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Showing posts from October, 2022

Film N Fiction

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Who doesn't love a good film adaptation?! Well,  I suppose that could be a rhetorical question, considering most English buffs do not. While I much prefer the novel version of pretty much anything,  I do admire the way in which filmmakers can bring characters to life by finding actors/actresses that encapsulate them perfectly . The film adaption of Little Women,  I think, is   a great example of this. With a cast of Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Saoirse Ronan, how could the film not be wonderful?  It's fitting that I chose this film in particular, as I am currently reading the novel by Louisa May Alcott.  As I previously stated, the true beauty of film is that it is able to bring these "imaginary" words and people to life. When I read about Jo, Laurie, and Amy, I can picture Saoirse, Timothee, and Florence so clearly. I think that anyone who has read the novel and seen the film can agree with this. The March girls are strong and independent, and

A Rose for Emily x AHS

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 Upon reading A Rose for Emily , I didn't initially feel any sort of connection to the story, and it was just that- a story. In the end, Faulkner alludes to the fact that the dead decaying body in bed is Homer. While having our class discussion, I just kept thinking "why does this seem familiar?"... and then I made the connection. If you haven't noticed by now, I am a pop culture fanatic, and the ending to Faulkner's story seemed awfully similar to something that I had once watched on American Horror Story .  In the seventh season of the show, "Cult", siblings Kai and Winter live in the same house where their parents died. What we don't initially know is that the parents' bodies remain locked away in the master bedroom of the house. Their bodies are left to decay in the room for a period of time, similar to Homer's body in A Rose for Emily . With that, the rose symbolism then comes into play. We talked about how the rose in the story is likel

The Nightmare of Public Speaking

To say public speaking used to be my nightmare is a severe understatement. If there was one person in the room who absolutely hated public speaking, it was always me. I never understood why I despised it so much. Maybe it was the potential embarrassment, or my shaking legs, but something about it just made me terrified.  Luckily, I can say that I don't feel quite as strongly about it as I once did. Last fall, actually, I had to take a whole fashion class dedicated to public speaking (shout-out to Katie Summers). Being able to stand in front of my peers and give a successful 15 minute presentation by the end of the semester was something that I could have never imagined for myself. I began to learn that public speaking is NOT supposed to be scary, but a useful skill that will help me in so many aspects of life.  For all of my natural-born worriers out there, here are three of the best things I have learned thus far: 1. Be as organized as possible- it helps more than one would thin

Taylor Swift- Modern Poet and Lyrical Genius

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       All Swifties know that Taylor Swift is one of the best songwriters of our generation, which I can say as a fellow fan. Often times, I find myself wondering how she comes up with her lyrics, and how some of them relate so closely to how I feel. As we know, music can make us feel seen in a way that other things cannot. However, literature and poetry can relate to music in this same way. Everything that Taylor Swift writes has a meaning, and is thought out in great detail, which is why I believe her to be something of a poet. I was inspired to write about her for this post in light of the release of her tenth studio album, Midnights.      Though Miss Swift does not have a single bad album, I think that Folklore  contains some of her best and most meaningful lyrics. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite songs on the album, "The Lakes", directly mentions poetry. The chorus begins with "Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die" (Swift, 2020), which,

What's the Fun in Literature?

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Reading Jane Austen has changed my life entirely (thanks, Dr. Reed). Up until last semester, the only well-known works of literature that I had been introduced to were  The Great Gatsby , To Kill a Mockingbird , and Catcher in the Rye . Make no mistake, these novels are wonderful, and contain important life lessons and memorable moments, however, literature does not always have to be so serious. Matter of fact, that is why I enjoy Austen so much, because rarely is she serious, if ever. I mean, reading is a way to escape our everyday lives, right? Anyone can read and enjoy Austen, but we all know that she was a humorous feminist who wrote bildungsroman stories for women to relate to on a personal level.  I suppose that the true purpose of my "I love Jane Austen" rant is that literature can often seem intimidating, but it can also be enjoyable and comic. Fictional stories are one of three literature genres, which is the one I often find myself drawn to. Using literature as a f