectives using interviews, real testimonies of men who actually dug in the tunnel, and the people who watched them suffer daily. Hearing recollections from the victims as they watched each other suffer slowly, watched men drop dead by the dozens, struggle to breathe as fibrous tissue took over their lungs, and even having to bury their coworkers sounds like a living nightmare. These narratives by Rukeyser evokes so many emotions as you read and vividly picture yourself experiencing trouble breathing, being completely covered in the white dust, and…

According to Jonathan Culler’s chapter, literature is written in a keen way to get a point across and get your brain working. Rukeyser weaves together all kinds of discourses that evokes all different emotions in the reader. This functions as literature because the verbatim makes us connect to the victims on a more empathetic level. I personally feel that this is a collection of different types of writing. The interviews, the recollection of the incident, and personal reflections are all so impactful to any reader. Although the delivery appears to be poetry, it’s not your average poem. It’s more informative and journalistic. The agony and suffering those workers endured being…

According to Culler, people define literature as a special kind of universal language that is aesthetic and makes you self-reflect with its creativity. Literature gives you freedom to exercise your imagination and think critically outside the box. Literature is about analyzing writing on a bigger scale from different perspectives and internalizing it based on what it means to you. Literature has no practical import. This definition reflects different perspectives because literature makes different people generate their own interpretations and concepts when reading it. These artistic written works may grab a reader’s attention, get an immediate reaction out of them, and have their brain working to decipher the ideas and emotions…

Hey English 102 =) It’s a pleasure to meet you all virtually. My name is Cedly Carter. I was born on Christmas Day in Brooklyn, NY. My parents are from the Caribbean islands. I’m super outgoing and I enjoy public speaking without fear. My other professors call me an informal leader. I believe that anything you truly dedicate yourself to will come to fruition. My ultimate career goal is to become a CRNA or a Nurse Practitioner. Yes, I need to be making great money! I currently work in Labor & Delivery in a city hospital, however I’m ready to further my career in the medical field. My hobbies include…