Blog 22: West with the Night / Beryl Markham

-

 Blog 22: West with the Night / Beryl Markham 

Beryl Markham's memoir, "West with the Night," is an account of her adventurous life as a pilot, racehorse trainer, and adventurer in Africa. The book is filled with vivid descriptions of her experiences, from growing up in the wilderness of Kenya to her historic solo flight across the Atlantic.

One of the main aspects of the book is her adventure, as Beryl Markham's life was filled with numerous thrilling experiences and challenges. She faced many obstacles throughout her life, but her determination and resilience helped her overcome them and emerge stronger. In addition to adventure, the book also explores themes of independence and perseverance. Beryl Markham defied societal expectations and pursued her passions despite the odds. Her story is an inspiring reminder of the power of perseverance and the rewards of taking risks. She says at the end, “why am I sitting here dreaming of England? Why am I gazing at this campfire like a lost soul seeking a hope when all that I love is at my wingtips? Because I am curious. Because I am incorrigibly, now, a wonderer.”  (529). She shows how she has a passion for doing and learning more in life and finding new experiences to challenge her and learn from. She truly shows and encourages us to never stop exploring and seeking out new experiences, even in the face of obstacles and setbacks. she was always looking for the next challenge, the next opportunity to learn and grow. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog 16: Blackberry Winter / Margaret Mead

-
 Jordan Miles  Blog 16: Blackberry Winter / Margaret Mead Margaret Mead writes a personal coming-of-age story in Blackberry Winter. She was a student at Barnard, focusing on Anthropology. She writes a lot about how Americans can learn many lessons from Polynesians regarding handling the many problems that adolescence consists of.   She discusses societal issues about topics like women's rights, race, and different cultures. I think that the quote she ends with helps conclude her main passions and focus of the work that she does. She explains, "On all my later field trips when I was working on cultures about which nothing was known, I had the more satisfactory task of learning the culture first and only afterward working on the special problem. In Samoa that was not necessary, and this is one reason why I was able to carry out my work on the life of the adolescent girl in nine months." (568).  She demonstrates the love and care she has for different cultures and ...
Read more

Feminism Reflection

-
 I have gained new perspectives and ideas on my view on feminism and what it means to me throughout this course. Through discovering and discussing so many influential female figures, I have seen numerous examples of courage, strength, and resilience. These are the main traits I’ve taken from authors such as Eva Hoffman, Audre Lorde,   Maxine Hong Kingston, Beryl Markham, and Sara Suleri. One aspect I think that all of the authors carry is their ability to rise above the odds and the barriers that females faced at the time. For so many of these feminists, they grew up at a time when society said they were less than and not good enough or should have the same opportunities as men, but they all defied this norm and pursued a passion and life they built for themselves.       First, Eva Hoffman's work "Lost in Translation" highlights the challenges of adapting to a new culture and the impact of gender roles on one's identity. Her story shows the importance...
Read more

Blog 4 - The prime of life / Simone de Beauvoir

-
 Blog 4 - The prime of life / Simone de Beauvoir Jordan Miles  January 13, 2023  In Simone de Beauvoir's coming-of-age story, The Prime of Life, she discusses what she has gone through in life and perspectives on freedom for women. I really enjoyed and agree with her views on freedom. She believes that our freedom can be found through pursuing our dreams and goals and should not be limited to our gender or certain social roles and standards that society tells us we are limited to. I like how she feels strongly that we all should have the moral freedom to make our own decisions and have a personal destiny. An interesting quote I read by Simone de Beauvoir is, "There is a good principle that created order, light, and man and a bad principle that created chaos, darkness, and women." I think the ideas behind this quote mean that men have always had an advantage over women for nothing other than the fact that they are men. They are naturally just viewed as right and orderly wh...
Read more