Middlesex+(165-211)

Definitions: Donizetti: Gaetano Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. He was a leading composer of bel canto opera along with Vincenzo Bellini and Gioachino Rossini. Some of his famous operas include Don Pasquale and Lucia di Lammermoor. []

Preformationism: is the specific contention that all organisms were created at the same time and that succeeding generations grow from other fully formed but miniature versions of themselves that have existed since the beginning of creation. It is the notion that the form of living things preexist before their development. Pythagoras was one of the earliest thinkers in the development of this idea while Aristotle accepted and elaborated on these ideas. Pythagoras originated "spermism" or the idea that the father contributes the essential characteristics of his offspring while the mother only contributes a material substrate. []

5. Now I'm beginning to feel sorry for Lefty. Because he doesn't feel needed and is forced into an early retirement by his son, he rekindles his gambling problem. He lives life, unnoticed by those around him. Thus, he continues to gamble in his sadness and loses everything his family had worked for forcing his and Desdemona's removal from their house with only $13.26 left in their bank account. He has lost his pride. I also find it hard to believe that nobody noticed that his gambling habits had returned and that he was rapidly losing everything that he had worked for in America. While Desdemona is angry at Lefty for losing everything they had, she never questioned Lefty about his actions. Nobody noticed, nobody cared.

2. I think it is important to hear about not only Milton and Tessie's budding romance, but also to expound upon the lives of Desdemona, Lefty and Sourmelina as they age and move on with their lives. While their journeys are not quite as critical at this stage, I do think it is still important to include that facet of the story, connecting the past with the present, making the connections from generation to generation more real and tangible.