Literacy’s Effect on Black Women: A Personal Narrative
Janie’s narrative in Their Eyes Were Watching God exemplified this for me. It allowed me to parallel myself with Janie, to compare my experience as a Black woman with hers, and embolden me to find my own truth and seek fulfillment within my life.
A Technological Invasion
Technology is a very important part of our lives as almost every person with a cell phone would probably say. We live in a world where we rely on technology so much that in a way it controls us. Authors like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov could portray this concept in the 1940s and 50s…
Siren: Based On The Painting “Nocturne”
Black. White. You can’t seem to have one without the other. It is their contrast that brings out their beauty. Clouds on a spring afternoon, the dandelions in the pasture out back, the warm milk Ma brings us before bed. White has always been a sign of comfort and beauty in my eyes. …
Reflections in a Black Mirror: Analyzing Bloody Mary and Her Presence in “The Wolf Among Us”
It’s a typical setting; a group of teens enjoying each others company at a sleepover, when suddenly, they decide to play a game. At the behest of the others, one of the teens gets up, goes to the bathroom, turns off all of the lights, and while staring into the mirror, she recites her name.…
Death as Freedom In 19th Century Women’s Literature: An Escape from Idleness
Introduction: Giving Voice to Struggle Few would argue that Victorian writers were death-averse; generally, at least one of their novels or poems consists of a hefty, symbolic death that transforms the other characters around them. Being so numerous, these deaths’ meanings undoubtedly vary—from messages about grief and sorrow to themes of freedom and afterlife—and grow…
Vauxhall Gardens in Frances Burney’s Evelina
Frances Burney’s Evelina portrays a world where politeness, manners, and proper etiquette are very important. When Evelina first encounters Vauxhall Gardens, she has yet to believe that the place is anything but reputable, and she endeavors to express her satisfaction with some pleasure (Burney 218). This can lead modern readers to think that Vauxhall Gardens…
“Supernatural” Beginnings in North American Folklore: The Vanishing Hitchhiker and La Llorona
Rock music blares from the speakers of a car as it drives down a dark wooded road. The young man driving is speaking to his girlfriend on the phone explaining that he can't make it tonight because it's late and he has to work in the morning. Just when he hangs up, a beautiful woman…
Hauntings of the Hudson Valley: Landscapes, and Ghosts
Michael Brassea is from Frankfort, Illinois. He'll be graduating May 2015 with bachelor in English. He is an avid Chicago Bulls fan rarely misses a game even here in Missouri. He also loves to run, co-founding the Mimosa Court Track club with his former roommates here. He wrote "Hauntings of the Hudson" for Dr. Luanne Roth's…
A Conscious Universe
Sean Donovan is a sophomore biology major from Wildwood, Missouri. He chose to write A Conscious Universe out of interest in the reoccurring concept of fate and divine predestination in the works of the Middle Ages. Not being a believer in such concepts himself, he specifically wanted to explore some of the reasons that might…
How to Live a Life
Living life as a human, on planet Earth, is a phenomenon that anyone who is ever written a single word has perfect experience with. It would be impossible not to. For better or for worse, we all share the same fundamental experience. Separation in space or time can certainly alter how two people view the world. The overwhelming consensus, however, whether revealed through science, or the vast array of parallels in our art, religion, and literature, point to one fact. We are vastly more similar to one another than we are different. Of all these similarities, one would be hard pressed to find some more striking than the reoccurring stories we have told each other over the vast course of our history.