Stairway to Heaven

Ursula K. Le Guin’s, The Lathe of Heaven, is a science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic future that revolves around a man named George Orr. George’s dreams have the ability to alter reality, including the past. Before any dream-altering realities come into play, George is referred to a sleep specialist named Dr. William Haber after George gets into trouble for stealing dream-suppressing drugs. Through these “voluntary” meetings with Dr. Haber, George explores a variety of alternate…

Stephen Crane characterized the characters of the novel through their actions and interactions with other characters during the story. Such as Jimmie, from the opening scene it was obvious he was violent and did not care much for rules and even his own safety. In the opening fight scene Stephen Crane wrote,“In the yells of the whirling mob of Devil’s Row children there were notes of joy like songs of triumphant savagery. The little boys seemed to leer gloatingly at the blood upon the other…

Throughout Harry Mulisch’s The Assault, the killing of Anton’s family leaves Anton with internal questions as to how exactly this event transpired for most of his life. Over the course of the novel Anton is provided with many answers to his questions, some simple and some complex. As the novel progresses so does the complexity of explanations Anton is given about the assault on his family. To clarify, in the beginning Anton is offered many simple explanations and, seeing that he is young and his…

In 1798 a well-known poet named Samuel Taylor Coleridge published his poem The Rime of The Ancient Mariner. The poem was contained in a poem collage by Coleridge and William Wordsworth called the Lyrical Ballads. Coleridge is known for the Romantic influence in his writings: “Coleridge achieved wonder by the frank violation of natural laws, impressing upon readers a sense of occult powers and unknown modes of being” (“The Romantic Period: Topics.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature).…

beautiful film All That Heaven Allows directed by Douglas Sirk shows the struggles women faced in the 1950’s and how gender norms limited women from having an independent and safe surrounding, all through the story of a rich widowed woman who falls for a young man. Sirk uses the set of the film to its maximum potential with his experience with mise-en-scène. With mise-en-scène Sirk can place any visual object in order gain emotion from his audience and in the film All That Heaven Allows he uses…

characteristics. As individuals, we put the blame on the person who actually committed the crime. Yet, in reality, so many things add up altogether that resulted in a horrendous bloody crime. Jon Krakauer mentions this in his book, “Under the Banner of Heaven” that the murder of Brenda and Erica Lafferty were the result of so many things, events, and people adding up to the horrendous action which took place on “twenty-fourth of July” (176). Ron and Dan Lafferty were the actual persons who…

The movies Sweet Home Alabama and Just Like Heaven have further in common than just the leading lady, Reese Witherspoon. These two movies represent the romantic ideals of society in appropriately similar ways. Both movies teach valuable lessons in telling how Hollywood chooses to portray what the concept of love is and how it develops in romantic films. In Sweet Home Alabama the first concept of love is the chemistry between the two characters. Right off the bat, the chemistry between the two…

Often at times, movies intend to mirror themes presented in a novel of similar context. Sherman Alexie, award-winning author and filmmaker, implements this technique and displays commonalities between his auto-fictional novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and his co-production of Smoke Signals. Both selections incorporate the stereotypical Indian lifestyle and culture such as chronic alcoholism and devastating poverty. However, there are also slight differences between the…

Smoke Signals: The Importance of Story Telling Most of us are familiar with storytelling, being told stories throughout our lives. Story telling plays a huge role in Native American culture. Stories are told within households and communities to richen the relations and bonds between people. In Sherman Alexie’s film Smoke Signals, stories are used to show relationships between Suzy Song, Victor Builds-The-Fire, and Thomas Joseph which is illustrated in the stories shared between them. In the…

While in the process of writing, authors often mirror themes in each of their publications. Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and co-producer of Smoke Signals, demonstrates this technique through the aforementioned works by introducing topics such as family relationships, identity crises, the power of friendships, alcoholism, and the inevitability of death in both storylines. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian reveals the story of a young…