The sun is beginning to peak from the horizon, filling the adamant blue sky with its orange hue. Around, morning dew leaves its mark on leaves, and the petrichor emanates from the grass, a reminder that a new season of life is yet to commence. For a moment, you are transfixed back into time, lost…
Edgar Allen Poe is one of the most famous gothic and horror writers ever known. He practically invented the gothic literature genre and his most known works, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Raven’, have changed how people look at short stories forever. And it doesn’t stop there, he’s influenced multiple genres like science fiction, detective…
The Elephant Rope is a well known parable with many different versions told all around the world. Because of its eye-opening message, I decided to re-tell the story and remind everyone (including myself) on what we can learn from this simple parable. The Elephant Rope: a re-telling of the parable: A young man was strolling…
For this February, here are two novel recommendations, each with its own distinctive qualities and characters, each compelling in its own way. First is a twentieth-century classic: Invisible Man Set roughly in the 1930s, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man follows an unnamed African-American narrator as he recounts his early years—from growing up in the American South…
There’s something characteristic about Russian literature that I love. I can’t fully describe it. But I feel it has a lot to do with the nation’s complex history and—in my mind, at least—some stereotyped notion of its culture. Regardless, there are four authors I want to highlight here. They have produced some of the most…
I am awake at eleven in the evening holding Woolf’s To the Lighthouse open in my left hand as I sit with my right leg crossed over my left, uncomfortable, still staring down at the pages mindlessly—what a strange book this is, I wonder. Words glide before my eyes and what is the point of…
England, 1956. An old butler by the name of Stevens sets off alone on a summer holiday. As he unhurriedly drives through the English countryside, he reflects on his decades of service to Lord Darlington and his wish to serve humanity by serving “a great gentleman.” Yet now, near the end of his career, Stevens…
If you reduce Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or The Lion King to their most basic elements, the result is a steadfast, storytelling core known as the hero’s journey. Through twelve stages, the hero must leave one condition, undergo some transformation, and lead a more fulfilling life with their newfound maturity. It’s easy to see how these pieces fit…
…and why it’s important to us
Let me ask you a question. When’s the last time you read something? You’re probably thinking wow, what a stupid question! Aren’t I reading this right now? So then, let me ask you this. When’s the last time you read a book just because. Not because it was assigned for a class, not because your…
If you’ve ever taken an English class, chances are that you’ve had to read Shakespeare. If hearing that brings bad memories, then I’m sorry. I feel like Shakespeare gets a lot of criticism because the language is hard to understand. Or perhaps you are bored to tears and you hate that you have to study it. Maybe…
Click here for Part 1 Appreciating Pitch… Is it nature or nurture? We’ve concluded that music sounds like a form of speech. Certain pitches sounds good because of the physics behind it. Here’s a YouTube video explaining the basics of it from the perspective of tuning: Harmony and lack of harmony can correlate to positive…
And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. – John Keating (Dead Poet’s Society) It’s not with this concept that I have an issue with. My issue is with…
In an upbeat world that moves along hurriedly, reading has fallen back on the priority list of many. I know I can’t be the only one that puts off quality time reading in order to study or to surf the web. The combination of that and the accessibility and promotion of movies have caused people…
YouTube is undeniably a great source of entertainment, but it is also equally packed with all sorts of educational materials. As a student and as an insatiably curious person in general, I spend a lot of time doing research and attempting to find resources that allow me to better understand my work and the world…