they can also play a key part in teaching the reader lessons to live by. Creation myths are essentially symbolic narratives of the beginning of man. Throughout our societies and other countries, we all have our own sets of beliefs, which serve as our “creation story”. Most people in the United States I’d say believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and it…
Stories from the Grave Cemeteries bring to life memories of the dead. Visiting the Syracuse cemetery was eye-opening for me. The only times I have walked in cemeteries, have been for the burials of both my cousin and grandfather, and when I visited the American cemetery in Normandy, France. For some inexplicable reason, I have always been wary of graveyards, memorials, and cemeteries. This project thrust me into a world that I have never cared to observe. I didn’t learn as much about death on my…
and the way it has a fade. This artwork is a series, however, with The Course of Empire as its name. The series is composed of How does the artist use colour? The artist uses colour as a way to show the expression and mood of each painting. For example, in The Savage State, he uses dark greys and blacks for a type of stormy weather in the background.…
that remain culturally relevant, including representation, American disillusionment, and duality. The underlying themes of The Sympathizer analyze and ridicule the issue of unequal representation. The narrator dedicates a large portion of the narrative to his time spent working on The Hamlet, a movie depicting the Vietnam War. This movie epitomizes Hollywood, the quintessential American owned form of representation, and how misrepresentation can distort the truth. The…
fracture and resistance, and how each author employs Gothic conventions to convey the unhomeliness of the home. Domestic space is closely linked to the postcolonial Gothic through its manifestation as a traditional Gothic trope (ancestral homes, for example) appropriated to convey anxieties in the postcolonial present. In “The ‘postcolonial Gothic’: absent histories, present…
equal. While Mohan discourages Jaya from writing, it is Kamat who introduces her with the ‘lost’ self. Jaya sheds her restraints in Kamat’s presence who gives comfort in a fatherly way. Her failed writing and her close association with Kamat are two example of Jaya’s inability to seek her own identity. Kamat makes her aware of her emotional as well as physical needs and asks her to break her silence and speak freely. In spite of his support and encouragement, Jaya leaves him dying…
No less an authority on literature than Leo Tolstoy wrote that there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts. The same is true for English teachers: There are as many reasons to teach literature as there are teachers of literature. The most philosophical teachers could assert that fiction serves as a self-actualizing force, that people read “to set the darkness echoing” (Heaney 1463). Still more could posit that an English class serves as an introduction to the canon, ensuring that…
Experienced writers produce texts in an ongoing interaction and conversation with an imaginary audience that the writer writes for. A striking example of this was published in 2005, "The Story of Tom Brennan", an Australian young adult novel by J. C. Burke and awarded the title of book of the year for older readers by the Children's Book Council of Australia. The novel unfolds the difficult journey of the 17-year-old rugby-prodigy protagonist Tom Brennan, and delves into the components of a…
but can instead reinforce narcissistic behavior. The internet and social media sites are a tool that has many functions and one of these functions is the ability to share personal content such as photos and videos. Rosen discusses this in Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, stating that social media sites, “...offer opportunities for both self-expression and self-seeking. They can display egotism and modesty, self-aggrandizement and self mockery” (Rosen). As Rosen indicates, social media…
The Fascinating Story behind J. R. R. Tolkien’s Writing Some people think that J. R. R. Tolkien’s works are just another story, but there is so much more to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and others than meets the eye. J. R. R. Tolkien’s works have a rich culture and language behind them strongly influenced by the events of the times. World War I and the people Tolkien met at schools throughout his life were crucial in shaping his writing. The most significant influence on Tolkien’s works…