Octavia E. Butler

as Third Wave Feminism. After fighting for legal and social equality by standing up against patriarchal oppression, the goals of feminists broadened to break down concepts of gender, sexuality, and the body (Rampton). Queer Theorists such as Judith Butler branched from this new movement in Women’s Studies to examine the reality of identity and attack the problematic perception of heteronormativity, the belief that humans are normally heterosexual and distinctly male or female. In The Crying of…

This, however, does not excuse man’s blatant disregard for the woman’s humanity and perceived inferiority. Judith Butler argues that sex is a matter of interpretation and contrary to Beauvoir, it is not natural. Perhaps the most or one of the most famous quotes in Beauvoir’s the Second Sex, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” further dives into the stance…

THE GREAT MONKEY TRIAL Thesis In Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925, as a substitute teacher, John Scopes illegally taught evolution. The ACLU was against the Butler Act (which most people in Tennessee believed in), that teaching evolution in public schools was wrong. They took a stand and partnered with Clarence Darrow, a famous defense attorney, to defend John Scopes who was convinced to stand. George Rappleyea, the manager of the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company in Dayton, agreed with the ACLU,…

Introduction In Testo Junkie: Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics in the Pharmacopornographic Era, Beatriz Preciado uses their body and their body of work as a means of transing theory. Put another way, B.P. uses a genre bending approach to writing theory to attempt to articulate the lived experience of gender ambiguity. B.P. challenges normative conceptions and understandings of bodies, theory, and modes of production in an attempt to explain the queer body. To do so, B.P. employs the radical approach…

I always felt like reading was a waste of time unless it was something very interesting. I always loved reading stories with topics about history, romance, twisted stories about death and other things. I was sitting in the hard, black school chair when Ms. Seitz came in the warm, cozy classroom flipping her orange hair. We have this daily routine where we go over the agenda and announcements. I was sitting beside my classmate, Javier, when Ms. Seitz, with a smile on her face, announced that…

In 1831, at the age of twelve, Walt Whitman began working for his local newspaper. He soon fell in love with the written word and started writing his own poetry (“Poet Walt Whitman”). Fast forward to the turn of the 20th century, and Whitman has already made a name for himself as one of America’s most influential poets. Two of Whitman’s most esteemed works are “O Captain! My Captain!”, written in 1865 to reflect on Abraham Lincoln's death, and “O Me! O Life!”, written in 1891 to contemplate…

Throughout history, human civilizations have been built on conforming to social norms. Likewise, there have always been individuals, throughout history, who have ventured outside of those norms, many times to the dismay or even apathy of their respectively societies. E.E. Cummings’ “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” is perfect example of how individualism is viewed in a conformist society, as well as sheds light on the poet’s own views of conformity. Although conforming to social norms is how…

Know a man in the early 1900’s known for his poems written with incorrect spelling and punctuation? Then you would be thinking about E. E. Cummings! E. E. Cummings was birthed upon the world as Edward Estlin Cummings in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1894. He developed a unique style of writing at an early age, being influenced by both Impressionism and Cubism, and grew up to study at Harvard University. The poet would become a famous writer, but while he was alive, his work was mostly left…

How do we determine if love changes someone or not? In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and in “anyone live in a pretty how town” by E.E. Cummings, the authors use motifs, imagery, and symbolism to show how love can shape an individual change. Throughout the novel Gatsby has changed for Daisy because he is in love with her and in the poem the speaker anyone changed because noone showed him love . In the novel, Fitzgerald uses symbolism to represent a deeper meaning. Some…

Love and death are very meaningful to humans. Love and death are eternal, above and beyond physical entities, and extremely powerful. The poems “Death be not proud,” by John Donne, and “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond,” by E.E. Cummings are poems about love. “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” by Anne Bradstreet, and “Because I could not stop for Death,” by Emily Dickinson are poems that explain death. Donne, Cummings, Bradstreet, and Dickinson have poems that relate death and love.…