Waking Life

person she loved with all her heart and finding Abby’s daughter Clarke to fill her in on what was happening on the ark. That Chancellor Kane had planned on killing over 300 people to save on oxygen. Things didn’t work out that way though, before waking up Bellamy Blake had taken the radio she was planning on using to contact the ark. To let everyone aboard it that they were alive and well on the ground, well as well as anyone could be with wild people running around trying to kill them. Things…

man and his wife, or a person and their dog, but tempering that by exploring the themes through the bitter sweet memory of deceased loved ones. The poem encompasses ideas about the routine nature of life, using the cyclical structure of the poem as a physical representation of the many cycles of life, the poem beginning in a warmer, domestic scene before extending outward to the cold surroundings of a winters day in Dublin, reflections on death, and the eventual return to the house in which the…

The day that changed my life was the day my family had seen Jim’s body for the last time. Then I realized even if I do well and protect myself things are still uncontrollable. Also, I cannot protect everyone else around me and neither am I myself invincible. It was that day that I was finally aware of death. Yes, everyone knows that eventually every living thing dies, but I thought however, for some reason this would never happen to me. Now I realize how wrong I was. Jim, he was like a father…

The first thought that crept into my mind when I read the title was that the poem must be about someone dear who has passed away, and how life has been affected from how it used to be when the person was alive; thus, the title, “Before She Died”. The author uses a set of five couplets and ten lines in the poem. Also, it appears that the author has overemphasized emotions through the course of the poem following the use of a stylistic device called, hyperbole. The author made clear use of…

“Sometimes you make choices in life, and sometimes choices make you.” Throughout a lifetime, no matter who you are or how you live, you have to make decisions. A lot of the time the choices you make can have a very big impact on your life and who you are as a person. They can affect your outlook on the world and how you view the environment around you. In the story If I Stay by Gayle Forman, the main character, Mia Hall has to make a very critical decision. She has to decide if she wants to…

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” These inspirational words came from the legendary, Muhammad Ali. This statement is real. Hard work is exhausting, and has worn me down to muscle and bone, but hitting a dead end is not an option for me; I have to push through. I will become my own champion. This is what I tell myself in order to make my dreams happen. In my short years of existence, I have grown to learn that my…

sociology professor, Morrie, as his life becomes threatened with a terminal illness, Morrie decides his final lesson will be on “The Meaning of Life.” Mitch absorbs his old professor’s final lessons on Feeling Sorry for Yourself, Death, Family, Emotions, and Forgiveness. Albom exploits a collection of rhetorical choices such as, syntax, irony, and tone, in order to reveal the ultimate lesson behind, “The Meaning of Life,” all before his beloved professor Morrie’s life comes to an end. On the…

The loss of innocence The sun shone through my window, waking me up to the sound of birds chirping in the tree outside. It felt just like any other morning to my happy ten year old self. Christmas was only three days past, and I was still enjoying my new presents and winter break. As I entered into my living room, my brother Corbin, was watching tv, snuggled up in his favorite brown blanket. I made myself comfortable on the floor in front of him, when his phone rang. On the phone appeared to…

Audience Engagement in Macbeth Tragedies such as Macbeth have engaged and fascinated audiences for centuries. Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth depicts the ill-fated journey of Macbeth, a brave and loyal soldier, who murders several innocent people to become King, and is soon after killed himself. The play engages the audience, which is defined as “occupying and maintaining the interest or attention of the audience. Through the use of characterisation, narrative structure and figurative…

In Franz Kafka’s short story, The Metamorphosis, the reader peers into the life of the Samsa family, seeing the metamorphosis of not only the hard-working son, but also of his three other family members. Over the course of the 100 years of production of The Metamorphosis, there has been many discussions on what Kafka was trying to convey in his morbid and saddening short story. Many discussions include the idea of humanity, and if Gregor still kept his humanity after transforming into a ‘vermin’…