Month: November 2018
From Gold Rush to Literary Fame
When most people hear the name Bret Harte they immediately think of the famous wrestler from the ’80s and ’90s, but few would think you were talking about the 19th […]
Lessons from the Harte
This week in American Literature we read three short stories by Bret Harte. The stories were set in California during the gold rush. There was one thing in his stories […]
Happily Never After
Lyssa Henry Why do we think we need a happy ending for every story? Culturally, Americans seem to be very sensitive. In old fairy tales from other countries, things didn’t […]
Fame after Death
Emily Dickinson was a reclusive American poet who was a lot like Poe in that she was largely a misunderstood person but held a great talent for writing and deeply […]
A story with a purpose
In 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe published arguably one of the most important pieces of literature in history; Uncle Tom’s Cabin. An anti-slavery novel that was inspired by the 1850 Fugitive Slave […]
The Joys of Literary Traveling
There is no Frigate like a BookTo take us Lands away _ Emily Dickinson There comes a point in every bibliophile’s life when someone has the nerve to utter the words […]
Walt Whitman Probably Wasn’t Gay: A Title Unrelated to the Blog
We’re like 48 months into this semester and I do not have the mental capacity to continue writing 600 words every week. I almost completely forgot how to spell continue. […]
Lukewarm Living
Julia Joyce Not only did Herman Melville write the exciting story of Moby Dick, he also wrote “Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story Of Wall-street.” Now I have never read Moby […]
The Science and Ethics of “Bartleby the Scrivener”
Lyssa Henry After reading Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” I became stuck on one concept that is nearly irrelevant to the story itself but gave me both a scientific and […]
Preferences and Priorities
Rebecca Reese At the beginning of this week, Dr. Schleifer opened his discussion on Walt Whitman by saying, “I’m just going to put this out there. I do not like […]
Darth Vader as the Raven
Julia Joyce I have discovered that the voice a piece of writing is read in has a drastic effect on its mood and how it is received. If you have […]
A Book for the Ages
Dynestee Fields What images come to mind when you think of the word “timeless?” Is it sunrise climbing over a mountaintop? Is it Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa? Is it Meghan […]