forward and upward
Maren Caldwell
ANARCHY AS THE NEXT BIG TREND: THE COUNTERCULTURE FALL CLUB FALL
The iconic Superman of Fight Club, Tyler Durden is an uncompromising anarchist and perhaps the only individual on earth who fully defies society's influences. The only problem is that it doesn't really exist. It also doesn't help that this counterculture hero is portrayed in the film adaptation of David Fincher by Brad Pitt, arguably the biggest male celebrity of the 1990s. So much for challenging consumer culture. Yet, in Chuck Palahniuk's novel, Tyler fulfills his purpose by driving the narrator and many other disaffected corporate drones into subversive violence and anarchy. In search of a way out of a society that deprived them of their individuality, these men found a new popular movement. Fight Clubs and Project Mayhem may start out as extreme forms of rebellion, but once they become part of the community, they become popular like IKEA. A cycle of popular conformity has proven inevitable. Palahniuk's attempted critique of contemporary society has become an installation of popular culture - with its own cult following, film adaptations and proliferation of "copycat" groups. All that's left of the true counterculture is the desire to rebel and an astute, critical engagement with the culture we so avidly consume.
Emma Clarke
FROM RIOT TO ADMIRATION: THE EVOLUTION OF POPULAR REACTIONS TO SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR
The premiere of Six characters in search of an author, by Luigi Pirandello, in 1921, provoked such a strong reaction from theatergoers that a riot broke out and the author had to flee for his life. Less than five years later, the play was performed for appreciative audiences and critics around the world, and Pirandello is now recognized as one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century. This essay tries to discover the causes of the wide range of reactions to the play and how innovative and influential Pirandello's work really was. Analyzing theatrical history both in the years leading up to the play's creation and in the years during and immediately after its first performances, he sheds light on the environment in which Six Characters in Search of an Author was written and produced. Modern analysis of Pirandello's work and works influenced by him will help determine his enduring legacy, while commentary on the works of Pirandello's contemporaries will show the extent of his innovation.
Colleen Lee
LANGUAGE: THE WEIGHT OF THE HISTORY AND CULTURE THAT CROSSES THE LINES OF THE CONTINENTS
A person's language carries the weight of their culture: idioms, expressions and even pen strokes convey information from a history that can span thousands of years. Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men shows that words, phrases, writing and many other aspects of language can be lost and forgotten in the formation of a new hybrid culture. This shift is most evident when looking at intergenerational changes within immigrant communities. Identity shifts and cultural underpinnings can be blurred in little more than a generation. Of course, this is hardly limited to Asian immigration; this is a key and common consequence of every immigrant crossing the lines of the map, struggling with the difficulties that are pushing them back to the shores of their former homeland. Starting a new life in America is difficult for many and success is never guaranteed. But even if few names are remembered at the end of the family history, perhaps it is the language of tradition and the stories handed down that cement their place in the future.
Gaby Sharaga
THE INFINITE ROAD: (REVERSE) PROGRESS ON LORD OF THE FLY
My contribution explores William Golding's vision of humanity and progression in Lord of the Flies. Far from society, the lost boys of Golding must rely on the guidance of Ralph, the voice of reason who puts survival before the game. Ralph demonstrates Freud's notion of the "superego" which relates to Lee Edelman's "reproductive futurism" or sacrifice today for progress tomorrow. But even Ralph, who has the greatest potential to lead boys to moral progress, is corrupted by boys' inherent savagery. Likewise, the naval officer acting as the boys' savior in his civilized service uniform and trimmed cruiser proves to be just as destructive as the boys, but on a much grander scale. Written after World War II, Lord of the Flies suggests that the hope and vision of progress that guide our actions are leading humanity towards decentralization.
Alex Sieracki
THE INVERSE METRO: A JOURNEY FROM FREEDOM TO SLAVERY
"Kevin and I have become more part of the family, familiar, accepted, accepted. It bothered me... how easily we seemed to get used to each other.” - Dana, relative
Octavia Butler, the first African-American science fiction writer, reinvented the slave narrative for modern audiences. In Kindred, protagonist Dana takes a spontaneous journey through time, from the post-civil rights era of 1976 to her ancestors' slave plantation in the early 19th century. This unconventional juxtaposition of past and present has led many critics to credit Butler with reviving the slave narrative form. However, I refer to the views of book critics Sarah Wood and Sarah Schiff to suggest that by interweaving science fiction with historical context, Butler creates a genre entirely of her own. As a comparative lens, I analyze Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, where the term "kinship" appears repeatedly throughout the text, suggesting that this particular slave narrative may have served Butler as an inspiration or model for Kindred. This notion emphasizes how individually Dana must connect to her ancestral roots to establish a personal identity and how collectively humanity must recognize the past to form a global identity, an essential component of human progress. Dana's journey from a modern world in the grip of apartheid to a past fueled by the same racial differences suggests that if human nature remains the same, the present may not be so different from the past.
what's the harm
Stephanie Ashley
“I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE FOR THIS FEELING”: RAPTURE, VIOLENCE AND CHRISTIANITY IN DENIS JOHNSON’S SON OF JESUS
Pain and pleasure are generally seen as opposites. Normally, people try to maximize pleasure in their lives and keep pain to a minimum. This is not the case for Fuckhead (F.H.), a heroin addict in Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. FH's drug-induced pursuit leads him to ecstasy and painful and often violent situations, from hitchhiking in a car accident, taking his shot friend to the hospital, and punching his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach. This unpredictable and lustful behavior attributes F.H. but not as a basic loser. Instead, we witness a grotesque vision of post-Vietnam America through Denis Johnson's protagonists, and as such, both the author and his character in Jesus' Son seek a form of holy ecstasy. The idea that what we consider sacred or sacred is intimately related to violence is addressed by critic René Girard in his book Violence and the Sacred, and the connections between such ideas and conflicting emotions in F.H. 🇧🇷
Gary Goldman
„I DON'T REMEMBER [MY] NAME, I DON'T REMEMBER MY REAL MOTHER“: DIE SELBSTBILDUNG IN HENRY SELICKS CORALINE
This essay examines how children project the worst of their own personalities onto their parents as they move toward maturity and adulthood. While teens often blame their parents for everything, it is often harder to consider that they might be the ones who are flawed and wrong. In Coraline, the main character invents a parallel universe in which her "other mother" is a monstrous and possessive villain; However, this is just the fulfillment of your own desire to be in the spotlight. I will prove that by killing the "other mother" at the end of the film, Coraline gains an aspect of her own personality. Drawing elements from Freud's Oedipus and Elektra complexes, as well as Kristeva's principle of rejection, I will show that a second reading of Coraline may suggest that the destruction of the maternal is essential to her identity formation.
samantha gross
PUT THE LACK BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY: BRIONY'S ROAD TO MATURITY IN ATONEMENT
Of his novel Atonement, Ian McEwan says, "Once we meet your protagonist...a constant struggle in her roles, both as a child and as a writer, to determine the merits and limitations of fantasy and reality. With a desire to dictate perfect stories and having absolute knowledge of characters and events, she believes she can apply her storytelling to the real world. As Briony's perception of childhood and adulthood falters, so does her perspective on storytelling. a moral lesson to be learned in the world of fiction. Rather than simply showing characters' minds for endless interpretation, Briony discovers that a complete plot is important in determining character and plot impact. In this essay, I argue that Briony's view of aging and her beliefs about storytelling evolve simultaneously.While the narrative has the power to be immensely accurate, misinterpretation can occur. naturally. McEwan suggests that this acknowledgment brings Briony's ultimate goal of maturity.
Christoph Hrvoj
ROAD TO THE END: RELIGIOUS SELF-POLLUTION AND GEEK LOVE BY KATHERINE DUNNS
“How soon would you get your feet off her? When would you take your hands? ...Each time they brush a little more, even a little toe. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 [she felt] the weight of the rot that was for [her]." - Katherine Dunn, Geek Love
“If your eye is your downfall, pluck it out!” – Mark 9:47-48
From Opus Dei's practice of mortification to its endorsement of the philosophy of “redemption by . 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 suffering," the Abrahamic tradition has long promoted a theme of "light" religious self-mutilation, echoed in Jewish circumcision and in passages such as Mark 9 and Matthew 6 of the Bible. It is doubtful, however, that many strict adherents of the Abrahamic tradition would find much of themselves in the cult-like religion "Arturism" of Katherine Dunn's Geek Love, a fictional novel centered on the bizarre Binewski family of freaks and their philosophy Apotheosis through self-mutilation, developed and ruled by one of its members - the limbless boy Arty. Despite the similarities between modern, socially ordained religious practices of self-mutilation and lobotomy and those described as an integral part of arturism, Abrahamic readers of the cult would almost certainly confess to enormous discord between the types of spiritual salvation offered by each. In this analysis, I will draw on the history of Carnaval and organizations such as Opus Dei to defend the claim that these overt differences reflect an even greater discord between the philosophies of body and mind espoused by carnival and those supported by established religion—a discord which ultimately suggests a demarcation between their two separate motives for existence so extreme that even similar livelihoods simply cannot transcend it.
Cody Nelson
MANIFEST DESTINY: THE MYTH AND REALITY OF THE AMERICAN WEST FRONTIER ON THE MCCARTHY BLOOD MERIDIAN
"You wouldn't believe a man would leave the country here, would you?" - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
Because of the way it was founded, America is unique in world history; American history is always focused on the frontier, focused on expansion. Most Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries, like Frederick Jackson Turner in his "Frontier Thesis", viewed westward expansion as a benevolent civilizing process, perhaps even a deeply spiritual one, which contributed to the prosperity of the United States. This interpretation of the American West is reinforced by the Western genre and the moralizing power of Western vigilantism. It is this concept that Cormac McCarthy challenges in Blood Meridian. Blood Meridian isn't western, it's anti-western, undermining our idyllic sense of the American frontier. Mark A. Eaton writes, "Blood Meridian should be read as a counter-narrative to the overly sanitized rhetoric of Manifest Destiny." Through descriptions of violence, immorality, and ruthlessness, McCarthy takes aim squarely at Manifest Destiny and Turner's "Frontier Thesis" and presents the nature of the frontier and the philosophy behind American expansionism.
You win something, you lose something
Jasneet Aulak
IDENTITY CRISIS: JAPAN'S SEARCH FOR ITS RIGHT PLACE, AS SEVEN SAMURAI
Akira Kurosawa directed Seven Samurai (1954), a Japanese film about a defenseless village that hires samurai to fend off marauding bandits at a time when Japan struggled with its national identity. Japanese-American relations improved after the occupation, when Japan was finally seen as an equal. Debts were paid and Japan developed a new identity that Americans approved of, particularly as that new identity became increasingly pro-American. It is therefore not surprising that, through Seven Samurai's depiction of the Japanese as helpless, stupid, cowardly, and stupid, Kurosawa was more successful in America than he was in his native Japan. Using John Dower's theory that Japan was trying to find its "right place" in the new world order, I will argue that Kurosawa did not make Seven Samurai in spite of the Japanese, but rather hoped to use his film to help Japan awaken its identity crisis and low morale she was suffering from.
Gordon graft
"I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE": THERE WILL BE BLOOD AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
For as long as America has existed, there has been the American Dream: Anyone can get rich by working hard in the land of opportunity. There Will Be Blood (2007), by Paul Thomas Anderson, explores the terrible downside of that dream, following Daniel Plainview's journey from an ordinary "tanker" to an industry-dominating tycoon. While Plainview is achieving great success, that success has come with the destruction of the religious backbone of its community. Plainview's "I'll drink your milkshake" capitalist approach (a phrase used throughout the film to discuss the oil spill that also applies to Plainview's ruthless selfishness) reveals the downside of a capitalist economy when it deceives those around it. around, drops the leaves and beats them to a pulp to gain wealth and power. While acknowledging the potential for success of the American Dream, There Will Be Blood discusses the oft-overlooked downfalls of such a dream, which resulted in most of America's wealth in the hands of a small minority of the population.
Angela Ross
GOLD ROAD TO SUCCESS: CELEBRITY AND SOLD OUT IN BARTON FINK
Individual aspirations in the entertainment industry do not always match those of others in the industry or society at large. In Barton Fink, the Coen brothers uncover the myths and truths behind one of the world's most lucrative industries and the consequences of giving up on personal dreams on the road to financial stability and stardom. Drawing on Max Horkheimer's and Theodor Adorno's ideas about the culture industry and how an essential element of art is lost when art is mass produced, I argue that Barton's ultimate failure on the road to "success" was the result of actually preserve your integrity as an artist. He crafts a script that doesn't just tell the audience the same story they want to hear, but touches on some larger truths about humanity. While fame and fame are glorified in today's culture, the means of achieving them are rarely discussed. By showing us Barton's efforts in Hollywood, the film emphasizes how devastating, degrading, and even dangerous the road can be.
Margot Vitale
FREEDOM ON THE ROAD IN THE GRAND GATSBY: ACCESS TO SOCIAL MOBILITY
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the road as a symbol of the possibility of social mobility, allowing physical mobility across the separate class worlds of East and West Egg. While the road falsely touts the ease of travel, with the allure of expensive cars and trips to Gatsby's lavish parties, social mobility cannot happen as peacefully as Marx explains. The ultimate failure of Jay Gatsby's foray into high society proves Fitzgerald and Marx's point that the American dream cannot happen as smoothly as a car can drive down the road.
means to the end
Jordan Jacobs
FUCKHEAD AND MITCHELL STEPHENS: THE DESIRE TO ESCAPE REALITY
Canadian politician and social critic Douglas H. Everett once explained, “There are people who live in a dream world and others who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” So the truth seems to be something that can be ignored by ordinary people, but what about those deviants who live in a daily haze caused by drugs and addictions live and live a life of utter sadness, loneliness and deprivation? The characters Fuckhead in Dennis Johnson's Jesus' Son and Mitchell Stephens in Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter walk this perilous path, recognizing their immediate reality but running away from it. Fuckhead embarks on an almost romanticized visionary quest, his addiction allows him to live in another world. Mitchell Stephens experiences an almost Freudian annihilation of his reality as his daughter's addiction and dangers destroy his rational mind. Both characters act as openings through which we can see how addiction is necessary for them to reconstruct circumstances and offer solace in an otherwise terrifying and melancholy reality. When the unbearable nature of this reality comes to light, it becomes clear that drugs are not the problem, but rather a symptom of a much larger problem that is waiting to be understood and resolved. Furthermore, I will include Freud's essay "On Mourning and Melancholy" in my analysis of both characters.
Julia Mangione
THE WILL TO FREEDOM: CREATING A PATH IN A GENOMIC WORLD
"Why fight the 'natural' (oh, crazy word!) order of things? . . . Is this the doom written into our nature?" – David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, a novel of interwoven narratives from the 1850s to the 2500s, creates tensions between the forces of determinism and free will. Nietzsche's theories guide Mitchell's views on many of the novel's conflicts; Surprisingly, however, Mitchell clearly avoids raising the issue of fate. Using Nietzsche's lens, I deconstruct the narrative of Mitchell's protagonist Sonmi-451, a genomized "manufacturer" enslaved in a futuristic dystopian Korea to uncover Mitchell's concept of compatibility between fate and free will. Scattered across centuries and continents, Mitchell's protagonists refuse to accept the "'natural' order of things" and struggle against established power structures to forge their own paths. But can they break free? At first glance, the fates of Mitchell's interconnected characters seem inescapably determined. However, the sheer will of each protagonist inspires in its readers a tantalizing hope that free will counts and that these characters can choose their own path.
Tye Diaz-Meister
FOOD FOR SELF-DISCOVERY
In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless abandons the usual indulgent, consumerist, and relentless American lifestyle for a penniless, uncertain, and lonely journey through the American West in search of true joy and enlightenment. For McCandless, the desert offers a way out of 20th century society, freeing the individual from consumption and conformity and the social pressures this imposes on its citizens. McCandless doesn't want to be recognized for a prestigious degree; instead, he seeks a higher level of self-empowerment and transcendentalist spirituality through experiencing authentic, natural humanity. McCandless' quest motivates him to give up family, society and comfort to seek personal self-awakening. While McCandless's aspirations and methods may seem arrogant, selfish and ruthlessly idealistic in the face of his death, this criticism does not diminish his quest for self-growth and devoted appreciation of an environment from which people are alienated. McCandless pursued his dreams with unwavering conviction and admirably lost his life in pursuit of wisdom.
Jamie Tunkel
ON THE ROAD: SEVEN FOR BERNARDO SOARES' SITTED JOURNEY
"I never did anything but dream. This, and only this, was the meaning of my life.” - The Book of Disquiet, Fernando Pessoa
In O Problema, by Fernando Pessoa, Bernardo Soares is on a street. Soares sleeps, eats and works on Rua dos Douradores; he barely travels and expresses little desire to do so, as traveling is a pointless endeavor for him. Instead, Soares travels through the expanses of his own soul, mind and heart, constantly dreaming, fantasizing and contemplating his existence and his feelings. Soares' stable inner mental journey seems to give his life a lot of meaning; In his imagination, he can go anywhere and be anything he wants to be. Despite supposed delight in his isolated experience, Soares occasionally laments the emptiness of living only in his dreams. Applying Freud's theories on daydreaming and creative writing, I will examine Soares' journey of self-discovery and examine notions of happiness, fulfillment, and daydreaming, pondering whether Soares can find meaning and experience self-discovery in his lonely, imaginary inner journey.
Aditi Yokota-Joshi
An artist's seclusion: the need for isolation in Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound
In Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound, Nathan Zuckerman writes to expose the vices of his Jewish community. In doing so, he is expelled from his community and begins a journey that could be described as the antithesis of "being on the move". In doing so, he is faced with a dichotomy between observing society and being able to understand it: by observing it, the artist isolates himself from it, looks objectively from the outside. However, to understand a culture, an artist must be immersed in it, be an integral part of it. This discrepancy corresponds to theories about postmodern art. The notions behind pop art suggest that an artist needs to be deeply connected to their community and culture to truly analyze it, while an art brut perspective would suggest that real, raw art comes from minds created by others unaffected by outside influences. . By showing how Zuckerman deals with this contradiction, we can conclude, like Roth, that there is a crossroads on the road to artistic achievement where a true artist will inevitably abandon his roots to analyze them with an open mind.
fake IDs
Alex Harper
INTERCULTURAL INVISIBILITY IN CHINESE MEN
In Maxine Hong Kingston's novel China Men, people who are culturally ambiguous or who threaten to assimilate into another culture are shunned and demonized by the cultures in which they are in limbo. The Chinese-American immigrant population and the transgender population are decidedly the most ambiguous and itinerant populations in this novel. The cultures among which these populations live are separated by a chasm of empathy: men and women maintain separate spheres even within marriage; Native Chinese and white Americans are at odds over racist international politics. The animosity between these cultural pairs depends on imposing a rigid dichotomy between the two sides. As transcultural individuals - transgender and immigrant - threaten this binary, binary populations refuse to acknowledge its existence and are forced into invisibility. This invisibility is evident in interpersonal relationships between members of binary cultures and cross-cultural people, where cross-cultural people are either ignored or grouped into a single binary category that they resist. In the anecdotes, legends, and mythologies of binary cultures, however, this invisibility is shaken, and cross-cultural people are recognized, though never directly or fully.
Jordan Koranski
PESSOA, SOARES AND THE JOURNEY OF THE IMAGINATION
“We never go out alone. We never achieve another existence unless we change ourselves by actively and vividly imagining who we are.” - Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa, describes the unique inner life and journey of Bernardo Soares, an assistant accountant in Lisbon. Soares' inner journey is very imaginative, driven by his dreams, fantasies, experiences and subjective sensations. This article will argue that Soares actively creates other selves and inner identities by projecting an aspect of his consciousness onto each of the different people he is. With his "factless autobiography", Soares dispenses with the world of empirical facts and creates a personal reality in which he can freely create any identity he desires. Your alternate personas occupy several possible worlds. Absurdly, although Soares is the composite product of several selves and inner identities, he cannot escape his overarching meta-identity, the ghostly prose writer of Rua dos Douradores. The essay will also examine how Soares embodies certain aspects of the absurd hero portrayed by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus, and will argue for a connection between Sisyphus' "hour of consciousness" and Soares' subjective indwelling.
Jenny Lee
THE PATHS BOTH TAKE: THE DUAL IDENTITY OF A NARCISSIST IN TALENT MR. RIPLEY
Traditionally, the journey to self-realization has been seen as a series of symbolic crossroads through which an individual must travel a unique path, but in Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley follows two paths assuming two identities to find himself realized -realization. Tom embodies the classic narcissist, defined in Who Am I This Time? from Jay Martin, whose fear of being invisible forces him to seek outside approval. When his friend Dickie Greenleaf is not the mirror in which Tom seeks self-reflection, Tom kills Dickie and takes control of his life. Tom adopts a dual identity that allows him to give and receive the outside perspective he needs for himself; as "Dickie", Tom can watch himself succeed in the role and validate himself by circumventing the traditional narcissist situation. Unlike the mythical Narcissus, whose death can be read as a result of his realization that identity is not a single entity, Tom accepts the fact that identity is fluid and resumes his journey of self-realization - if only to discover his dual identity remains a mystery, "two roads" one lonely path.
Dan Li
SELLING YOURSELF: CREATING ALTERNATIVE IDENTITIES IN LADY ORACLE
Postmodern fiction often portrays reality as malleable and challenges traditional views of self-identity. In Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle, Joan Foster harbors self-loathing due to her obesity, which leaves her dissatisfied with her life and leads her to create alternate personalities and sell out. A series of societal demands - from her mother's dissatisfaction with her daughter's weight to her husband Arthur's expectations - result in Joan's divided identity, which Atwood uses to illuminate the harmful standards of civilization imposed on the individual. As Joan goes from childhood outcast to sensational artist, she adapts her actions and personality to the demands of her community. Examining the text through the lens of postmodern and psychological criticism, I will argue that it is the demands of civilization that lead people to stray from their individuality to conform to the mold of society, and that Atwood, with the story of Joan, illustrates how such suffocating conventions force a person to sell not only art and talent, but also his identity.
Ingrid Messbauer
PAINTING VS. FATHERHOOD: THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE MOTHER'S ROLE IN THE GLASS CASTLE
In Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle, Rose Mary Walls appears to be an insensitive and irresponsible woman who is totally unfit for motherhood. However, this seemingly obvious statement is challenged when we consider the possibility that motherhood is not linked to a person, but is a set of expectations and responsibilities that can be assumed by any member of the family. This flexibility of the mother's role follows Judith Butler's idea of "performativity", in which identity is formed through action. This essay examines the phenomenon of "role reversal" (where children take care of their parents) and our expectations of motherhood to ultimately determine whether it is possible for Rose Mary to be a good mother but a bad mother. .
cause and effect
Jarrod Ehrie
LONELINESS AND THE PATH TO MEANING IN ANAGRAMS
In Lorrie Moore's anagrams, Benna has three friends, but only one is real. Benna's quest for affection parallels author and critic CS Lewis's two basic types of love in The Four Loves: needing love and giving love. According to this model, Benna parasitically demands devotion from her lovers while satisfying her altruistic impulses by taking care of her imaginary dependents. When that system implodes, Benna is finally forced to embark on a quest for reality, an ill-fated quest as the truth proves unbearable. Fiction is an integral part of the psyche and without it the mind is incapable of dealing with the frustration inherent in all human endeavors. So it would be better just to travel, with no beginning or end in sight.
Abigail Grabow
"THE BLOOD STAINS THE SAND": THE THIEVES AND THE HUNTING IN LORD OF THE FLY
Mainstream society gives us rules and codes of conduct about how we live our lives; Some of them guarantee the protection of the most vulnerable members of society. Without some kind of social contract between the boys in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the island mentality offers no protection to the weak. Pigs are animals that are hunted inhumanely with spears, and in the same way boys hunt pigs. Golding seems to alert us to the danger of what we can do to the most vulnerable members of our community when there are no protective laws. Youth aggression against the island's vulnerable causes us to reflect on the possible deterioration of a world without established protections for our vulnerable members. In his work Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud asks what the good society does to overcome this "human instinct of aggression and self-destruction". The boys agree with this system of Social Darwinism, but Golding argues that humans are inherently virulent and therefore need street signs to guide them to protect humanity.
Michelle Lim
CINETOSE E SARTRE
Nausea, one of Sartre's best-known novels, describes a man's experience of a pervasive nausea that defies any rational explanation. Nausea is a special disease in which its etiologies are both psychological and physical and are incredibly diverse. Anyone who has experienced motion sickness knows that the characteristic queasy feeling in the pit of the stomach goes beyond mere pain and causes a complete mental distraction. The overwhelming nausea that Antoine Roquentin feels in the novel can be understood as a kind of nausea, a reaction to the very physical movement of existence. an unknown and forming a hostile landscape through which he must constantly travel. Even so, the nausea is accompanied by a deep existential anguish that distracts you from everything else, because in any type of nausea it is necessary to stop moving - in this case, to live - or to look for a cure. Sartre's philosophical essay The Humanism of Existentialism defines this healing in terms of the acceptance of existence and the freedom that comes from personal responsibility, and this allows Roquentin to make sense of the journey rather than the illness.
Alex Stillmann
GOD'S MACHINE AND THE RABBIT'S HOUSE: DONNIE DARKO'S MORALS AND POLITICS
“If God controls time, then all time is predetermined. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 Every living being follows a definite path. And if you could see your path or your channel, you could see the future, right? As if it were some form of time travel.” – Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly's teen/sci-fi novel Donnie Darko appears to be critical, almost dismissive, of the notion of simple, dualistic moral choices (such as good versus evil, fear versus love, etc.) and accuses those who emphasize these hypocritical choices. The film's climax, however, seems to represent a very simple moral choice: Donnie decides to go back in time and save his girlfriend. Examining the film through the lens of the polarized political climate of the 1980s, the time in which the film is set, and with reference to Cartesian philosophy, I will explore how Kelly uses the notions of moral choice and free will to frame her film as a political commentary. In the film, Kelly implies that our path is foggy and even questions whether right and wrong really matter on the path. Do not judge me
Katrin Karl
"YOU ARE MINE": POSSESSION AND THE MOTHER-SON RELATIONSHIP IN TONI MORRISON'S BELOVED
Family ties in Toni Morrison's Beloved remain deeply affected by the legacy of slavery. As Morrison illustrates through the development of the relationship between Sethe, Beloved, and Denver, "ownership" and mothers' influence over children is undermined by the distorted notion of ownership created by slavery. A dangerous confusion between property of people and property of things arises when slaves themselves are seen as property. In Amada, the distinction between maternal and material possessions becomes blurred. Sethe seeks to protect her children and maintain her maternal authority by killing them, an act that is not necessarily justified but understandable given the imminent enslavement of the intrinsically close bond between mother and child. This article examines the extreme effects of obsession on the mother-child relationship in Beloved in the light of historical information, literary analysis of motherhood in the novel, and Judith Butler's Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence.
Sean McCormick
Internal Racism in Mexican-American Culture: The Sacrifices of Becoming "American."
Jokes about Mexicans have so completely permeated American culture since the Mexican-American War of 1848 that people now attribute a number of undesirable traits to the race. This litany of stereotypes is often voiced by non-Mexicans, as presumably few Mexicans would encourage such narrow talk. Indeed, literary works by Mexican-American authors typically attempt to defuse stereotypes and also explore the exploitation of Mexican immigrants as expendable labor units – employees who can work tirelessly without adequate pay. But behind this well-known story lurks an underlying and frightening internal racism that occasionally surfaces in this literature. Novels like Tomas Riveras. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 And Terra Didn't Eat It represents an inherent hierarchy that second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans assert toward new immigrants—which is evident when they refer to them as "dogs." The mother of a USC freshman won't let her Mexican-American daughter tan without SPF 75 sunscreen because she fears her daughter will get too dark and look less "American." My essay further explores this internal racism in Mexican-American culture, through which immigrants have recently sought to distance themselves from their Mexican heritage in order to achieve a sense of the "American dream."
Natalie A. Millman
“HE FILLS ME WITH HORROR, BUT I DON’T HATE HIM”: BEING PERFORMED BY THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, published in 1909-1910, inspired dozens of dramatic interpretations - a fact that is not surprising, given the story's deep emotional appeal. At its core is a love triangle of epic proportions: a beautiful young opera diva must choose the love of a handsome aristocratic viscount or a brilliant but horribly disfigured polymath. This presentation will invest time in understanding the characters' different perspectives and their subconscious motivations, specifically analyzing their desires and fears (through a Freudian lens). Their lives (both literal and metaphorical) make them who they are: people exposed and trying to escape the contemporary prejudices and “terrors” that haunt them. Studying the problems of these three characters - Christine, Raoul and Erik - can teach us something about ourselves and make our own time "traveling" through life a little easier.
Eric Petersen
Promiscuity and Fatherhood: An Artist's Struggle in California
The television series Californication explores author Hank Moody's tug-of-war between his lustful lifestyle and the responsibilities of parenthood. Giving up his integrity as a writer for the demands of fatherhood, Moody tackles the fine line artists must walk between the fantasy of their work and the harsh reality. Moody's transformation from laid-back single author to serious husband and father illustrates a key concept of the series: that the making of art requires a specific lifestyle, a specific personality through which art can be channelled. Examining Moody through the lens of Freud's theories of human sexuality and consciousness, I question Californication's designation of art as separate from real life and assert that true art, art that brings fulfillment and meaning, is achieved only through a synthesis of all a person's identities. to be .
Jackson Peter Wyche
IN DEFENSE OF DEXTER
Is there a "good" serial killer? Darkly Dreaming Dexter and its Showtime TV adaptation Dexter have left many people wondering if serial killer protagonist Dexter Morgan's actions are actually a good thing - he only targets other murderers who escape justice, after all they are. But despite his string of victims, Dexter is still a brutal serial killer who knows he faces execution if caught. My question is, can Dexter's actions be philosophically justified? Using utilitarianism and objectivism, two drastically different philosophical systems that are controversial for their morally gray implications, I present a dual defense of Dexter's actions. Drawing primarily on On Liberty by John Stuart Mills and the work of Jeremy Bentham, I argue that Dexter's actions bring about "the greatest good for the greatest number" and that murder can be justified on utilitarian grounds when the victim represents a greater threat to community society than murder itself. Ironically, I conclude from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and her writings on Objectivism that Dexter has a moral obligation to kill.
He and she
Johannes Baron
Breaking the chains of manhood
The Fool: Maybe he loves you?
Jasmine: Me?
The Fool: Why not? He's like dogs. A dog looks at you, he wants to talk and just barks.
- Federico Fellini, The Way
In La Strada, by Federico Fellini, Zampano, the strong actor, isolates himself from his worries and feelings by constantly traveling. However, enslavement to the delicate femininity of his servant Gelsomina forces this reclusive man down a path that leads him to accept his own sensibilities. Depth psychologist Erich Neumann argues in his book The Fear of the Feminine that masculinity inhibits a compassionate awareness of others and even of oneself, a concept manifested in this film by the character's sudden compassion as she reluctantly embraces an inherently sagging femininity. This perspective offers insight into Zampano's cold and unfeeling nature and the ways in which this leads him to reject the opportunity to settle down and emotionally invest in others. This analysis not only serves to unravel the complexity of Zampano's character, but also allows us to see this neorealist film as a commentary on the consequences of the idealized masculinity of Mussolini's fascist regime.
Casey Herndon
LIKE A SNOW FIELD BETWEEN TWO LAKES: MAGICAL REALISM, NATURALISM AND THE PERCEPTION OF DEATH IN HUNTING
When death appears in literature, most stories deal with its aftermath and the nature of mourning. Few question the nature of death itself, whether life and death are two interconnected and dynamic processes rather than distinct and static opposites. Anthony Doerr's short story The Hunter's Wife explores a life-and-death marriage in the remote wilderness of modern-day Montana, where nature itself becomes a blank slate for a survival hunter and his wife, who possesses the unearthly ability to communicate with the forces behind the pit.
The protagonist of the story, simply called "the hunter", is the archetype of survival. Bloodshed is necessary to survive; the animals he kills must be sacrificed to ensure their own survival. Such a perception of sacrifice reflects the theories of René Girard in his book Violence and the Sacred. The hunter discovers that survival is the sacred result of hunting and killing, but he realizes it is nothing compared to the supernatural power bestowed by his wife. It just recognizes and accepts death as just another place we all must travel to. Through naturalistic winter metaphors, particularly the image of hibernation, Doerr illustrates the intriguing notion that 'life' and 'death' are merely different positions on a sliding scale.
Christopher Organ
FEMINISM AND KILL BILL: REVENGE IS A DISH BETTER SERVED BY A WOMAN
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 by Quentin Tarantino are visually stunning revenge films that follow the main character, The Bride, as she embarks on a journey to kill Bill and slaughter every member of his deadly viper killing squad. In this essay, I will explore the female protagonists of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 by Quentin Tarantino and how they break with the conventional traits of female aesthetics and gender roles. Physically active, cunning, and sexualized, women's personal vengeance and revenge make them notoriously skilled agents. These women are not just vigilantes working outside the law, but also vigilantes working against feminist norms. In doing so, Tarantino expands on traditional notions of vigilantism and femininity and fuses the two to create some of the most feared and dangerous women in all of cinema. Using contemporary feminist film theory, I will argue that Tarantino's two films, rather than casting women as femme fatales or desirable objects, empower women by portraying them as individual social actors free of conventional codes of femininity.
Anu Ramachandra
MAN AT THE CROSSROAD OF IDENTITY: THE PARADOX OF MASCULINITY IN CHUCK PALAHNIUK'S FIGHT CLUB
"Is this what a real man looks like?" asks the Fight Club narrator, pointing to an ad for Abercrombie & Fitch. Chuck Palahniuk's novel and its film adaptation answer that question with a resounding "NO." So what does it mean to be a man? That's the central question of Fight Club, which traces the psychological journey of an unnamed protagonist whose search for identity leads him to violence, anarchy, and ultimately back where he started. The driving force behind the novel is the dichotomy between the desire for male autonomy, manifested as Tyler Durden, and the obligation to society. Palahniuk's decision to interpret the narrator's masculinity crisis too literally through a second personality sheds light on its source: modern society, which idolizes and demonizes the male instinct. My contribution examines fight club's treatment of masculinity from a psychological and evolutionary perspective and how this fits into the broader issue of self-identification in a consumerist and homogenized world. Are we truly unique or, as Tyler says, "the same decaying organic matter as everyone else"?
Alexandra Schokralla
THE END OF THE LINE: MATERNITY IN A CLOSED GLASS
In Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle, Rex Walls, the protagonist's father, seems apologetic for his shortcomings as a father, while Rose Mary, the children's mother, is labeled a sleazy mother for being too young to adequately express herself to care. from her. But is this fair? Women are simply expected to adapt to a form of motherhood in which their children are invariably their first priority. Mothers have to give up elements of their true identity, and Rose Mary's unwillingness to make such a sacrifice dooms her in our eyes. Motherhood is presented as the ultimate achievement in every woman's life, the end of her journey. Why does Rose Mary Walls need to stop striving for higher status? Let's say she's a mother, that's enough.
just my archetype
Shelby Bartholomew
THE HOUSEWIFE, THE CIRCUS AND THE DANGER OF LIMITED IMAGINATION
In The Circus In Winter, Cathy Day offers a brief glimpse into the dangers of a world where nature is being distorted by identity and the carnival, while Stella, the "happy housewife", and the circus become prisoners completely... defined by four walls. The pressure to conform to 1950s housewife ideals paralyzes Stella's creative identity, while the former circus barracks where she lives constantly displays murals and props from a carnival past. As Betty Friedan argues in The Feminine Mystique, this conformism leads Stella down an endless path of dissatisfaction and emptiness, which doctors at the time dubbed "housewife syndrome." Ironically, this creatively repressed woman is forced to find her home in the old winter quarters of a former circus - a house that effectively accommodates and constrains the fantastically liberating nature of the circus. The very building in which Stella resides violates the transience of carnival, which, according to Mikhail Bakhtin, is traditionally "hostile to all that is perpetuated and realized". Both Stella and the circus have been trapped and suffocated, and in the process, these repressed fantasies create an alternate world of imagination that threatens to overturn reality.
Cece Bratton
DOMESTIC RISKS: TRAPS AND GENDER ROLE IN OTHERS
In Alejandro Amenabar's The Others, Grace locks her children in the house because she cannot face her own horrible crime. Her denial of this crime involves her children, but Grace's motherhood and housewife role make her another prisoner of the home. Susan Kleinberg's exploration of women's work: the homemaker, past and present proves that society's insistence on family and gender roles must be abolished to liberate women from the home. While home is considered a safe place, Amenabar's film clearly shows what dangers can arise within these "safe" walls. By examining gender roles and how the housewife threatens even Grace's well-being, this article will prove that social conventions about motherhood can be wrong and dangerous.
Claire Nickerson
SEXUAL VIOLENCE: LADY SNOWBLOOD, MANGA AND JAPAN
In this presentation I will examine the relationship between sex and violence in Japanese culture through the manga Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura. Manga is often perceived as an extremely violent and graphically sexual art form. In many cases - like Lady Snowblood - this is true. However, I contend that Lady Snowblood was one of the first manga to emphasize the moral implications of the connection between sex and violence. As Frederik Schodt notes in his book Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga, Japan only began cracking down on sexual violence in manga – and its perceived effects in the real world – in the late 1980s, some fifteen years after Lady Snowblood was written in 1972. In my work, I connect the moral implications of sex and violence framed and employed by the main character Yuki with changing Japanese sexual culture over time, eventually arguing that Lady Snowblood was ahead of her time in portraying the sexual violence as dangerous, a view not yet shared by most other manga and not yet reflected in Japanese public policy.
Joshua Waitt
TAKE THE HARD ROAD: REDEFINING THE MODERN REBEL
Lately, our society has embraced those who rebel against the urge to sell out and refuse to bow to "man's" rules. Borrowing from Freud's theories in Civilization and Its Discontents, I attribute this social trait to the discrepancy between the laws of our civilization and the superegos of its people. However, as Hank Moody's character in Californication demonstrates, a drastic shift begins when selling is now seen more positively as an altruistic disregard for personal desires. The modern rebel has been redefined as the man able to transcend his hedonistic desires and conform to society's rules to protect his immediate community. The implications of this shift should not be underestimated, as this redefinition of rebellion marks the beginning of modern society's return to a more moral and ethical set of values.
Bailey Wilson
In Search of Truth: How Philip Marlowe's Reincarnations Created a Legendary Postmodern Hero
With the character Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler created an iconic American archetype. This is a hero who doesn't fit the prototypical American hero mold of a rags-to-riches misfit, nor is he immensely rich or a war hero. Marlowe's hero role derives from his being honorable, a seeker of truth, a romantic, a historian, and a storyteller. This character archetype has been replicated, imitated, and exists in diverse cultural, sexual, regional, and class contexts. As such, and in the postmodern world, Marlowe takes on many different faces in different media, and one of her most recent reincarnations is the teenage protagonist of the television show Veronica Mars. Chandler himself writes about the importance of this character archetype in his essay The Simple Art of Murder, and Veronica Mars, a teenager in a rich fictional environment reminiscent of San Diego, embodies it. She is a loner in the world who prides herself on her wealth and hides the truth behind money and glittering lies. Though she's just a young girl, it's up to her to seek out the truth behind the facade and rewrite her world's narrative to show reality as it is. where i belong
Danielle Marie Ello
OPEN EARS, CLOSED COMMUNITIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING IN IDENTITY FORMATION
It's easy to take for granted the constant flow of energy that everyone can't escape. Sound is everywhere: the percussion of your heartbeat, the whistle of the wind, your favorite song. Even the deaf can feel the vibrations of sounds. Thus, the existence of listening communities such as concerts, religious communities and even households leads many to claim that music and sound in general have the “power to unite us all”. Ironically, these listening communities serve two opposing purposes: uniting and dividing. As listening communities are built, boundaries are also built. Leslie Marmon Silko's ceremony shows this: Returning home, World War II veteran Tayo is unable to reconcile himself with his roots in Laguna Pueblo. The sounds of war, especially the voices of Japanese soldiers, follow you, as do the voices of dead relatives. His fixation on the past causes a disconnection from his community, creating a border that can only be crossed by reconnecting with the acoustic culture of Laguna Pueblo: music, narrative and sonic ritual. Open Ears explores the paradoxical nature of sound and its importance in building individual identity and collective culture. “Open Ears” tries to make it clear that sound can separate, but that the hardest limits it creates can also be overcome.
Billy Hagberg
ODYSSEY OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS OR OF ERRORS?: WHAT JUNG'S "PSYCHOLOGY AND LITERATURE" REVEALS IN THE SON OF JESUS
“All life consists of many days, day after day. We pass by ourselves, we meet thieves, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, loving brothers. But we always meet.” - Stephen Dedalus, Ulysses, James Joyce
From before the Pantheon was built to the collapse of the Soviet Union, we share stories of epic journeys home. Every era and nation has its own emblematic story of a legendary journey. Homer's Odyssey told us about Odysseus' antics and the figures and difficulties he had to overcome in order to regain his kingdom. If I claimed that the Odysseus of modern America was a heroin addict named Fuckhead who was willing to rob a hospital to get his fix, would you put me in rehab with him? Before that, consider that the protagonist, on his long journey towards sobriety, encounters a Cyclops, an enchanted seductress, and finds himself torn between two evils that try to destroy him. In his documentation of his epic journey, he appears to be living a happy, normal life. But what if F.H. misinterpret the power of its narrative? According to Carl Jung, "It is a fact, however, that in eclipses of madness - in dreams, narcotic states and cases of insanity - psychic products or contents arise which have all the characteristics of primitive levels of psychic development". it is the representation of these "products or contents" that is "the secret of artistic creation". In my post, I'll argue that it's the depiction of F-head's journey, not just the journey itself, that gives us artistic value.
Ruth Madievsky
MAKE THE HUMAN MONSTER
"The crucial ambiguity is whether freaks are less than humans or more." - N. Katherine Hayles
Behind its twinkling lights and cotton candy facade, the glittering world of the carnival serves as a backdrop for Katherine Dunn's exploration of the violent dichotomy between "freaks" and "norms," the two categories that separate the spectacle from the spectator in its vividly twisted novel. geek love. Starting from a literary critique that privileges alienation and acceptance, I examine the line that separates the culturally accepted from those who have become culturally "different". Using the emotional journey of Oly Binewski, a hunchbacked albino dwarf and carnival performer, as my script, I discover the humanity behind Oly's physical monstrosity. I contend that Oly's outer "weirdness" is a distorted manifestation of the basic humanity that pulsates in her inner psyche. By carefully examining Oly's painfully one-sided love for her brother Arturo, her experience of stunted motherhood and lifelong inferiority complex, I contend that the line between "freaks" and "norms" is not as thick as we think. Although Oly started her journey as a monster, by the end of this article she is revealed to be fully human.
Scarlett Royston
WERE ALL BAMBOO?: WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE BLACK
Big lips, jet-black skin and unintelligible slang: Black stereotypes like these have been perpetuated from the coasts of Africa to the New World since the days of slavery. The theatrical process of white actors painting their faces with black makeup and portraying stereotypical black characters known as blackface minstrels began in the early 19th century and lasted into the mid-20th century. These acts were intended to embody what "blackness" really was, but what are the notions of blackness today? Does blackness still exist in American society today? It is true that Mr. Dunwitty in Spike Lee's Bamboozled says that he is entitled to use the word "bro" because he is the one "keeps it real" and is "in". With the help of USC critics Ray Black, Bill Brown and Shana Redmond, I argue that Spike Lee uses the movie Bamboozled to question what "blackness" really is and who, if any, is entitled to it. Lee not only questions Pierre Delacroix's path to success in the context of The New Millennium Minstrel Show and his disdain for his black heritage, but also groups such as the Mau Maus, who claim to be authentically black but fall into the same conventional stereotypes as the those are framed as out of stock. This movie makes you wonder, have we all been lied to, lied to, lied to?
Kelsey Taylor
BY THE MONITORIST'S GUIDE TO TRANSCENDENCE: CHRISTOPHER MCCANDLESS AND NATURAL SPIRITUALITY
"I prefer the saddle of the tram and the starry sky to a roof, the dark and difficult road that leads into the unknown of any cobbled road and the deep peace of the desert of discontent generated by cities. So you are blaming me for staying here where I feel that I belong and in harmony with the world around me? It's true that I miss intelligent company, but there are so few to share the things that mean so much to me that I've learned to hold back. It's enough that I'm surrounded by beauty... ” - Excerpt from the last surviving letter from Everett Ruess to his brother Waldo, dated November 11, 1934
After graduating with honors from Emory University, Christopher McCandless dropped out of sight. He changed his name, donated all his life savings to charity, left his car and most of his belongings and hit the road. Influenced by writers such as Jack London and Thoreau, McCandless hitchhiked across the country, exploring the fractured fringes of society in search of a raw, transcendent experience. His family had no idea what had happened to him until April 1992, when moose hunters discovered his decomposing body in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless' story is controversial. Some admire the boy for his bravery, while others argue that he was selfish for abandoning his family or a ruthless "madman" whose arrogance and stupidity got him killed. However, McCandless of Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild" was not crazy, but was in touch with his very human desire to connect with nature. By adopting a nomadic lifestyle that ended up in the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless discovered beauty and an ecocentric ethical system. Given how McCandless viewed the world, it's hard to categorize him as insane or insensitive. Rather, he was in touch with a part of his humanity that many are alienated from in urban environments.
Or
Nathan Berger
WHERE WOULD THE DUST WITCH FALL INTO THE VALLEY?
“Your brushed cold wax hand. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 a ledge in the coffin. Her eyes did not see; They were sewn with black widow netting, dark threads.” – Ray Bradbury, Something Evil Comes This Way
In Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, no character inspires greater primal terror than the Dust Witch, an irreplaceable character with both human and mechanical qualities who explores the deepest human sense of fear and revulsion. Decades after Bradbury created the Dust Witch and described her in the most repulsive manner with captivating language, Japanese roboticist Masahito Mori extended Sigmund Freud's theory of the uncanny to explain why humans have an intrinsic dislike for imperfect copies of human figures. . The Uncanny Valley consists of a graph of like and likeness turning to extreme dislike as the characters take on imperfectly human traits. Several hypotheses justify the existence of Uncanny Valley, but their common trait lies in the same relationship with death that Bradbury explores with the Dust Witch. Depicting the Dust Witch as he does, Bradbury paints a monster that naturally repels humans and posits his own theory about the best weapon for conquering our greatest fears: laughter.
Dustin Byer
RULES OF TIME: DETERMINISM IN LOST
“The universe has a type. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 Course correction.” - Eloise Hawking from Lost
The television series Lost is deeply rooted in philosophy and is particularly concerned with the relationship between fate and free will. It takes its characters through time on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. Lost falls into the temporal subgenre of science fiction, which as a vehicle often explores the idea of determinism. There are two prominent approaches to determinism: first, compatibilism argues that free will and determinism operate simultaneously, and second, incompatibilism argues that they are mutually exclusive and create a logical contradiction. Using these perspectives as a lens through which to examine the characters' journeys on Lost, I assess the legitimacy of each point of view in the context of these special cases. I mainly evaluate the validity of these approaches in relation to the character Desmond Hume, who does not obey the rules of time that bind other characters. Notably, Desmond shares a surname with classical compatibilist David Hume and is of interest because he does not passively experience the chronological passage of time, but actively engages in his temporally non-linear journey through it, thereby challenging conventional notions of causality and fate.
Montana Harrington
BACK TO THE STREET: THE CHILD'S ROLE IN PEDOPHILE BEHAVIOR IN NABOKOV'S LOLITA
The road is perceived as a wide open space, home to an endless cast of strange characters and dire dangers. Furthermore, the car offers enough safety to navigate such dangerous roads while still allowing for an exciting experience. In Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, the title character runs parallel to the road, while Humbert Humbert is essentially identical to his blue sedan, the beloved Melmouth. At first glance, like Humbert, the car seems to have a dominant position in its relationship with the road, when in reality it is the road or Lolita that rules. Likewise, in our society, the child is really the one who controls and ultimately determines the actions of the pedophile, not the pedophile Theory by James Kincaid, an authority on child sexualization; Deborah Paes de Barros, who studies the influence of the street; and Christine Sanderson, an expert on pedophilia and child sexual abuse, is created
to examine how this symbiotic relationship works and how we as a culture have allowed it to happen.
Emily Hou
THE UNEXPECTED BUT NOT UNWANTED DUAL RELATIONSHIPS IN STRANGERS ON THE TRAIN
City breaks often bring people into uncomfortable proximity. Buses, trains and planes reduce our physical distance from each other and sometimes, as in the case of Strangers on a Train, by Alfred Hitchcock, the result of this 'crossing' of lives lasts longer than the duration of the trip. After what appears to be a chance meeting between Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, the latter initiates the binding agreement of a mutually beneficial murder exchange and the viewer realizes that these men are to be seen as doubles. Hitchcock's double reflection complicates Otto Rank's traditional theory that "guilt... . . place[d] on a double" is a "distant embodiment of instincts and desires." With the inevitable congestion of modern transportation, this psychological disconnect becomes impossible as the bond between Haines and Anthony only deepens, redefining the contemporary definition of the doppelganger.
Sue Anna Yeh
BACKWARDS JOURNEY: NAUSEA NOSTALGIA
Both Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea and Nietzsche's The Gay Science reject nostalgia because it comes at the expense of an appreciation of the present. In Nausea, it is Roquentin's thirst for adventure that ultimately leads to his nostalgia, for real-life adventures are best appreciated in retrospect. Although people value stories because they bring order to seemingly random events, meaning can only be verified in hindsight. The absurdity of nostalgia, however, is that focusing on past events magnifies the past and creates constant dissatisfaction with the present. While his research on the late M. de Rollebon is a crutch Roquentin leans on to make sense of his own life, it is also a handicap that prevents Roquentin from living in the present. Nietzsche calls nostalgia a "diet of spiritual indulgence" and denigrates the notion that if people work hard enough, they can return to better times. Roquentin also rejects nostalgia; As he struggles to piece together Rollebon's mysterious life, he suddenly understands the impossibility of knowing the past - it's all just conjecture. "The past," he finally concludes, "does not exist." Roquentin replaces nostalgia with the nausea of realizing that he bears full responsibility for creating his own essence.
Appearance can be revealing
Max Erwin
SCREEN TESTS: FELLINI'S 8 1/2 AND THE CONFIDENT ARTIST
In its essence, the 8 1/2 film points to a hopeless impasse between artist and creation. Fellini faces a number of creative obstacles through the character of Guido that keep him from making the film he was meant to make. But the same obstacle to finishing the film—and enjoying the whole process—is Fellini's overwhelming insecurity about the film he's making. A constant sense of self-awareness and self-criticism permeates the film and forms a direct counterpoint to the film's idealistic and imaginative sequences. More recently, the ubiquity of self-consciousness in the arts and entertainment points to a major shift in the journey towards creative output – the acceptance that any product of creativity is inherently unoriginal. 8 1/2 foresees this development with its comment that it is impossible to make an ideal film without a certain amount of self-awareness, and Fellini's post-film work is an absolute testament to this artistic commitment.
Alexander B. K. Fullman
FOR CHILDREN: REPRODUCTIVE FUTURISM IN THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION PROGRAM AND THE SCREW
This article compares different versions of Lee Edelman's concept of reproductive futurism as found in the children's television show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. In James's work, we encounter a fiercely protective governess who actively works to protect her wards from outside threats, ultimately harming the children. Rather than portraying parents as guardians against threats in the Disney show, external threats are simply removed, allowing children much freedom and self-control. The dichotomy between texts written by adults for adults and texts written by adults for children suggests that, while we want to protect children and prevent them from being exposed to perceived threats, we try to encourage children to do so to prevent them from perceiving that they are being protected and restricted. Furthermore, our attempts to protect children in order to protect them in the future may be harmful to children in the present.
Katharina Lewin
The alienation of the orgy: an exploration of the non-sexual with eyes wide shut
In a sex-obsessed culture like ours, it should come as no surprise that audiences would flock to see a movie billed as "the sexiest movie ever made." However, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut drew widespread criticism, mainly for its complete lack of sensuality. Why is it weird to watch this movie but not other mainstream sex-oriented media of today, like HBO shows, sexy commercials, and pornography? Viewers may be portrayed as sensual due to the stark contrast between the sex portrayed in Eyes Wide Shut and these more idealized depictions of sex. In marketing his film, Kubrick was well aware that sex sells. Furthermore, her decision to cast Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman - Hollywood's current power couple - in a dysfunctional marriage was no fluke. Eyes Wide Shut was billed as an "erotic thriller", but the film failed to deliver on that promise, as even orgy-like scenes have a sterile, harrowing quality. What Kubrick delivered in Eyes Wide Shut is not sex, but a critique of sex and marriage as traditionally portrayed in film.
Kimberley Mok
MEDICAL SECRETS: THE INSTITUTIONALIZED FREAKSHOW?
"When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America, you get a front row seat." -Georg Carlin
Why does human nature have an inherent fascination with the human form? This obsession with the body manifests itself in Katherine Dunn's Geek Love as Olympia, one of the "freaks" of the Binewski fabulon, a family of constructed "freaks" who struggle internally with Mom and Dad Binewski's conscious decision to start their own circus. , how she struggles with the desire to be seen – her body as spectacle – while also aiming for a humanizing aspect by exploiting herself for public entertainment. Laura Mulvey and Rachel Adams discuss this scopophilic pleasure, considering looking as a source of pleasure and the pleasure of being looked at. Adams analyzes the development of "freak shows" and the role of science in creating "spectacle". I intend to explore how much of the medical discourse about “aberrations”, abnormalities and the strange must be scientific and how much of it must be spectacle, for pure entertainment purposes, to satisfy the duality of fascination and revulsion among the public. My goal is to unravel the connection between "freak shows" and medical studies, and how medical claims serve as a cover for a modern "freak show," from scientific exhibits to mystifying medical mystery television shows.
shook Peleg
THE ROAD TO FAME IS PAVED WITH BAD INTENTIONS: FAME AS A SOURCE OF IDENTITY FOR DEATH
"You're nobody in America unless you're on TV... When people are watching, you become a better person." – Suzanne Stone, To Die For
Gus Van Sant's 1995 film To Die For offers a commentary on Americans' obsession with fame and the consequences of internalizing this obsession as the source of one's identity. The film's faux-documentary form offers us a glimpse into how the protagonist, Suzanne Stone, embodies our idealization of celebrity and the use of fame as a moral compass. This distorted perception of reality has dire consequences for Suzanne and the people around her. The film's postmodern structure integrates Suzanne's perspective, which reveals her neurotic focus on achieving fame, with the national media's treatment of her story. While Suzanne may have a predisposition to insanity, her interaction with the media demonstrates the role our society, which exploits celebrities for entertainment purposes, plays in creating the monster Suzanne Stone. Help! Help! I'm overwhelmed!
Lucia Ledonne
THE HAUNTED HOUSE: HALLUCINATIONS IN THE BELOVED
In Toni Morrison's Beloved, the main character Sethe makes the decision to kill her son to save him from slavery. Sethe seems happy with her decision, but her son haunts her throughout the novel and shows that she still feels guilty about the murder. Sethe also has sporadic memories of brutal incidents in slavery, giving her the peace of mind that she made the right decision. This juxtaposition of burning guilt and painful assurance demonstrates the novel's suggestion that there was no right choice in Sethe's situation. Sethe's journey to a nervous breakdown shows that a decision of this magnitude broke her. Her attempt to kill the professor may indicate that she has accepted her decision. However, I believe Paul D's visit at the end shows that Sethe never made peace with herself and this uneasiness shows that she really made the wrong decision. Although the novel seems to say that Sethe had no chance of making the right decision in her position, I believe that her state of mind at the end of the novel shows that she made the wrong choice, indicative of the deep and irreversible wounds inflicted on her by filicide.
Sara Meghji
BETRAYAL ON THE PATH TO FREEDOM
"You were looking for me - already! You weren't supposed to know I was gone. They couldn't have known unless someone told them. . . . Someone betrayed me.” – Octavia Butler, Kindred
In her novel Kindred, Octavia Butler creates tension between the post-Civil Rights era and the antebellum South by sending protagonist Dana back in time. As an African-American, Dana not only fears immediate persecution and punishment from unpredictable white owners, but also faces betrayal from her own enslaved peers, as the different roles of slaves and different treatment of slaves by owners created a nurturing hierarchy. jealousy among slaves. In fact, plantation owners often needed "driver" slaves to help the foreman maintain discipline in the fields. Also, to reduce their own chances of punishment, slaves sometimes endangered their peers. Using sources from African-American cultural studies and the 19th-century slavery story of fugitive slave Jacob Green, this article examines how pressure exerted by plantation owners encouraged treason among slaves and how such acts made the path to freedom even more difficult. more dangerous.
Aadrita Mukerji
PROJECT-MAYHEM: JOURNEY THROUGH FIGHT CLUB DYSTOPIA
Society's obsession with achieving utopia is matched only by its fascination with dystopia. For every Thomas More there is an Anthony Burgess; for every Paradiso, a 1984. Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club offers a unique perspective because, as author Tom Moylan puts it, it is "proto-dystopian"—it follows the path from a stable, recognizable society to a world filled with terror and insecurity. The novel's protagonist constantly struggles with his loneliness issues. He has no name, job, goal - that is, until he meets Tyler Durden. In essence, Fight Club's chronicle of society's descent into dystopia mirrors its protagonist's descent into insanity - the more anarchic the unnamed narrator becomes, the greater Tyler Durden's influence and the stronger Project Mayhem's impact. So the question is where does this journey begin? Are the protagonist's dystopian desires innate, pressing from within and without, or are they an instinctive reaction to years of societal oppression? Palahniuk describes himself as a romantic. Analysis in the light of the decadent romanticism that glorifies self-destruction reveals an astonishing circularity: both the individual and society are responsible, and each harbors a cruel hatred for the other.
Stephanie Nicolard
"Even in comfortable shoes she dragged herself as if she were barefoot": The stony road of youth in virginal suicides
"Of course, doc," says the youngest. “You were never a thirteen-year-old girl.” The youngest Lisbon girl in The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides, believes she has experienced more pain and fear than an adult. According to Freud, humankind's desires, from emotional acceptance to material gratification, determine the psyche. So how is a teenager supposed to know how bad life can get if he hasn't lived so much? This article examines the meaning of Freud's ideas about instinctive and unconscious desires in adolescence. As these girls are denied the basic joys of growing up, Freud's claims in Civilization and Its Discontents come into play. As he writes that the meaning of life is entirely determined by the "pleasure principle", there would be no point in existing unless someone benefits from it materially or emotionally. The Lisbon girls show Freud's imagination as their youthful ways lead them to abandon their travels and commit suicide. Eugenides' text therefore appears to be a rejection of and mockery of Freudian psychology. Is there any purpose in our lives beyond the fleeting, ephemeral pleasures when growing up can hurt so much?
Nicole scolded
WOMEN'S ANXIETY: DETERIORATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT IN JANE EYRE AND THE CIRCUS IN WINTER
“Women generally must be very calm: but women feel like men. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 they need practice for their skills. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 they suffer from a very strict restriction. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 and it's narrow-minded. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 judge or laugh at them if they want to do or learn more than custom deems necessary for their sex.”
-Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Isolation. Inclusion. Anger. Insanity. These sentiments show a common thread between the captivity of 19th century women, best exemplified by Charlotte Brontë's character Jane Eyre, and the 19th and 20th century women of Cathy Day's The Circus in Winter. This novel intensely explores the experiences of neglected circus owner wife Irene, mass-pleasing trapeze artist Jennie Dixianna, and isolated and disillusioned 1950s housewife Stella, which eerily reveal the struggles with crippling confinement that women face. faced during the entire time they were exposed. the decades. Looking back to the roots of nineteenth-century Gothic and feminist literature, and using critical observations from feminist theorists such as Nancy Armstrong, Sandra Gilbert, and Susan Gubar, I will explore questions surrounding the turmoil and anger of Victorian women and the “madness” that resulted. This “madness” is not only manifested in the lives of the characters in The Winter Circus in the 19th century, but also finds parallels in later decades, especially in the 1950s. While in Jane Eyre we see Jane's repressed hostility revealed through the mysterious and Bertha, better known as the 'madwoman from the attic', O Circo no Inverno shows distinct manifestations of the same madness as a result of the incessant isolation and confinement of the relationship with the adjacent circus. Just as Jane Eyre countered images of the 'angel by the hearth' ideal in the Victorian era, these varied domestic lives, lacking stimulation or excitement, undermine the core of archetypal notions of women.
Psycho!
Michelle Banh
TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED
“I want to be both of us at the same time, feel the sensation of losing my limits again, see the future and the present mixed together. 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 ." - Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife
In Audrey Niffenegger's novel The Time Traveller's Wife, protagonist Henry DeTamble experiences "chronological impairment," a condition that causes him to sporadically travel through time and seemingly coexist in his past, present, and future. Conflicted between the different versions of himself that exist throughout his life, Henry seeks release from the tyranny of time. Drawing on Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of the return of the repressed, in which repressed elements of the unconscious reappear as physical behavior, I propose that traumatic events from Henry's past resurface unconsciously as his ability to travel through time. In my interpretation, Henry's disjointed movement through time serves as a shield, protecting him as he delays the task of dealing with his mother's death. Until Henry can acknowledge his pent-up feelings, he will remain a traveller, suspended in time, forced to walk the same path over and over again.
Catherine Henzler
ADULT JOURNEY: THE INFLUENCE OF A MOTHER IN THE GLASS CASTLE
In Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle, the four Walls children have to survive because they have a bad mother. Theorist Julia Kristeva argues that for an individual identity to form, the influence of the mother must be rejected. According to this theory, we see the children, particularly Jeannette, initially repulsed by their evil mother. In successfully transitioning into adulthood, however, individuation is only part of the equation. Furthermore, and most importantly, the child must also accept the mother's point of view, or rather, accept that she has her own point of view. This can be difficult. I examine here how the "bad mother" label serves to create an "uninhabitable" (in Judith Butler's terms) identity with which it becomes almost impossible to identify. As the most essential step in the journey, acceptance or identification with the mother's perspective is the most difficult to achieve. But if ignored, the crucial journey will be incomplete and the subject is in danger of remaining a child forever.
Isabella C. Hsu
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND NED KELLY OF KELLY'S GANG
Booker Prize winner Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang is an autobiographical novel about the life of Ned Kelly from his perspective. Ned Kelly is a folk hero known across Australia for his fame as a bushranger. As a bushranger, Ned Kelly often committed acts of violence against authorities who tried to arrest him. I argue in this essay that Ned Kelly's violent acts as an adult can be explained by Sigmund Freud's theories of criminals and the Oedipus complex. I will show that his adult behavior as a violent bushranger can be explained considering the traumas experienced by Kelly in his childhood, such as his father's abandonment of his family, his mother's open sexual relations and his constant harassment by the police, psychoanalyzed. I contend that Ned Kelly becomes a bushranger because of his mother's influence and his father's absence. He is forced to literally take on his father's role as that of protector and breadwinner for the family. This role, I ultimately argue, makes him see himself as the romantic and sexual opposite of his mother, which manifests itself in the jealousy he displays towards his mother's lovers.
Elena Hutchinson
IF APOLOGY IS NOT ENOUGH: HOW GUILT AND SHAME PAVE THE PATH FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULT LIFE IN Atonement and the Sound and the Anger
Sin is a loaded term. It implies the defiance of a divine law, the judgment of a power outside the self. When children “sin” in the context of their society, their crimes can have long-term effects both on their communities and on their own adult development. "When One Apology Isn't Enough" incorporates Sigmund Freud's theories as a lens through which to examine the development of "sinful" children in fiction. Freud argues that childhood events have a profound impact on the adult personality. How, then, are the adult characters in Ian McEwan's Atonement and William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury shaped by the guilt or shame they experienced as children? This study compares the development of children who feel guilt over their transgressions - Briony Tallis from Atonement and Caddy Compson from The Sound and the Fury - with those who feel ashamed of other people's actions - Lola Quincy and Quentin Compson. The latter seem to be looking for ways to avoid the shame of their past, while guilty characters manage to face their crimes and move on. When children stray from the "right" path, they must find a way to shoulder the burden of their adult past.
Spandana Myneni
THE DEVIL OF THE MENTAL PALACE: THE GOTHIC MONSTER HANNIBAL LECTER AS A GUIDE IN THE SILENCE OF LAMBS
Despite serial killer Hannibal Lecter in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991) being locked in a tiny cell for the rest of his life, he has an uncanny ability to trap his investigator Clarice in his psychology. dr While Lecter is a serial killer as in David Fincher's Seven, he is also part of a longer cultural tradition - the gothic monster. Like Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, this character has a kind of strangeness, a hint of sexual difference in his appreciation of art and culture. Also, at the end of the film's physical and psychological journeys, there is a house of horrors - Buffalo Bill's house - such as Dorian Gray's library, Dracula's castle and Frankenstein's laboratory. In this article, I examine the gothic monster Lecter through the lens of Sigmund Freud's ideas about the uncanny and show how the doctor helps guide Clarice - and the audience - on a journey through her memories and pathologies to find answers, even though he is trapped in a cell a few meters long. the human condition
Kabir Kang
dead ends and going nowhere
The feeling of paralysis can be found in all people, often the feeling of not moving forward manifests itself. Time seems to fly as people feel trapped in space. This is the absurd journey: a journey without real movement. This journey seems to take place only chronologically. My main source to support this claim is Samuel Beckett's Endgame. In Endgame, the two main characters, Hamm and Clov, are trapped in a house of endless isolation and suffering. No progress is made for the entire duration of the play - not even Hamm's suicidal thoughts can be realized. Both characters are suspended in a prison where their indecision is simply a choice not to act. "The Myth of Sisyphus" adds to this investigation by arguing that perhaps it is an inevitable curse. Sisyphus is punished by having to push a boulder up a mountain, drop it at the base, and repeat this over and over again. This is a clear example of trying to take action but never making any progress. While some journeys of a more awe-inspiring nature are reserved for admirable heroes, the absurd journey is a universal sufferer's tale. How are we going to get anywhere if we just think about not progressing?
Austin Kieling
"I AM THE BEAST": HUMAN NATURE AND CIVILIZATION IN WILLIAM GOLDING'S LORD OF THE FLES
Where does evil come from? When William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, he believed that the answer to that question lay with man. He wrote the novel as an exploration of the human capacity for evil, and he explicitly admitted in interviews and while writing that, at the time of the novel's conclusion, he believed that evil originated in human nature. In this article, however, I will offer an alternative to the usual analysis of Lord of the Flies, interpreting the text through the lens of what theorist Lee Edelman calls "reproductive futurism." From this theoretical perspective, society is also to blame for humanity's evil tendencies, challenging our definitions of success. This article is not intended to completely invalidate the widespread reading of Golding's novel as a meditation on the inherent evils of humanity, but rather to provide a counterexample that reveals the dual nature of the problem that Golding sought to discuss in his novel. Using critical interpretations, historical reactions to the text, and the scientific theories of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Freud, my contribution will attempt to examine the root of evil in civilized life.
Jenna Kovalsky
STEP UP!: THE ART OF ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO THE SHOW
"Once we understand the mechanics of group consciousness, isn't it possible to regulate the masses to our will without them knowing?" -Edward Bernays, Advertising
Glasses don't sell themselves. As spectacular as they are, they need to be presented to attract an audience. In the world of carnival, attracting crowds becomes a matter of survival, because without an audience, the show loses its luster and is worthless. In Katherine Dunn's novel Geek Love, the Binewski family wants to bring attention to their own Fabulon because their livelihood depends on it. Just as a product needs to be marketed to consumers, a carnival needs to be sold to the public as it travels from city to city. To do this effectively requires a certain skill and understanding of human nature. People have always been drawn to sensationalism, and the carnival announcer capitalizes on that reality. The diplomatic use of diction and hyperbolic imagery has a way of exploiting human weaknesses. In Geek Love, the Binewski Fabulon employs such techniques through bright billboards and through the energetic rhetoric of their carnival-like screamer Olympia Binewski. Drawing on the evolution of public relations - a field pioneered by Sigmund Freud's nephew, the propagandist Edward Bernays - and using the critical perspective offered by Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of excess and extremes, I argue that selling eyeglasses is a necessary manipulation strategy. The key to diverting people from their everyday ways and forcing them to take a detour to the carnival lies in the rich understanding and exploration of the human psyche.
abby storch
THE INVOLUNTARY PATH: THE FIGHT AGAINST THE TRIBE OF THE ELDERNESS
“See your future. . . . You will not apply for membership, but the tribe of elders will claim you.” -David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
In David Mitchell's cloud atlas, Timothy Cavendish is captured by a 'tribe of elders' - seduced by his brother into a foster home, the elderly Cavendish is surprised to find he cannot escape. But it's more than a physical tribe Cavendish claimed; Throughout the narrative, we see his psyche being assaulted by the forces of aging and memory loss. These forces constantly push you to leave the ranks of normal society and submit to the slow, cream-filled world of seniors. Based on memoirs about aging, I would like to show how Mitchell presents Timothy Cavendish as a model warrior in the fight against the "tribe of the elders", as his actions show us that this is the surest way to resist the threatened senility through aging. our attitudes. the only part of us immune to the erosion of time and age.
By myself
Angeli Agrawal
BLACK, WHITE AND BROWN: MULTICULTURAL HYBRIDITY IN THE TROPICAL OF ORANGE AND PASSAGE
It is human nature to idealize, wish and fantasize about who we would like to be rather than accepting reality. Although Nella Larsen's Passing and Karen Yamashita's Tropic of Orange cover different time periods, their timelessness arises from this inherent conflict between identity idealism and realism. Larsen addresses the most traditional perception of race - that of black versus white in 1920s New York. However, Yamashita tackles the more contemporary themes of multicultural tensions arising in Los Angeles. Despite changes in perceptions of race within societies, a single cultural identification always takes precedence over the inclusion of multiple identities. Larsen's limited use of third-person narrative fits the time period it emulates; its one-sided approach hints at the one-sided nature of society - black or white. Clare, trying to unite the two worlds, cannot survive and therefore cannot be the narrator of the novel. Yamashita weaves multiple narratives into his text with the same result; Although characters like Gabriel identify more with their American upbringing, their fantasies are in a return to their Mexican heritage. Ultimately, both novels demonstrate the farce of racial equality; Until people can accept their multiple identities, the lines that separate races – and societies – will always exist.
Margaret Bowen
AN ENDLESS ROAD TO PERFECTION IN THE BOOK OF DISQUIET JOURNEY
While some explore the wonders of nature in the hope of “finding themselves” in other cultures, Fernando Pessoa enjoys inner journeys through his mind, with various daydreams as destinations. In O Livro do Desassossego, he describes new sensations and deep emotions that are authentic to him because only he experiences them in his daydreams. In this way, his reverie resembles Sigmund Freud's idea in Creative Writers and Daydreaming that a creative writer satisfies his unfulfilled desires by creating and expressing fantasies. The inner journey he takes is more valuable than the real journey because he discovers many identities, each of which truly represents him. On the other hand, he claims that, when actually traveling, everyone experiences the same sensations - they see the same places, taste the same food and feel the same climate. Therefore, Pessoa challenges conformity with the rest of society. So rather than being ashamed of his daydreams, which Freud says most people are, Pessoa celebrates daydreaming as a form of self-discovery. He achieves individual freedom because he recognizes his true self and doesn't try to manipulate himself just to get society to accept him.
Rachel Marshall
DESIRE TO ESCAPE: ISOLATION IN THE WILD IN THE WILD
In a modern society that expects more and more from the middle class and young adults, sometimes it's enough. In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Chris McCandless is the one for whom triggers combined not only a desire, but also a physical need for solitude in the wild. Krakauer presents Chris as one of many adventurers, and Chris saw himself as a follower of writers such as Henry David Thoreau. The reader's broad identification with McCandless also demonstrates this "one among many" element of the McCandless story. However, the desire for desert seclusion is certainly not universal, and Chris' naivete reflects that going "into the desert" is often more about oneself than the wilderness. In Chris McCandless, a shared fascination with desert isolation combines with a dissatisfaction with contemporary society, a hope to test its limits, and a history of painful family relationships to spark his journey into the harsh reality of the Alaskan wilderness.
Jay Todd Max
"RIGHT UP HER ASS!": HOW THE LORD OF THE FLY ENCOURAGES TEENS TO HAVE SEX
Stranded on an uncivilized island, the boys in Golding's Lord of the Flies naturally receive sex education; as they metaphorically rape a sow and partake nude of the island's 'ruler', the boys become savvy in sex. Eventually this education in sex and sexual dominance leads to a turn towards savagery and murder. So what's wrong? Is it bad that they learn about sex at such a young age, or is the fault just in the way boys behave after sex education? Judith Levine, author of Harmful to Minors: the Perils of Protecting Children from Sex, argues that age is not the issue - she argues that all children should learn about sex at an early age. Instead, Levine argues—and Golding agrees—that the problem arises when sexual development monopolizes the child's development and inhibits the child's development in other areas, such as intellect and emotions. From a Freudian perspective, this idea holds that sex education at an early age helps teenagers – who already have sexual thoughts – to mature on the path of psychosexual development. As long as sex doesn't become a childhood obsession, society should expose its children to sex from an early age.
Adam Phillips
“PART TRUTH, PART FICTION, A WALKING CONTRADICTION”: A POST-CHANDLER PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LAW GUARDIAN IN MARTIN SCORSESE’S CAB DRIVER
Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver present an image of the lone crusader, the vigilante, in Philip Marlowe and Travis Bickle, respectively. Indeed, Marlowe has largely become an archetype for many of these modern mavericks and galoshes. While in many ways Bickle possesses the main ingredients of the Marlovian hero - the moral code, the broken city, the vice of the streets, the strange relationships with women and, most important, the desolation - he also marks a decided departure from the form. The reason: unlike Marlowe, Bickle is psychotic; he is no hero. Marlowe is an active example of Carl Jung's notion of the collective unconscious; His actions are imbued with the original and inherited tradition of seeking the truth while maintaining a considerable measure of honor and bravery. Bickle is a rejection of Jung, a demystification of the archetype, and a return to Freudian psychology. His actions are a function of an externally motivated desire to become a hero, not an innate internal tendency to become one. Desires of his, which his contemporary society and socioeconomic situation must repress, lead to a psychosis that eventually gives way to the culminating bloodbath of vigilantism at the end of the film.
story time
Edie Cao
HOMOSEXUALITY IN HERMENEUTICS: FREUD'S ROLE IN VLADIMIR NABOKOV'S PALE FOIRE
"Hysteric neurosis is an involuntary psychogenic dysfunction in which symptoms begin and end suddenly in emotionally charged situations, symbolic of underlying conflicts." - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III
Charles Kinbote, the self-proclaimed editor and commentator of the poem Pale Fire, is a neurotic homosexual with delusions of grandeur. Kinbote analyzes lines from the poem as he weaves fantastical tales of his exile as king of the faraway land of Zembla. He alludes to several questionable and obviously homosexual relationships. Kinbote is a perfect case study of hysterical neurosis and repressed sexuality to psychoanalytically assess. Interestingly, Nabokov himself detested Freud; however, his allusions to Freud show that he is no stranger to psychoanalysis. The difference between analyzing Nabokov's work and Freud's is that Kinbote is a character and Freud's patients are real people. The gap between fiction and reality satirizes the application of psychoanalytic theory in literature. It tempts the reader to psychoanalyze Kinbote, but also urges critics to question its esoteric nature. To fully analyze the work, the reader must decide how seriously to take a Freudian approach and assess the implications of Kinbote's madness. The path here is not physical, but takes the reader on a journey through Kinbote's insane mind and imagination.
Abigail Gregg
OUTWARD BOUND: THE ROLE OF ADVENTURE IN THE MODERN AGE
Adventurer tales abound, both in history and in popular media. Our culture has been fascinated by the stories of adventurers like John Chapman, Thor Heyerdahl, John Muir and Roald Amundsen for generations. However, in recent decades, the stories of explorers like Christopher McCandless and Timothy Treadwell, who failed for various reasons and were killed in their exploration, have received more attention. While the last few decades have seen their share of success stories from adventurers like Peter Whittaker, Doug Ammons and Lynn Hill, their successful accomplishments have attracted far less attention than those of Treadwell and McCandless, whose failures have inspired novels and feature films. This article examines our current fascination with these failures and asks whether we as a culture are not more inspired by the success stories. Drawing on the stories and media attention surrounding McCandless and Treadwell, contrasted with accounts by other adventurers today, he examines our growing alienation from nature and what that means for modern adventurers.
Maddy Lansky
YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE: THE ARROW OF TIME AND THE INEVITALITY OF TRAUMA
"When people move - when they travel - they look where they're coming from, not where they're going. Is that what people always do?" - Martin Amis, Arrow of Time
In Martin Amis's novel Time's Arrow, Todd T. Friendly suffers trauma so severe that after his death, his consciousness shatters and he begins to travel back in time, contemplating his own life. This reflective force narrates the novel and experiences Tod's life without control over Tod's actions or emotions and without access to Tod's mind. Using psychoanalyst Gabriella Guistino's study of memory and trauma in dreams, who argues that dreams manifest past trauma, I argue that Tod's vivid dreams remain the only clue to his horrific past. I intend to prove that the Holocaust shaped Tod's character to a pervasive and inescapable degree, leading to a mental schism that marks Tod's attempt to escape his past. The reversal of time reveals the true nature of the world's horrors, and this reflection marks Death's attempt to find meaning.
Chris Rowe
LAURA UNFINISHED
The Original of Laura, by Vladimir Nabokov, contains a fragmented narrative and characters. Like daydreams, this fragmentation needs to be contextualized into something larger than itself to make sense. Sigmund Freud compared the creative writing process to serious play - daydreaming is the creation of a fantasy world. Therefore, creative writing is often fragmented because these fantasy worlds do not reach the author completely: they must be contextualized with other fragments to achieve unity and make sense. The original Laura is fragmented because she is still in a twilight stage of development. Nabokov died before he could finish Laura's world and contextualize the characters and ideas written in his 138-note map draft. The creative process is often fragmented because an author invests a lot of intellectual energy in formulating ideas that are as fragmented as the images in the author's imagination. If the fantasy cannot be completed, the author awaits its destruction, since the author's task is to piece together the fragments of a world that the author sees at once and hopes to convey to a wider audience. Therefore, self-erasure is part of the creative process, as an author must select and organize fragments to create the imagined fantasy world: the author must edit and erase some material for the finished product. In The Original of Laura, Nabokov makes his writing process transparent, showing the reader how he would have progressed from notecards to a novel had he not died before finishing.
Sarah Stancliffe
THE LONG ROAD TO SALVATION: A STUDY OF BRIONY'S JOURNEY TO ATONEMENT
A misunderstanding on the part of Briony Tallis leads to a series of events that shatters the lives of Cecilia Tallis and Robbie Thomas. Ian McEwan's novel Atonement explores the ideas of forgiveness, innocence and atonement in a difficult and turbulent world. With the absolute certainty of a child, a grown man is wrongfully accused of rape and his whole world is ripped from his grasp. The novel that follows is an elderly Briony's attempt to create a space in which she can achieve some kind of redemption for her past crimes. Exploring the differences between reality and fiction is important to understanding the implications and meanings of McEwan's text. Using Brian Finney's Briony's Stand Against Oblivion as the main text, I want to examine the various spaces created in the novel Atonement and how they affect Briony's never-ending journey to forgiveness. Briony's remake of Robbie and Cecilia's lives reinforces her belief that she cannot be forgiven in the real world and must therefore create a fictional world to gain the forgiveness she so desperately seeks.
me me and me
Rebecca Brown
“THE TRUTH WILL RUN HOME”: THE HOUSE AS A DOUBLE FOR ITSELF
Charles Baxter explained in an interview that his novel The Soul Thief is about "identity theft". However, Baxter is not referring to credit card theft, but personal belongings, memories and experiences. Protagonist Nathaniel's unstable identity is as vulnerable to influences and theft as the apartment he rarely locks, especially to the wily Jerome Coolberg. When Nathaniel's identity is compromised by Coolberg - whose very identity is consequently an amalgamation of acquired qualities - the contents of Nathaniel's house mysteriously disappear, revealing that the house serves as a doppelganger for the self. When his house is finally emptied, Nathaniel faints mentally, and the relationship between Nathaniel's private interior and the private public interior of his apartment suggests that Nathaniel's soul is as vulnerable a material asset as the items taken from his home. While the adult Nathaniel protects himself by using his public identity in his private life, visible in his impersonal suburban home, Baxter shows how the soul is an unstable public construction.
Kirstie Jones
PATH TO ERASE IDENTITY: HOW STEREOTYPES ERASURE THEOLONIUS “MONK” ELLISON'S IDENTITY
Rob Rosencrans
“THE FIRST PERSONAL BALANCE”: THE ACCEPTANCE OF IDENTITIES IN ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT
"For that is the journey men take: to find themselves." - James Michener, The Fires of Spring
Identity, according to Judith Butler, is performative; for Sartres, the power to control them is purely personal. These theories speak strongly for the identity of Jeanette, the protagonist of Oranges are not the only fruits, not least because she is so fragmented and fluid, so multifaceted. Consequently, those theories, which imply that identity changes, must require that any acceptance of identity also develops. After accepting ourselves, we must accept the new person we have become, the person who allowed this acceptance. This understanding is crucial; it tells us that the path for this particular journey never ends; we are constantly coming to terms with a new me, constantly coming to terms with that new me. This understanding forms the core of the text's conclusion, although in its own way it implies that no story ends.
Maria Christina Stan
DISCOVER THE WORLD ON FOOT
“What is travel and what is it for? If freedom is not within me, I won't have it wherever I go." - The Book of Disquiet, Fernando Pessoa,
In his book O Livro do Desassossego, Fernando Pessoa explains that the idea of traveling makes him sick because the whole world is just a set of similar landscapes. For Pessoa, the most interesting and valuable destination is not the physical one, but a place in the mind where the dreamer is free to create his own realities and discover himself as he travels. A person doesn't have to go far from home to experience this freedom of self-discovery if he can choose to explore his mind. But as we adjust to everyday life, we are often defined by the roles we play, our obligations to others and society's expectations. When we travel, the goal is to have nothing that defines us other than our own psyche. Unfortunately, many people travel the world on a quest of self-discovery, not realizing that they must change themselves before their world changes, in order to be able to see the world through a different inner lens. Pessoa's lens consists of dreams in which he explores the world as he imagines it, but even imagination can only take us to places we can imagine, while traveling to reality with the will to learn something about ourselves by learning for ourselves will, in some ways, challenge our identity and existence, we could not have imagined.
Annie Vought
REAPER MADNESS: THE PAST, UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND GETTING MORE COMPLICATED IN DEAD LIKE ME
"Life sucks and then you die. And it still sucks." -George Lass, Dead Like Me
Where do we go when we die? What happens to the problems that have plagued us throughout our lives - do they fade into insignificance or continue to haunt us during our transition to the afterlife? When eighteen-year-old George Lass dies suddenly after being hit by falling off the toilet seat of a space station leaving orbit, she learns that Death "hired" her to join a team of Reapers who work for the souls of those lost in accidents are responsible. Murders and suicides and must assist in the execution of complete strangers before gently ushering them into the afterlife. As George explores the realm of the afterlife alongside his co-Reapers, she develops a new perspective on the life she left behind when she was summarily ripped off the face of the earth in the midst of her struggle to reach adulthood. Though George's earthly youth is long gone, elements of that past life - namely his mother and younger sister - still live on, and George suffers from a sense of melancholy in whatever she encounters in a life now far beyond. , unspoken and unexplained. your reach. I will examine and challenge the ideas presented in Freud's essay On Mourning and Melancholia, discussing the ways in which George breaks with traditional notions of melancholia as he struggles with it, both with his inability to do anything about his loss. how to deal with the many challenges of your new life; I want to advance our investigation into death in a new light, as George's soul is given a second chance to grow, even after death.
My world is what I make it
Miruna Barnoschi
ABRACADABRA!: MAGICIANS SUMMON A DAMPED EVOLUTION OF REALITY
“The expression 'crossing borders' appears in your notebooks more than once in a pejorative way; he seems to mean that certain distinctions must be strictly observed. Art and life constituted such a distinction; Illusion and reality, another." - Steven Millhauser, "Eisenheim, the Illusionist"
Woody Allen's The Kugelmass Episode and Steven Millhauser's Eisenheim, the Illusionist use magicians as a means for the main characters to escape reality and enter a fantasy world. Known as a transcendental experience, this path to the fantasy world is carefully constructed through the use of magic and illusion. The psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and R.D. Laing explain the all-encompassing transcendental experience and the elusive connection between reality and fantasy, the reason for the human need to escape from one world to another, and the value of that escape that Allen and The Millhauser Stories are concerned with. Furthermore, the transcendental experience of the protagonists, and indeed of all humans, creates a collision between reality and fantasy that leads to counterintuitive, existential, and damning revelations about the world around us; "Abracadabra!" and the world is the opposite of what it should be. As Paul Watzlawick, psychologist and philosopher, concludes: "There is no illusion because there is only illusion."
Matt Mallon
REWRITING REALITY: POSTSTRUCTURALISM AND PLURALISTIC READING IN SINECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Synecdoche, New York (2008), by Charlie Kaufman, criticizes the poststructuralist view that the meaning of a text does not come from the writer, but from the reader, whose interpretation of the text may be completely different from the author's intention. The film shows the fallacy of this theory by taking it to an extreme - Kaufman shows that when the reader has the supreme power of interpretation, he can change the essence of the text, effectively paraphrasing the work with his own subjectivity and interpretation. The main character Caden not only rewrites the books and media he encounters (for example, only finds blank pages in a book after scorning the author, or sees himself in cartoons), but he also rewrites reality and attends funerals of family members who didn't die and recreates New York City on a grand scale in a huge warehouse and writes lines for everyone who lives there under the guise that he is doing a play. Kaufman postulates that the reader should not impose his own interpretation on a text, but should be guided by the author and the characters.
Blair Moylan
MORE THAN MELANCHOLY: A DISTRACTION FROM DENIAL
"The only way to go on living was to believe you weren't alive" - Billy Ansel, The Sweet Hereafter
When there are multiple deaths, as in Russell Bank's novel The Sweet Hereafter, and multiple children die in a tragic accident, it's only natural that a small town like Sam Dent, upstate New York would find a scapegoat for its grief. Billy Ansel, a widower and father of two who died in the bus crash, explores a different technique and believes that by denying his own life he is somehow closer to death; a strange pathology that he tries to impose on the entire city. This collective melancholy differs from Freud's essay "Of Mourning and Melancholia" in that it affects not just one individual, but the entire city, which is tirelessly looking for the guilty. By choosing to neglect his life and actively trying to avoid prosecution, Ansel tries to keep the other townspeople in the same melancholy limbo as he is without really feeling isolated. Such behavior causes him to create a temporary reality and an unstable path between the death he associates with and the life he almost never lives.
Vellore S. Adithi
ON THE ROAD AND ON THE RUN: ESCAPISM, ART AND MULTIPLICITY IN MARGARET ATWOOD'S LADY ORACLE
Joan Foster is an escape artist - she uses her gothic novels as an outlet to escape, if only temporarily, the disappointments of an unfulfilling life. As a single, unified identity is neither sufficient nor satisfying, Joan explores diversity through art and imagination. Drawing on Gwen Raaberg's understanding of collage 'as a feminist strategy in art', I argue that Margaret Atwood uses this technique of fragmentation and pastiche both in the textual structure of Lady Oracle and in the development of Joan's psyche. Joan herself engages in a prototypical form of this collage strategy, breaking her identity into its component parts, choosing the desired components, discarding the others, and then resolving the rupture with a reimagined construction of herself. Empowered by the creative agency and liberation that this deconstructionist-revisionist-reconstructionist mindset brings, Joan applies the same methodology of self-awareness, or rather self-understanding, to the world around her. By depicting Joan's reworking of self, Atwood reinforces the collage's potential as a vehicle for protest and revolution—presenting the reader with an oppositional strategy that can overthrow the status quo of gender inequality.
Jonathan Wong
STRICT SELF-ACTUALIZATION: EMERSON'S AUTHENTICITY APPLIED TO TOM RIPLEY'S IDENTITY
Reading The Talented Mr. Patricia Highsmith's Ripley through the lens of Ralph Waldo Emerson's concept of "self-reliance" raises questions about the apparent success of protagonist Tom Ripley's "self-actualization" process. In Self-Reliance, Emerson argues that to find peace with one's identity, human beings must ultimately defy the voices of society. In a way, Tom's murder of Dickie Greenleaf and subsequent usurpation of Dickie's identity is a modern realization of Emerson's ideal, albeit a dark one, in which Tom literally silences his mate's disapproving voice and finally realizes his ambitions and aspirations as a actor for him "plays" Dickie. But contrary to Tom's perception that he actually became Dickie and therefore achieved self-realization, Tom's acquisition leads to the creation of a unique personality, characterized by love of material possessions and submission to social norms - two characteristics inherent in the real Dickie missing Green. Sheet. Tom's self-created reliance on two main tenets of Emerson's argument - propriety and conformity - and his growing anxiety towards the end of the novel show that Tom's acquired personality does not give him the peace that would accompany Tom's realization of himself.
how to negotiate
Daniel Kadin
NIETZSCHE AND HOLDEN'S WAR DANCE
This article argues that Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian contains elements of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy, mainly through the character of Judge Holden. For Nietzsche, the world was a nihilistic, meaningless and grotesque place, much like the one portrayed by McCarthy. McCarthy clearly presents Nietzschean ideas of inherent human brutality and utter insecurity in the world. He also shows that he is devoid of any moral and ethical objectivity and is overwhelmingly nihilistic. As scholars have noted, the judge elucidates Nietzsche's existentialism by portraying a meaningless world devoid of absolute morals or ethics, and uses this existential uncertainty and nihilism to forge his own philosophical thinking, based on his notion of the revered "dead dance". war". 🇧🇷 Holden's aggressive nature is seen through his violent actions and his belief that power and violence are the ultimate determinants of the world. Ultimately, he argues that Holden differs from Nietzsche in his physical manifestations of brutality and aggression, since Nietzsche does not seem to advocate the kind of violence that McCarthy describes. Holden embraces this overwhelming sense of insecurity and nihilism and expands on Nietzsche by developing his own philosophy based on a reverence for war, grotesque violence and bloodshed.
Stephanie Pusaw
"I READ, THEREFORE I WRITE": AN INVESTIGATION OF THE NARRATIVE AND ITS RELATIONS WITH POST-STRUCTURALISM IN CALVINO'S AS A TRAVELER ON A WINTER NIGHT
In our postmodern era, when the possibilities for novelty in literature and other art forms seem to have run out, certain works still manage to offer a refreshing perspective on the role of readers and writers in the modern world. Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler is one of those rare literary works. Examining how we read, why we read and what literature can help us discover - even in a world where innovation seems impossible - this book is a puzzle, a labyrinth, but above all an invitation to reevaluate, because reading is still important. In the tangle of narrative shifts and postmodern concepts presented in the novel, the main act – reading a story and engaging with it in a way that blurs the line between reality and fiction – stands out and begs to be celebrated. The pronounced use of the second person in much of the novel not only serves as a memorable narrative technique, but also cements the book as a solid example of poststructuralism, serving to question the role of the novel (and other art forms of the novel) in in modern times: what is the role and responsibility of writers? What is "reality" and what is "fiction"? Calvino's unorthodox storytelling style and unique storytelling skills allow these questions to be asked and allow the audience to discover possible answers for themselves.
Grace Rhee
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: THE JOURNEY FROM ADOLESCENCE TO ADULTONE
Although superficially a children's film based on a children's book, Where the Wild Things Are is a film that delves into Freud's ideas about early childhood development. There are two journeys in the film. The first is Max's journey into his imagination, taken when reality becomes unbearable, demonstrating an early use of fiction as coping mechanisms and the creation of a Freudian ego designed to satisfy the needs of the id. However, on Max's second journey, as he transitions from childhood to adulthood, taking responsibility for the Wild Things he has created in his mind, Max soon realizes that he must return home and find a more practical method of dealing with the hardships. realities of life. Referring to Freud's ideas about the human psyche, I argue that the film shows a part of human nature that is already present in adolescence - an attempt to escape from these truths that we cannot bear, which later become more solid must transform acceptance of reality.
Katie Risbrough
THE JOY OF MATERNITY: RAISED EXPECTATIONS AND ITS IMPACT ON MOTHERS
In Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle, the Walls family demonstrates how the maternal expectations society places on women can sometimes lead to disturbing outcomes. Rose Mary is not like the "perfect mother" that society expects, and her refusal to give up her identity causes society to immediately judge her as a bad mother. However, the eventual success of her children seems to suggest that perhaps it is the outcome rather than the happiness or ease of childhood that makes a good mother. Her actions, her husband, her lifestyle, and her children force readers to question the true meaning of a perfect mother and to recognize that the unfair expectations placed on the mother about the father result in lopsided guilt among parents capable of leading. This article focuses on Rose Mary, questioning what makes a good mother and what makes a bad mother, and why society feels the need to label her as such.
Rishikesh Santhanam
LIFE AS A ROAD: THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH AND THE MOMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich depicts the life and death of an ordinary bourgeois. For most of his life, Ivan is blind to the nature of his choices, following the path dictated by social conventions that he believes will lead him to an important life. Ironically, Ivan's choices leave him feeling inconsequential and unfulfilled, as he cannot balance his need for convenience with the empty reasoning behind his decisions. Like the hero of Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus, Ivan lives a life of repetitive misery, burying himself in bureaucratic work in a futile attempt to feel powerful. Both Ivan and Sisyphus struggle to realize that their lives and works are meaningless. Each of the characters reaches a moment of awareness in which they realize their preposterous situation of needing fulfillment in a world riddled with futility. Both characters deal with this realization by taking responsibility for their actions. Ivan acknowledges the pain he has caused others; Sisyphus consciously chooses to continue his work despite its futility in order to assert his individual power. In these moments of awareness, the individual recognizes his ability to define meaning for himself and determine the course of his life according to his individual needs.
"What's your street, man? – Holyboy Road, Madman Road, Rainbow Road, Guppy Road, any road. It's a road for everyone anyway." (Jack Kerouac, On the Road)