Comparative essay of 'Prue' and 'My heart is broken'

     Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be nominated as Vice President of the United States, said "We've chosen the path to equality, don't let them turn us around." Geraldine Ferraro was right. Women certainly have ‘chosen the path to equality’ by engaging in ‘Waves of Feminism’ from 19^th century to today. One of branches of Feminism movement is Feminism theory, which is the extension of Feminism into theoretical or philosophical discourse to comprehend the nature of gender equality. ‘My heart is broken’ and ‘Prue’ are two short stories that exemplify Feminism theory by incorporating Feminism to convey the social status of women. However, while the two stories both suggest the true gender equality is yet to go, they focus on different aspects of women’s rights.

‘My heart is broken’ shares common aspects with ‘The Second Wave of Feminism’ in that it addresses social issues relevant to women’s rights. The story specifically emphasizes sexual abuse by portraying the rape incident of the protagonist Jeannie that is not dealt with properly. For instance, instead of seeking for an assailant of the rape incident to file a lawsuit and to resolve the situation, most characters in the story except Vern were busy trying to ascribe the cause of the event to the victim herself. Mrs. Thomson, who is introduced as Jeannie’s ‘best friend’, does not empathize with the protagonist’s situation but rather snaps at her by saying “I said nothing makes trouble faster in a place like this than a grown woman behaving like a little girl.” It is important to note that the fictitious world of ‘My heart is broken’ is a projection of the real society itself. Both fictitious and real societies perceive the rape issue with a merciless cold gaze filled with bias and devoid of empathy towards victims. However, while Jeannie passively accepts her fate that she has to live forever haunted by the traumatic event, women living in a real world create ‘The Second Wave of Feminism’ to reform a society, so that there would no longer be ‘Jeannie’ with broken heart.

‘Prue’ is different to ‘My heart is broken,’ since it is more intimately related to ‘The Third Wave of Feminism.’ The third wave challenges definitions of femininity from the second wave, which over-emphasized the experiences of upper-middle-class white women. ‘Prue’ shares several commonalities with ‘The Third Wave of Feminism,’ since the story portrays how women who are under upper-middle-class are treated within a community. To recapitulate several aspects of the protagonist Prue, she is a lower class woman with very passive personality. Prue’s passiveness is emphasized by her relationship with Gordon. For instance, Gordon states “I think I’m in love with this person” but later says “ But I do think I want to marry you, in a few years time.” In other words, he directly states that he does not regard Prue as top priority, which is an insolent attitude. However, Prue showed no sign of hurt feelings and merely replied Gordon’s arrogant statement with “Well, I guess nobody can know what happens in a few years of time.” Through the relationship between Gordon and the protagonist, readers can sense that while the protagonist of the story is clearly Prue, she never plays major role throughout the story. Instead, she merely perceives ongoing events like a powerless bystander incapable of fostering any changes to her own situation nor others’ perception towards her. These aspects of Prue transcend the fictitious world and represent the very reality of women under upper-middle-class in a real society. Instead of discussing social issues relevant to women’s rights, Alice Munro attempted to reveal the status of lower-class women realistically and called attention to the necessity of “The Third Wave of Feminism” to guarantee these women equal rights.

Overall, the two stories evidently showed different unique aspects that fit in separate waves of Feminist movement. ‘My heart is broken’ seems to have its aim at alerting the society the importance of reform of social systems and perception to protect women’s rights. On the other hand, ‘Prue’ seems to be more focused on portraying the life of women situated in class that had not been in the center of attention. However, readers should not falsely conclude that the two stories have different ultimate goals. They should always remind that the main purpose of the Feminist movement, regardless of time periods, is to ensure women equal rights and that incorporation of Feminism into literature is one part of such effort. 

Anton Chekhov "The Student" Reading Journal

For those who are eager to unveil and accept profound philosophy implied within literature, ‘Student’ is truly a masterpiece. What is attractive about Anton Chekhov’s ‘The Student’ is that it has generated countless literary controversies despite its little quantity of the story. This fact shows that Anton Chekhov’s ‘Student’ managed to express various profound philosophy and literary technique that are worth discussing in a very concise manner, proving that it is indeed a perfect short story.     

However, for readers who have no knowledge in Anton Chekhov’s styles or in realism, the short story ‘Student’ may appear rather dull and meaningless. In fact, when I first read ‘The Student’, I thought the main purpose of the story was to cause ennui, just like Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’. Nevertheless, I soon found out that I was wrong. In fact, I could gradually sense that the story is more complex than I originally thought after repeatedly reading it. I began to slowly sense that there could be an interesting twist in the protagonist’s seemingly optimistic and in-depth perception of the world. Furthermore, tears that Vasilisa shed and distorted face expression of Lukerya after Ivan told them the story about the Twelve Gospels seemed to suggest certain link between the two widows and Peter that Ivan failed to notice correctly. Overall, my perception towards ‘The Student’ is that it is the story that gradually transforms into an intriguing riddle as readers delve deeper into it.

Regardless of the fact that ‘The Student’ is a short story, it has been surrounded by various literary controversies, since the work itself is like a ‘riddle’. One of the notable aspects that are still currently under debate is the overall tone of the story. While there have been numerous controversies over whether the story is pessimistic or optimistic, I believe that ‘The Student’ is a pessimistic story. In fact, the story completely turns into a pessimistic story when epiphany of Ivan is interpreted as a hasty, incorrect realization. For instance, how can readers be sure that Vasilisa shed her tears because “her whole being was interested in what was passing in Peter’s soul”? What if she showed such behavior as an expression of guilt or sadness evoked by unpleasant memory of the past? For example, Vasilisa may have cried because Peter reminded her of watching her daughter being beaten by her husband. If she really did, Ivan would be a careless student who brought pain hidden deep inside other’s heart to the surface without realizing himself that he just made innocent people fall into agony. Then, Ivan’s epiphany would be groundless, since his realization is based on his misconception. Therefore, Ivan becomes a protagonist who made a hasty conclusion about perception towards the world while not realizing that he is unable to spot hidden truths behind what he sees. In this context, the story becomes pessimistic by portraying the protagonist who deluded himself.

Based on the interpretation that ‘The Student’ is a pessimistic story, Anton Chekhov may have warned readers to be humble in the course of learning. It is important to note that Ivan’s age is only 22, the age too young for one to attain correct perceptions towards the world. However, regardless of his young age and lack of life experience, Ivan believes himself that he attained important verity of the world by simply talking to the two widows, a set of mind that can be conceived as arrogant. Incapable of realizing veiled truth of the world due to incorrect perception he hastily established, Ivan may not be able to further improve. In other words, Anton Chekhov may have attempted to deliver the message “do not live like Ivan.”

Overall, ‘The Student’ was a great surprise for me, since it broke my prejudice that the story has to be long if it aims to generate diverse literary controversies and contain profound philosophy. In fact, though it took me less than 30 minutes to read ‘The Student’, I found out that deep, scholarly approach to “The Student” exceeds my academic ability. I would like to give applaud to Anton Chekhov for his supreme talents in writing such a concise yet profound story. 

Ode to God of Tetris

#Something you should know before you read: 'God of Tetris' is a title that you achieve when you reach the maximum level in a Facebook game 'Tetris Battle'. 



Dear ‘God of Tetris’

     It has been nearly 2 years since I started my grand Tetris journey to reach you. My courage and hope once crashed to the ground when I could not find an end to unremitting challenges from opponents. My resolution often wobbled when people jeered at my recklessness. They simply could not accept the idea that such an untalented man like me would someday stand next to you and shine the world of Tetris. My keyboard became weather-beaten and stared at me as if it was no longer able to accompany me on my adventure. But I continued to carry on. I closed my ears to worthless snorts that may weaken my resolve. I have relentlessly pursued your trace despite unremittingly accumulating assignments and teachers’ acrid accusations. I have persevered countless rank-downs and defeats. I have persuaded myself that there would be an end to this harsh journey whenever my fingers and spirits swayed. I have overcome my fear and continued to challenge more competitive opponents to reach you.

    

     But my dear, I have to confess that I once decided to abandon you. It was not because my patience reached its limit. It was not because my keyboard could no longer sustain my fingers. It was not because of my heavy work load. It was because of you. The moment I heard the news that you fled to rank 110, my heart was pierced by ineffable disappointment, misery, and sorrow. Furthermore, I was afraid to stand beneath the sky, for I thought it would crack into pieces and collapse upon me. I was afraid to breathe, for the air I once jovially breathed in became too bitter. I was afraid to meet people, for I may unconsciously express my extreme anguish on those who are innocent. I could not believe the reality I was facing. I felt your scent becoming thicker, I felt your effulgence becoming brighter, and I felt your splendor becoming more intense as my rank continued to soar up. But they were all suddenly gone. Your scent, effulgence, splendor, everything. All gone. What you left were 10 more ranks to go up with 50 stars required to achieve each rank after rank 101. I thought you refused my love. I thought you refused to love me. Thus, with great pang in my heart, I left you.

     

     After I left you, I dragged my mouse cursor to find someone that would fill my heart again with excitement, someone who is worthy enough to set out a long journey to be with. I thought I could easily find someone like you. But my thought proved to be wrong. I attempted to pour all my enthusiasm and passion into Ninja Battle or Cart Rider to forget you, but I never could. Every night I closed my eyes for sleep, I saw colorful Tetris blocks falling gracefully to produce powerful combos.  I guess could never push you into the pit of oblivion no matter how much I desired to do so. Then one night, in my dream, you appeared in front of me out of nowhere. You looked splendid and grand as you always had been, but you had sadness and disappointment in your eyes. Then, I had sudden epiphany that important thing was to love rather than to be loved, just as what W. Somerset Maugham stated. The important thing was to love you rather than to be loved by you. I should have felt happy for being able to love you and invest all my efforts and passion to reach you. After I had that sudden realization, I decided to restart my grand Tetris journey again.

     My rank is now 109, and I have only 16 stars left to grab your hands. I can feel your growing presence, and I can feel my growing affection towards you as I step closer to your effulgence. The momentous day of union between you and me is not so far away. Wait for me, my dear ‘God of Tetris’, and do not run away ever again. 

Human nature embedded in Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected

Each short story in ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ is seemingly bizarre and may appear to have no relationship between each other. However, under the grotesque and strange storyline of each different story, there lie repulsive aspects of human nature. In fact, though the stories of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, ‘Skin’, and ‘Man From the South’ are three separate stories, they share the subject which they portray: a monster that lurks within human mind, ready to manipulate fragile human heart whenever it attempts to satiate its evil greed. This ‘monster’ can be both interpreted as obsession and duplicity of human heart, which are parts of human nature that Roald Dahl attempted to explore in ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’

Individual’s tendency to obsess with certain value or subject is one of human nature that Roald Dahl illustrated in ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’ Why did Mary Maloney kill her own husband with a leg of lamb in the story ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’? It is because of her obsession to seize her husband. Mary Maloney’s obsession towards her husband is implied when she killed her husband when he said “Don’t make supper for me. I’m going out.” This phrase indicates that her husband’s affection towards her was slipping away from Mary’s grip. Therefore, Mary, who was desperate to retrieve her husband’s love and attention, decided to kill her husband instead of letting him escape from her life, since her obsession with her husband was so intense and incontrollable. Why did the woman of Carlos in the story ‘Man From the South’ have only one finger on her hand and a thumb? It is because her strong obsession with materialistic values was strong enough to overwhelm her fear of losing most of her fingers. Why did the stranger trick Drioli in the story ‘Skin’ to peel the tattoo off Drioli’s back? It is because of the stranger’s inordinate obsession with aesthetic value that made him neglect moral concerns. In other words, seemingly absurd and immoral decisions of the characters in each story imply individuals’ nature to succumb to their own desire and obsession. 

Duplicity of human mind is another aspect of human nature that is portrayed in ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’ One of the common aspects of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, ‘Skin’, and ‘Man from the South’ is that these stories have characters who behave in the manner that belies their intentions. For instance, cheerful and courteous manners that Mary Maloney showed in front of Sam at a grocery shop or detectives investigating a murder scene were all feigned behaviors intentioned to hide her guilt and evidence of murder. Carlos’s woman in ‘Man From the South’ displayed duplicity when she forcefully stopped Carlos from further engaging in his unusual bet, since she was actually the one who most eagerly participated in Carlos’s bizarre bet to win his assets from him. The stranger in ‘Skin’ that faked Drioli to attain the tattoo on his back is another flagrant example of human’s ability to belie his or her real intentions. Alluring suggestions that the stranger made to Drioli superficially seem to be a persuasion to induce win-win situation for both Drioli and stranger, but those were actually critical death traps that the stranger had set to garner only his own profits. By portraying characters with extreme duplicity and excellent skills in concealing their true intentions, Roald Dahl managed to emphasize untrustworthiness of human nature.  

Roald Dahl successfully reveals the ‘monster’ hidden inside human mind to the surface by blending obsessive and duplicitous human nature with interesting story lines. Roald Dahl is commendable for his brilliant talents in humorously and interestingly combining rather dark and grave subjects pertaining to human nature with unique story lines. With his prominent talents, Roald Dahl made ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ into a book that is more effective than a series of didactic words and complicated philosophical teachings in inducing readers to contemplate about human nature.

Claim about Oscar Wilde's 'Picture of Dorian Gray'

At first glance, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ appears to be a novel that attempts to deliver deprecation of an individual's morality due to excessive pursuit of aesthetic pleasure. After all, Dorian Gray plunged himself into moral collapse once he began to crave for eternal youth and aesthetic pleasure. For instance, Dorian Gray cold-heartedly abandons Sybil, a woman who seemed to be sincerely loved by Dorian Gray, and feels only a slight repentance when he received the news of her suicide. Though Dorian Gray himself claimed that he was deeply in love with Sybil, he abandons her after she lost her skill and talent as a graceful actress, since it was her artistic ability that Dorian Gray loved, not Sybil herself. For Dorian Gray, Sybil primarily existed for satisfaction of his aesthetic desire. In other words, Dorian's inordinate pursuit of aestheticism made him to put moral concerns aside. Through Dorian's moral deprecation, Oscar Wilde seems to deliver a lesson pertaining to morality and conscience.

However, Oscar Wilde did not attempt to link his novel with morality. In fact, he believed that art and morality exist in separate boundaries. For example, he stated in the preface of 'Picture of Dorian Gray that "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." In addition, when Oscar Wilde was repudiated by the Scots Observer due to his insufficient concerns and preference for moral values in the novel 'Picture of Dorian Gray', Oscar replied that “If a work of art is rich and vital and complete, those who have artistic instincts will see its beauty, and those to whom ethics appeal more strongly than aesthetics will see its moral lesson. It will fill the cowardly with terror, and the unclean will see in it their own shame. It will be to each man what he is himself. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.” In other words, while Oscar Wilde opened rooms for several possible interpretations of his novel, his original attempt was to create a piece of art that should be primarily judged by aesthetic criteria instead of moral criteria.

Therefore, it is not accurate to assume that 'Picture of Dorian Gray' is a novel that mainly focuses on corruption of morality of Dorian Gray. Instead, it should be viewed as a book that allows several moral interpretations but has its main purpose on illustrating refined and nearly-perfected aesthetic beauty. Many readers may spot moral concerns and conflicts between Victorian moral values and aesthetic values exist to complement beauty to the novel. Still, they should remind that such contents pertaining to morality exist to complement aesthetic beauty of the novel, not to make the novel a morally didactic book. 

A movie critic of Ben X

‘Ben X’, Belgian film director Nic Balthazar’s first production, is a story about a game addicted high school student who suffers from autism and bullying but eventually overcomes his hardships and achieves true happiness. Through predicaments of the protagonist Ben, the movie attempts to reflect ‘dark’ and ‘sensitive’ subjects of our society, such as bullying and mistreatment of disabled. What a typical didactic movie. With its relatively less enthralling themes and scale compared to those of other modern films, such as 'Iron man', equipped with sensational plots and scintillating CG, the movie ‘Ben X’ appears to be uncompetitive in a movie industry.

However, Nic Balthazar’s innovative methods in demonstrating Ben’s inner conflicts, psychological disturbances, and harsh realities succored the movie from being a target of castigation. Sound effect is one of the most remarkable aspects of ‘Ben X’. Pay attention to every sound that comes from surroundings of the protagonist. Every noise, even trickling of juice, is intensified in the movie. Such effect not only emphasizes hypersensitivity of autistic Ben but also implies the extent to which Ben would suffer by loud jeer and severe harassment of his peers, since even a common traffic noise can make Ben alert. Pay attention to close-ups of the protagonist’s face as well. Face is a canvas on which human psyche is delicately drawn. By frequently displaying Ben’s distorted and anxious facial expressions, audiences are able to intimately feel the inner turmoil of Ben through chaotic pictures of his psyche expressed on his face. In such context, the movie ‘Ben X’ is commendable for its ability to intensify emotional connection between its protagonist and its audiences by using several efficacious methods to illustrate mental state of Ben. 

Greg Timmermans, an actor who performed Ben’s role in the movie, enhanced the overall quality of the movie through his soulful acting as well. True performances should break the seemingly indomitable barrier between reality and fictitious world in a film, and they should be more realistic than reality. Actors and actresses with dearth of skills and talents merely appear histrionic as they carry out their roles. On the contrary, talented actors and actresses are able to integrate every aspect of themselves with that of characters they are designated. In such context, Greg Timmermans appears to be a talented actor, since he truly was autistic Ben in the movie, not Greg Timmermans who was acting autistic Ben. His unsteady breath, his gaze filled with turmoil, his unstable postures….. His every performance in the movie powerfully emanated the scent of autism and despondency of outcasts. His performance gave the audience impression that they were incompetent observers of a harsh reality, not spectators sitting on a cozy chair in a theater with popcorn in one hand. In other words, Greg Timmermans elevated the movie ‘Ben X’ to the level of reality.

Do not expect visual splendor from the movie ‘Ben X’. Instead, let Ben slip into you. Let yourself breath and share torment with Ben. Let emotional poignancy and intricacy of the movie shake your heart. 

    

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How did Lord Henry affect Dorian Gray?

      Heraclitus stated that nothing endures but change. At least regarding Dorian Gray in the novel 'Picture of Dorian Gray', Heraclitus is definitely correct. In Oscar Wilde's fictitious world portrayed in the novel, Dorian's initial naivete, beauty, and youth, no matter how much they seemed immutable and indelible, could never escape the ineluctable grasp of change. Why did Dorian, who once possessed such unblemished beauty and youth, eventually degrade into a narcissistic villain? Regarding various intellectual matters and social influence that amalgamated and deteriorated Dorian Gray, the answer to that question cannot be simple. However, it is important to note that Lord Henry played a key role in deteriorating Dorian Gray's morality by hindering his repentance and luring him into the world of new hedonism.

     

     Lord Henry is a vane to Dorian's morality in that he made Dorian Gray obtuse about gravity of his sins. While Dorian Gray taints himself and those around him with unremitting vice he indulges in, Lord Henry serves as a trigger for such misdeeds. The conversation between Dorian and Lord Henry after the tragic suicide of Sibyl incontrovertibly demonstrates Lord Henry's ability to disintegrate one's conscience into pieces. It is true that it was Dorian who abandoned Sibyl and drove her into extreme misery that eventually begot her suicide. However, Lord Henry's excessive self-indulgence in expressing his beliefs worsens the situation by hindering Dorian Gray's sincere regret about his brutal decision that destroyed tender Sibyl. For instance, Henry stated,

Some one has killed herself for love of you. I wish I had ever had such an experience. It would have made me in love with love for the rest of my life.

In other words, for Lord Henry, Sibyl's death merely serves to satiate his desire for aestheticism and dramatic love. For him, others merely exist to please his senses and impulses, indicating his extreme immorality, egocentrism, and abnormal pursuit of aestheticism. However, Lord Henry inculcates his improper thoughts into Dorian Gray by using his unconscientious yet enthralling rhetoric, persuading Dorian to indulge himself in another aesthetic pleasure, which is indicated as opera in chapter 8, and gradually forget the death of Sibyl. Due to Lord Henry, Dorian's primary importance in his life becomes satisfcation of sensual impulses and desire for beauty instead of maintaining humanity.

     Lord Henry further plunges Dorian Gray into unfathomable pit of immorality by introducing him to the world of hedonism. Most of people have a strong desire to maintain their scintillating youth and physical beauty, and Dorian is no exception. However, while such desire had resided in unconsciousness of Dorian Gray before he encountered Lord Henry, it soared to the surface of consciousness with the help from Lord Henry. For example, when Lord Henry first occupied himself in a conversation with Dorian, he stated

"I believe that if one man were to live his life out fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream,—-I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of mediaevalism, and return to the Hellenic ideal"

His claim implies that pursuit of Hedonism is a worthy attempt, and in combination with his compelling eloquence that has pernicious impacts on others' ideology and demeanors, Lord Henry manages to intrigue Dorian with the idea of Hedonism. Lord Henry's success in galvanizing Dorian to ponder about the pursuit of pleasure and eternal youth serves as an outset of Dorian's future infamy, since Dorian later justifies his immorality by designating satisfaction of indulgence and impulse as a supreme value. In other words, Lord Henry's introduction of hedonism in front of Dorian Gray serves as a foothold for Dorian's moral degradation.

     Overall, it is evident that Lord Henry did have a profound influence on Dorian Gray, since Dorian's incapability to sincerely regret about his grave sins and his inordinate pursuit of hedonism are all tragic outcomes of Lord Henry's immoral attempts to manipulate a naive, young gentleman. Joker, an incarnation of evil in a movie 'Dark night', stated that 'Madness is like gravity. All you need is a little push." Yes, all Lord Henry required was 'a little push' to trap Dorian in a quagmire of endless infamy. In fact, all he needed was his tongue to completely sway Dorian side to side.By portraying such gullible human spirit, Oscar Wilde brilliantly delivers the importance to be more discerned and moderate when dealing with one's desire.