TLON- AWR

Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertiu by Jorge Luis Borges is somewhat difficult to understand because it includes a number of concepts that are tough to understand at first. Everything in Tlon is a dream that gradually becomes reality. There is this idea that every man is actually two, which makes the reader wonder which man is real and which one is created by the dream. Further in the story, Borges founds an encyclopedia that shows Tlon's existence, thus making it seem more real as opposed to imaginary. The idea of dream vs. reality is present because although the majority of people mentioned in the story are real, the events in which they are involved in are not. Taking this idea further, there are missing pages that refer to Uqbar essence which questions the existence of Uqbar. This gives the reader the idea that perhaps the curiousity of the two men has transformed their perception of reality in order for them to perceive a new imaginary world. Magical realism is also displayed in this story because of the way that time is portrayed. This is because there are no definite boundaries between the present and the future. Also, Borges analyzes the concept of language and how it is able to have an effect on the way we look at the world. The concept of the "Mirrors" later is introduced, and the significance of this is that a mirror shows a false motion from one individual to another that gets passed from one generation to the next.

Before Night Falls- JG

Before Night Falls leaves me with a lasting impression of Reinaldo Arenas. He is a very passionate person, we see this in his passion, and love of writing and the pride he takes in it. This is seen right from the beginning of the movie. No matter what Arenas is subjected to he never considers abandoning his passion and attachment to writing. Arenas is also a very brave and courageous man. We see his courage as a result of his homosexuality. He freely expresses himself and his opinions without shame or fear. Arenas had to live his life fighting for freedom, against a society that did not accept him and subjected him to torture and ridicule. But even when he was in rehab and prison he never let his spirits fall and never gave in. This makes Arenas a true individual, he did not conform to how society wanted him to. He is also a fighter, who refuses to fall. He is also clever, while in prison he devises a way to continue writing . Arenas is virtually a victim throughout his life, but he does not treat himself as a victim he does not pity himself he fights back.

AWR- Before Night Falls

Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls tells the life of an extremely courageous man by the name of Reinaldo Arenas. Reinaldo is introduced as a young boy who develops a passion for writing right from the beginning of the movie. The movie then moves forward to the time of the Cuban Revolution. By this time, the audience has figured out that Reinaldo is a homosexual and an extremely gifted writer. Reinaldo's writings were considered revolutionary so they were censored by Fidel Castro and his followers. Regardless of how many times Arenas was censored, never does he even consider the option of not writing anymore. Throughout this entire journey, Reinaldo demonstrates how brave and courageous he is by continuing to express himself freely without showing any concern for what may happen to him. Arenas was sent to a rehab camp for homosexuals, tortured, made fun of continously, and never really shown acceptance by society, so it takes a mentally tough person to put this all behind him. Reinaldo found others to take his writings and spread them across other countries, he wrote countless letters for fellow inmates when he was sent to prison, and made it clear that he was born to write. At the end of the film, Arenas finally is able to leave Cuba for the United States where he can express himself more freely. Althought he died at the age of 40, Reinaldo Arenas demonstrated a strong-willed man who was able to put up with a lifetime of abuse because some of his morals were not generally accepted by society at the time.

Before Night Falls - JPA

In the movie, Before Night Falls, Reinaldo Arenas depicts his tragic life and how he has had to deal with the closed minded society in which he lives. Arenas is a homosexual poet and in his book he says true to his true sexuality even though it extremely difficult on his life. In the movie Arenas is sent to rehab where people try to force him to become straight. Arenas however, stays true to himself and fights for what he believes is right. Arenas never gives up and continues to fight even when he is put in prison. While in prison, Arenas develops a system in which he writes letters to other inmates lovers so that he can develop a stash of pencils and paper to conduct his own writings. Prior to being released his writings are confiscated. Overall this movie is about the adversity that people such as Arenas need to deal with each and every day.

Before the night falls- neb

The film Before Night Falls, is an autobiography of Reinaldo Arenas’ life. Reinaldo was a very brave man that lived his brutal life with a lot of passion. Arenas was a victim of a society in the midst of the Fidel Castro revolution. He was a homosexual poet and consequently, his works were restricted by the government. 

Throughout the movie he stayed true to his homosexual ways even though he lived in a very close-minded society. Arenas was very audacious and determined to fight for what he believed in and did not change when he was in sent to a rehab center to turn him straight. 

His novels and life became dominated by the mix of temptation, fear, and betrayal. Arenas’s rage against the Castro regime that made his life horrendous is very obvious. The movie made me understand more about the revolution, the repression in Cuba, and the homosexual and homophobic aspects of my culture. 

Before night Falls- PCM

The movie Before Night Falls depicts the tragic life of Reinaldo Arenas and the adversity he encounters. Being a homosexual, Arenas is immediately portrayed as a victim of a society that does not accept people who stray from societal norms. Arenas experiences ridicule and no one accepts him for who he truly is as a person. Not only does Arenas find himself dealing with the social pressures due to this sexual orientation, he also experiences adversity through imprisonment. While in prison, Arenas develops a system in which he writes letters to other inmates lovers so that he can develop a stash of pencils and paper to conduct his own writings. Prior to being released his writings are confiscated. The movie is enveloped with hypocrisy as even some of the guards of the prison demonstrate homosexual tendencies. He also spends time living in exile as he has nothing to his name and nothing to distinguish him in society. The last instance of adversity that Arenas deals with is the development of Aids. Contracting AIDS appears to have significantly impacted his writing ability and desire. The entire film represents a metaphor for dealing with adversity which Reinaldo Arenas faces with regularity.

Before Night Falls - SK

Julian Schnabel chronicles the life of one of Cuba's most charismatic literary voices. The movie recounts the author's deprived rural upbringing and the intense love and support he receives from his mother. As a young man, Arenas is singled out by his teachers and encouraged to further his skills as a writer, bearing in mind the Castro regime's censorship of any work considered to be revolutionary or anti-authoritarian. Still, Arenas manages to smuggle his work out of the country through friends, who arrange for one of his novels to be published in France. Not only persecuted for his creative beliefs, the openly gay Arenas is jailed on a sex charge, later escapes custody only to be captured and persecuted later for his smuggled dispatches. In 1980, Arenas is finally allowed to leave Cuba for the United States, where he achieves freedom of expression but not prosperity.