Dresden

Isolation is a human condition that exists worldwide. People have the power to distance themselves or be distanced by others. Some of symptoms found in people that have isolation include “living alone, having a small social network, infrequent participation in social activities, and feelings of loneliness” which some of the characters have . It is difficult, much like the protagonists in Heart of Darkness and Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud, to overcome isolation caused by oneself as it may…

On December 11th, 1843 Robert Koch was born. He was just a simple baby but, little did his parents know he would discover and study many things involving modern bacteriology. By the time he was five he already taught himself to read, even though he was a mere mining engineer’s son. He used the newspaper to aid his learning. Taking after his father, he had a strong urge to travel. During high school he showed a lot of interest in biology. He went to the University of Göttingen to study medicine…

and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer takes this common trope and pushes it one step further. With no semblance of chronology, the novel chronicles three generations of Schells as they navigate through difficult times, including the Bombing of Dresden and the Attack on the World Trade Center. Throughout the novel, relationship after relationship suffers because the characters…

We’ve all experienced it before, the pursuit of forgotten memories; the tinge of helpless perplexity that stumps our consciousness, bothering us until our obstinacy relents to a shrug of the shoulders. Amy Herzog’s play, The Great God Pan, explores such sensations. Burgeoning playwright Amy Herzog attempts to illustrate this pursuit through the character Jamie, a potential victim of child molestation. This November, The Great God Pan opened at Davidson College’s Barber Theatre. Directed by Dr.…

Richard Wagner, a Romantic German composer, is one of the leading opera composers of his time; he often defined his stage works using the term bühnenfestspiel, or festival stage play. He is known for writing several such works, including Lohengrin, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Tristan und Isolde. In these works Wagner is credited with the use of many compositional devices and philosophies. In particular, he is recognized for employing the idea of a “gesamtkunstwerk,” or collective art, in…

Everybody in the human race always asks the question at some point, why do bad things happen to good people? Bad things in life occur to remind us that we are human. Everybody in their lives will experience loss one way or another. Loss isn’t a good thing but it makes us take pride in the value of a single life. One day it will all come to an end, that is the primitive law of life. Things are taken and given in life, rejoice when it’s given and grieve when it’s taken. At some point one must move…

The Second World War: Collective Memory and History- Historiographical Essay: Judt, T. “The Past is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Post-War Europe.” In Memory and Power in Post-War Europe: Studies in the Presence of the Past, edited by J.W. Muller, 157-83. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. First Paragraph- Judt’s Main Arguments: Tony Judt’s essay The Past is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Post-War Europe details the immediate post-war European past that failed to face the…

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is one of his most popular books. It is composed of 3 themes which are antiwar, philosophical, and science fiction. Even though these three themes are throughout the novel, philosophy plays an important part in the novel. Philosophy gives that “push” for the themes of science fiction and antiwar to come together and make up the book the way it is. Philosophy is the understanding of knowledge, reality, and existence. For one to acknowledge the fact that…

Introduction “The automobile engine will come and then I will consider my life’s work complete” – Rudolf (izquotes, n.d.) Now common place everywhere, automobile engines are small achievement on the list of accomplishments for Rudolf Diesel. The inventions he made helped shape the world we live in today and possible our future. Rudolf Diesel, his name is now synonymous with the invention he made but also engineering itself. Diesel was the first man to patent the diesel engine and the first to…

Although mental illnesses were diagnosed as early as the 5th century by Hippocrates, there is no single solution or cure for mental illness (“History of Mental Health Treatment”). Multiple national programs have been established by the government and non-profit organizations to aid those affected with access to treatment and support. One of the oldest programs in the United States, Mental Health America, was founded in 1909. The primary program Mental Health America offers is online Mental…