I’ve been staring at my computer screen for about an hour thinking about what to say about Middlesex. The book is a consummate force of Greek-American culture, carried by the development of the American City and glossed over by the story of Calliope Stephanides. But as it says volumes about Detroit, or the miseducation of […]
To be honest, I share Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov’s worries. Kushner encapsulates our collective obsession over finding a new political paradigm, and does it quite well in Angels in America. Aleksii adulates the tradition of his time and bemoans American Capitalism. (His fight with the American Cheeseburger as an image of an obsolete praxis hits close […]
The tragic story of Sula is a story of just deserts. Strangely enough, its themes of lifelong bonds, free love and the good of the community failed to satisfy me. Horrible puns aside, this is probably because I searched for understanding in the superficial, unlikable characters of Medallion, Ohio. Instead, I think it will serve […]
I’m fascinated by the concept of pity in Part Two of Lolita because Humbert is constantly begging for it. It’s in his explanations and his deliberate choice to highlight the clandestine traveling of his adventures with Dolores (accompanied by a few hazy details about her whereabouts and actions during their trip.) For the majority of […]
Hi Everyone! I hope your break is going well. I wanted to share this short story that I found to be incredible. The deployment of alliance, the Romantic critique of science and the Victorian discourse of sexuality are all present in this interesting tale about a scientist-philosopher and his love for perfection. Let me know […]
The false sense of sexual bravado in Part One of Lolita appeals instantly to me. This is central to Humbert’s supposed expertise in nympholepsy. Constantly, he attempts to convince the supposed frigid, all-female jury that he is at all times vulnerable, intelligent, deliberate and spontaneous with his monstrous passion. Humbert attempts to convince himself of […]
There was something too flash about my visit to the Museum of Sex today. Perhaps I’m still exhausted from midterms, but I was unnerved by the awkward reactions people had–myself included. I walked by three women who were fascinated by the human models we could touch. One asks the other two, “You’d this would be […]
T. Griswold Comstock’s “Alice Mitchell of Memphis” is a consummate depiction of what Foucault calls “a psychiatrization of perverse pleasure” because of its intense analysis of Mitchell in the context of her family history, mental behavior from observation, and the emphasis on seeking information for medical preservation (Foucault, 105). Comstock’s unique selection in his writings […]
The Scarlet Letter motivates me to examine the human pursuit of truth and happiness in “The Minister in A Maze”. Hester’s moment of confession reveals that happiness for her, her lover and her former spouse, involves more than the revelation of truth. In fact, truth here is conflated with happiness. Hawthorne illustrates that happiness for […]
First, I apologize to all for my second tardy post but at the same time, I’m pretty happy that it’s come this late. Last weekend, I traveled upstate with a few friends and after a debauched weekend where four gentlemen brilliantly courted a young woman, she now has my copy of The Scarlet Letter. It’s […]
