RMST 202

     So, we have finally reached the end of the semester. I thought that in this blog post, I would go over what I had originally written in my introduction post and see if I have succeeded in accomplishing my goals. As I mentioned in my introduction, when I first picked this class and registered myself into it, I only needed it to fulfill my literature requirement for my Arts degree. However, after the first lecture, I became hopeful that this class was going to serve as so much more than that - and I was right. During these past couple of months, I read a book a week, read genres that I had never touched before, became faster at typing out 400 words, and got the chance to be included in discussions on topics that I genuinely found fascinating. If I didn't have the contract looming over me constantly, I know that I would not have been able to keep with reading a book a week. There were days when I submitted the blogs early, and others where I submitted them last minute on Monday n

     This week we were tasked to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. Published pretty recently in March of 2020, this story mainly follows the tale of Daniel, a journalist, Hossi, an ex-military man turned resort owner, Karinguiri, a revolutionary and Moira, a dream artist. It is set in modern Angola. The story explores the themes of dreams, memory (again), freedom, independence and strength. It explores the importance of dreams in predicting future events, telling the stories of individuals, uniting a people and fueling the strength of the Angolan dreamers. The word "dream" has two widely recognized definitions - the first one is the movie that we imagine in our heads when we're fast asleep. The second definition is "a cherished aspiration." In this book, Hossi's appearance in everyone else's dreams served to connect these two ideas together. His appearance in other people's dreams acted as a spiritual inspiration and an