Walker Percy

Grendel’s Philosophical Lifestyle In the book Grendel the main character, Grendel is a monster that was once rejected by humans making him into an angry and bitter person. Grendel only cares about himself and wants to be the best at what he does which is fighting. Grendel’s whole life he experiences multiple different types of philosophies in which he lives by. Three main philosophies stick out in Grendel's life which he lives by the most, they are Machiavellianism, Solipsism, and Nihilism…

All throughout the novel, “Cat’s Cradle”, Vonnegut revolves the novel around a theme of the rejection of truth. This novel takes place on an island named San Lorenzo and was published around 1963. Around 1963, World War 2 was happening and Vonnegut had a job as an interviewer for scientists, giving him the knowledge of science for the novel. One scientist, his brother worked with, Irving Langmuir, was the model for Dr.Felix Hoenikker. Throughout the novel, a family with an inventor dad takes his…

“It was during an access of this kind that I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near Alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, and sorrows” (Shelley 81). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor often shows signs of depression and tries to oppress it by escaping into nature. Today, many people can escape depression more effectively by using the medical miracle, antidepressants. Depression is…

Passion is a powerful desire, and it is sometimes difficult to contain feelings and listen to the voice of reason. Such struggle is endured by Victor and his creature in the novel Frankenstein; both individuals are carried away by their overpowering passion that they do not see the irrationality behind their motives. Victor asserts that “[His] application soon became so ardent and eager, that the stars often disappeared in the light of morning whilst [he] was yet engaged in [his] laboratory”,…

Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shalott” is an exemplar of the poetic ability of famous writers to reflect the physical and emotional elements of a story within the music and aesthetics of poetry. In this essay I will examine the technical and aesthetic elements that create this famous ballad. While paraphrasing this poem, I will analyze how those elements create the extreme success of the poem. Through close analysis of Tennyson’s poem, I will reveal these elements that have made “The…

In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the similarities and dissimilarities that Victor Frankenstein and his creation share are the key factors leading to their demise. Frankenstein’s creation, who can perhaps most accurately be referred to as a self-proclaimed fallen Adam (CITATION), parallels his creator in many ways - including in their regret of their pursuit of knowledge and the way that they both begin with good intentions but become warped and trapped in a cycle of vengeance. However, the…

When individuals have hard choices to make and end up choosing the wrong one, they have it upon themselves to deal with the consequences in a stoic, detached manner to avoid making the same mistake again. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, characters are often clouded by their judgement and end up botching things. Victor Frankenstein is unable to deal with this moral conflict in a logical manner, ultimately harming himself and others around him. Victor Frankenstein ends up morally betraying…

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, there is a creature whom Victor Frankenstein created. The creature and Victor are similar in a few ways, including how they both eventually feel degraded and miserable. But, they are also very different because Victor wants nothing to do with the creature, yet the creature still desires his love. The creature is made to be the monster by Victor because he killed many of Victor’s loved ones and other men and women. Yes, the creature can be malicious,…

In the book Candide written by Voltaire, Voltaire portrays a world riddled with innumerable horrors such as disease, natural disasters, rape, and war. Of all the worldly evil criticized in Candide, slavery is by far the worst. Despite Voltaire’s consistent use of humor throughout the book, when the topic of slavery is mentioned the mood becomes completely somber. Through the disheartening story of the African slave and the description of El Dorado, the utopian land free of all immoral practices,…

Friedrich Nietzsche once spoke about poets as being “shameless with their experiences: they exploit them” (109). This quote most definitely describes one of the most descriptive British poets in the world, John Keats. Autumn is the season of steady decline and sadness, a time of the year when beauty dies and despair takes over. The pride and glory of the people plummets like autumn leaves. However, John Keats believes autumn to be the season of beauty, awe, and tranquility and he backs it up…