Mary Catherine Bateson

The Power of False Narratives Throughout literature, and even in our own lives, we are poisoned by the false narratives and stories that corrupt our minds and control our decisions. This is the driving force in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Our protagonist, Scout Finch, makes decisions and forms opinions based on stories she hears that simply aren’t true. This is prevalent among various other major and minor characters in the novel as well. They are also extremely commonplace in…

Modern Ethics within the Genesis “Fall” Narrative and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Most people in the Western hemisphere know the story of the “Fall.” This is the biblical myth of Adam and Eve consuming the apple in the garden of Eden and being exiled by God. Meanwhile, the story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is not as well known, but is still extremely popular. It is a tale of how a deranged doctor summons a dead object back to life. While both of these stories seem to be completely different,…

coordinated an elaborate lie. A lack of good evidence is not the only thing making these trials unjust, perjury accepted as reality proves the use of failed logic and reason is afoot. While Mary Warren gives her testimony against the girls in court, Abigail defends herself and leads the pack and beings to act as though Mary is using witchcraft because she wants to throw out Mary’s whole testimony. Abigail says,…

Loneliness is the true evil that causes a profound amount of pain within someone, driving them into the worst imaginable fate: a life of violence. In Shaka Senghor's memoir, Writing My Wrongs (2016), Jay’s life tumbles down into darkness. From when his mom disconnected herself from his life to murdering an innocent man, Jay felt a sense of loneliness throughout many periods of his life. Although his father had always been by his side, Jay felt detached from his father’s new life with his new…

The Crucible a historical fiction writing is about the unjust deaths of 19 individuals who refused to say they conjured with witchcraft. The question arises who is to blame for this event in history. Arthur Miller the author to this play is connecting the salem witch trials to the Red Scare. Which was to find out ones who believes in communism and was trying to overthrow the american way of life. The public is the reason for the Red Scare started, but who is the reason for the salem witch trials…

To quote the infamous Shaggy 2 Dope of the Insane Clown Posse, “Water, fire, air, and dirt- fucking magnets how do they work?” (“Miracles”). The answer to his profound question lies in an alternative medicine practice that has been used by healers going back thousands of years. Magnet therapy stems from the idea that particular medical disorders can be treated by using magnetic fields (“Magnetic Healing”). Magnet therapy has become increasingly popular over the years, causing the sale of magnets…

creation and the aftermath of the formation of new beings. The three pieces of literature connect in this way which is crucial to their meaning. They also connect by the criticism The Unconscious, the Desires, and the Defenses developed by Freud. In Mary Shelley’s book titled Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus she describes how Victor Frankenstein formed life and the consequences of his actions. Initially, Victor was proud of…

Nihilist, violence and more. These are just a hand few of the topics that the western gothic author Flannery O’Connor discusses in both her novels and short stories. From people stealing legs to the murder of a family O’ Connor’s writing come to show you the true wickedness that come from people even if they state to believe in nothing or in the Christian faith. Her stories are filled with allusions to mostly explain the idea of redemption and what it means to be redeemed. It’s not only allusion…

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a novel constructed around the idea of a potentially dangerous pursuit of science. The calamities of the novel unfold because of Victor Frankenstein’s irresponsible and unchecked subversion of the laws of nature; Victor, through his scientific achievements, gives rise to a species that he is ill-equipped to take care of and monitor. However, Shelley’s novel is not meant to be a critique of science as a field of study, but rather a critique of the methods with which…

‘Be careful what you wish for’, aptly describes what happens to Roderick in Rome, where the desire to see the great works of art result in the young artist experiencing “an indigestion of impressions; I must work them off before I go in for any more” (103). Accordingly, Roderick tells his patron he can no longer look at “other people’s works, for a month — not even at Nature’s own” (103), but instead he is driven to see his own creations. The time spent in the eternal city seems to both men like…