Hello!

-
Hello and welcome to blog!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Escapism in Coraline

-
This week I read Neil Gaiman's children's novel, Coraline.  I had previously seen and loved the movie but never sat down to read the book. The thing that struck me about this novel is the same thing that struck me in the film; not the fact that it's pretty scary for a children's book, something Gaiman is now known for, but the sadness of how ignored by her parents Coraline feels. It's incredibly relevant to many people and it just hits you in such a way that you can't shake it. The entire novel then turns into a form of escapism. Coraline uses this alternate world or dimension as a form of escapism from her seemingly uncaring parents. Why else would she just blindly accept another mother and father with buttons for eyes if not for the fact that they are everything she wishes her parents and world to be like? I certainly can't chalk it up to her being a child as Coraline seems to be pretty smart. Despite all of the adventure and horror in this novel, it's...
Read more

Harry Potter and Its House System

-
This week I both re-read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and read for the first time the short Prequel snippet provided to us (which only increased my frustration out Rowling as a Prequel is the only thing I ever asked for out of her - I couldn't care less about any of the other spinoffs produced). I admit, I've been a fan of Harry Potter since I saw the first film when I was four years old with my father, so it would be easy for me to talk about many different things. However, I'm going to focus on the house system inside of Hogwarts. It's not something I thought very much about prior to it being brought up in class, which is why I find it so interesting now. It does indeed seem to be just an easy way to establish very base character traits within characters without actually having to state those character traits, which I find to be very smart, considering you still have a vast variety of characters amongst each house so it doesn't feel...
Read more

Why Bloodchild Made Me Feel Uncomfortable

-
For this weeks' reading I read Octavia Butler's short story, Bloodchild . It was a very interesting read, though, it made me quite uncomfortable by the end. As I progressed further and further into this story it became increasingly apparent that while Gan and his family had what they viewed to be a positive and healthy relationship with T'Gatoi, the relationship between the Terran and the Tlic was anything but. While most of the Terran in this world had come to terms with and rationalized the relationship it was clear to me that this was because of the normalized oppression of them. The Tlic claim that the Terran are as free as they are and manipulate them into believing this by making as simple a change as not referring to them as "host animals" even though they still are, even if it is to a lesser extent of abuse as in the past. They even try to guilt the Terran by claiming that they are their saviors and are being so kind as to let them live in the Preserve. Th...
Read more