In The Killers, Hemingway displays how passivity, rather than reducing one’s agency, can make one an agent, even an agent of evil, through cowardice and irresoluteness. He displays this in each character, either by example or by an ironic contrast. The first person named is neither of the apparent killers, Al or Max, but George.Continue reading “Homicidal Passivity: An Analysis of Hemingway’s “The Killers””
Tag Archives: Literature
Humility, Charity, and True Honor: A Book Review of Black Cauldron (Prydain Chronicles #2)
In Lloyd Alexander’s Black Cauldron, second of The Prydain Chronicles, both Taran and Prince Ellidyr show in wonderful character arc’s different paths to the the same virtues of humility and charity.1 While we may like Taran and dislike Ellidyr from the beginning, their arcs begin in similar places. Both possess great pride and shame inContinue reading “Humility, Charity, and True Honor: A Book Review of Black Cauldron (Prydain Chronicles #2)”
At Home in Oneself: A Book Review of Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
In Taran Wanderer, fourth in The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, Taran begins his quest to learn his parentage with a great deal of pride. His pride has always manifested itself in the series as quickness to judge others, accumulated shame regarding his own mistakes, and a high value on birth, nobility, andContinue reading “At Home in Oneself: A Book Review of Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander”
The Glory of Repentance: Learning Courage and Hope from The Lord of the Rings
The following contains spoilers for those who have neither read nor seen The Lord of the Rings (specifically The Two Towers book, chapter one, or the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring). Several weeks ago, some friends and I were talking about our favourite books, and the topic turned (as it often doesContinue reading “The Glory of Repentance: Learning Courage and Hope from The Lord of the Rings”
Sharing Sorrow: Why We Read Sad Literature
The other night some friends and I were discussing sorrowful literature—why we read it and so often cherish it. Even if a book is mostly not sad, the parts of it that inspired sorrow in us remain in our minds, provoking a continued and deep reflexion in us, and very often they hold a specialContinue reading “Sharing Sorrow: Why We Read Sad Literature”
Abuse of Language—Abuse of Power: An Essay in Review
I’ve recently had the great delight of reading Abuse of Language—Abuse of Power, an essay by Catholic philosopher Joseph Pieper, and I want to share a few of my thoughts to entice you to pick it up. You would buy it in book form, but it really is an essay, 54 pages in a pamphlet-sizedContinue reading “Abuse of Language—Abuse of Power: An Essay in Review”
Apologetic Book Review ~ On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
In writing this review of the book On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, I found myself writing a preemptive defence against any attacks that might arise against this book when I recommended it. But given the title (the subtitle is key, but likelyContinue reading “Apologetic Book Review ~ On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society”
A Literary Experiment in Autobiographical Fiction
Foreword: Here follows a short paper I wrote for my Tolstoy professor after we studied Tolstoy’s Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth. The task was to write an autobiographical account from a time in our childhood, and afterward to analyse the process we went through to write it, in order to better understand Tolstoy’s Childhood, Boyhood, andContinue reading “A Literary Experiment in Autobiographical Fiction”
Sweat and Blood to Save One’s Soul: The Principles of Work and Suffering in Čapek’s RUR
‘O Adam, Adam! No longer will you have to earn your bread by the sweat of your brow; you will return to Paradise, where you were nourished by the hand of God. You will be free and supreme; you will have no other task, no other work, no other cares than to perfect your being.Continue reading “Sweat and Blood to Save One’s Soul: The Principles of Work and Suffering in Čapek’s RUR”
Fitting Anna Karenina into a New Dress: Adaptation and Cinematic Technique in Anna Karenina (2012)
Foreword: Here follows a term paper I wrote last semester for my university class under Tolstoy scholar Ani Kokobobo, PhD. This should be of interest if you have read Anna Karenina, or seen the 2012 film adaptation (Keira Knightley), or both. I discuss not only the works themselves but the nature of adapting a bookContinue reading “Fitting Anna Karenina into a New Dress: Adaptation and Cinematic Technique in Anna Karenina (2012)”
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