Writings: Essays and Hypermedia Projects

British Literature & History

• "Critical Junctures in Frankenstein Interpretations" The silver screen has degenerated Shelley's creation, often ignoring the novel's turning points in order to present a more frightening, supernatural facet of the tale. This essay studies a pair of critical junctures in the interpretation of the text.


• "Language as a Double-edged Sword: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Art of Words in Narratives of Exploration" This paper deals with the double role played by language in Frankenstein, Foe, and The Tempest. For Victor's creature, Friday, and Caliban, the acquisition of language does not yield the expected results, as it continues their unhappiness.
• "Like Art, if you Could be Like Art" This piece explores the mythical King Arthur, using 12th century British historical annals to expand on his glorification as a model ruler. His legacy is compared to that of 12th century British monarchs.
• "Views of Death in John Donne's Poetry" John Donne's often conflicting, yet always thought-provoking views on death are the topic of my musings in this particular piece.
• "The Tradition of Affective Piety in Medieval Religious Poetry" Medieval British Christians used affective piety to worship divinity in more human ways. The tradition produced works that shine for their heartfelt and devoted methods of worship.
• "From Hooligan to Sage King: Shakespeare's Prince Hal" King Henry V is perhaps Shakespeare's most complex character, as his personality evolves throughout three different plays: Henry IV, Part I; Henry IV, Part II; and Henry V. This paper traces the transformation of this personage through the triad of works.
• "Antifeminism in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales" Sorry to rant on the dead white males, but after reading the classic work, I could not help but write on some antifeminism traits.

Caribbean and Latin American Literature

• "La carreta y su significado en la sociedad puertorriqueña del siglo XX" Puerto Rican author René Marqués captured the bitter reality of Puerto Rican life in the 1950s in his three-act play La carreta. This essay, written in Spanish, analyzes the work's relevance in the creation of Puerto Rican identity in the latter half of the 20th century.

Holocaust Literature

• "Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Different Type of Holocaust Literature" Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus deals not only with the Holocaust, but also with a troubled father-son relationship. This hypermedia project deals with several themes found in the novel.
• "The Meaning of 'Survivor' in Maus and Beloved" This hypermedia work compares Maus with Toni Morrison's Beloved . Both works are characterized by their cathartic nature, as they narrate the horrific, yet painfully true, perils of slavery and the Holocaust. As it turns out, surviving these nightmares is not exactly free of pain or despair.
• "The Shoah and the Second Generation: The Uneasy, Unnorthodox, and Multi-Layered Representation of Maus. This is my English Department Senior Tutorial, a mini-thesis so to speak. I wrote on Spiegelman's graphic novel, creating a hypermedia project that dealt with three of most intriguing aspects of the work: the graphical representation of the Holocaust, the father and son relationship that permeates the narrative, and the post-Holocaust trauma effects experienced not only by survivors, but also their children.

Cuban Matters

• "Santería in Cuba: Repression, Accommodation, Coexistence" This paper studies Santería, the African religion transported to Cuba through slavery. The essay analyzes the faith's origins and practices; its stronghold on Cuban society; and a historical perspective on its past, present, and future existence on the island.
• "The Catholic Church in Cuba and Puerto Rico: Five Centuries of Accidental History" My first big college paper, from the second semester of freshman year. It traces the history of the Catholic institution in the former Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and highlights key differences in the church's presence during the former's Soviet-dominated era and the latter's American commonwealth status.
• "Sweet Sugar, Bitter Wine: Slavery and the Church" The Catholic Church's shameful participation in the slave trade is the topic of this short essay, which draws heavily from the Cuban movie The Last Supper.
• "Cuba's Monocrop Economic System: An Appraisal of the Demise of the Sugar Industry, the Rise of the Tourism Sector, and its Consequences for the Cuban Economy" I composed this thesis for the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service's Certifcate of Latin American Studies. Its theme is the Cuban economy's historical over-dependence on one industry for the majority of its revenues. Sugar reigned supreme from 1492 until 1992, and tourism has since taken over. The key issue, however, remains the need to diversify the Cuban economy, as analyzed in this work.

Miscellaneous Works