Luke

Have you experienced an important shift in perspective on anything? The COVID-19 pandemic affected us on a personal level in many different ways; sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. I experienced a rapid but deeply-reflected shift in personal beliefs. What was a gradual change in my perspective in my adolescent years was expedited by the events of the pandemic globally. I know that this pandemic had devastating effects on the lives of many; however, it must be noted that it was neve...

Original: The God of Carnage by Yasmina Rez and Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf by Edward Albee explore how unresolved issues in relationships erupt during periods of stressful, aggressive, alcohol-fueled conflicts. Both meetings between two couples descend into chaos as marital issues are forcibly dragged out. For the characters, no one wins in the end. However, important elements that ignited the series of conflicts are resolved, Readers can infer that the relationship conflict has benefited be...

We had a very interesting discussion in class this week after watching the Fox News interview with philosopher Peter Boghossian. Please write a response to the article. What do you think about Boghossian's arguments? How does it affect your ideas about next year? Feel free to see this as a broad assignment - write/explain/argue about whatever the article made you think about.   I am very aware of the discussion going on about the subject of universities in the US falling to this “culture of of...

The movie Carnage made certain patterns that I observed while reading the play more clearly. This is partly because it seems to move at a faster pace than reading and because it is easier to keep track of the characters when there is a visual representation. What I noticed was a divergence in the moral views in the two couples, which I at first mistakenly perceived as class differences. Their moral compasses shape their personality and language, and like their integrity, degrade during the cour...

We are made kind by being kind. Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind, 77 This sentence is short in order to make the relevation appear more straighforward. The components are stripped to the bare minium: subject, verb and adjective then the second clause after the interjection “by” includes a similiarly structured ending with a verb and the same adjective. The communicates that the fromer state (kind) can be achieved by “being” kind. Often, such quotes will alter one part of the sentence. ...

What caught your attention this year? What are you interested in at the moment? This can be a story, an event, a hobby, skill, relationship...anything. Focus on one thing only and try to write as clearly and concisely as possible.   At the moment, I have been thinking about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This was the end of a war that had gone on longer than I have been alive. I learned about 9/11 as history, when I was in second or third grade. All I knew at the time was that someone had...

Question: How does death shape fairy tales? Topic: How Death is portrayed in Fairy Tales Death is an important part of fairy tales, there are certain rules, sequences, and tone regarding death in fairy tales that are typical and atypical in Godfather Death and the Juniper Tree. Characters constantly come back to life to achieve the happy ending even when it is illogical and unfitting Death is usually off no consequence, only evil characters are affected Perhaps due to the audience being chil...

Filling in the blanks: What Happened with Audrey? A psychological analysis of Audrey during her important role in 'Educated' Tara's brother Shawn mistreats his wife Emily, bringing back memories of abuse for Tara, who then contemplates her responsibility for Emily's safety and confronts an uncomfortable past. Tara is irresponsible and mishandles the situation horrendously. Audrey is involved in this issue and she is clearly torn between the same feeling of responsibility but also must deal with...

The Shadow Scholar The Shadow Scholar is an article published on "The Chronicle of Higher Education" written by someone that writes high-level papers for money and goes by the pseudonym 'Ed Dante'. His explanation is condescending, he criticizes the intelligence of his clients and the competence of their teachers. At first the anecdote about his current customer seems to be a way for this writer to explain the process, but really he uses it to put himself in a position of superiority and show h...

Little Red Riding Hood and Temptation With various versions of Little Red Riding Hood there has also been changes in plot, theme, and moral. Small changes make considerable differences, likely because the story is so short and simple. In Pullman's version of the Grimm tales, the wolf tempts the girl by suggesting he gets flowers for her grandmother, in order to delay her, and Johnny Depp’s portrayal in "Into the Woods" also endeavors to delay her using multiple strategies. This would suggest th...

Why is the Father supportive of Richard’s desire to go to college? In chapter 22, What We Whispered and What We Screamed, Tara returns to Buck’s Peak to find Richard is studying for the ACT, and to her surprise her father is supporting him. This contradicts a defining characteristic of Gene Westover: relentless opposition to western institutions. This is why he pulled his kids out of school, why he does not take them to the hospital, why some of them do not have birth certificates, and this is ...