#book essay

[quesoburgerisout]

HELP PLS

hey, i have a school protect which is an essay on how the first hunger games book is a critique on modern day america. i need quotes the show the greed of the capitol and another that proves their laziness. can anyone help me out?

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

I love this video, just finished watching it and i think people who like long video essays, Steven king, and literature will enjoy it.

[betterbooksandthings]

“Everyone loves a good villain. One who cackles at the sky and shakes their fist and brings some form of doom to something or someone. It is fun to have someone to root against and root for — especially if they have a fun, cosplay-worthy aesthetic. With all that goes into stanning our favorite villains of all time, there is something to be said about examining the superficiality of villainy.

Like many character types, villains have often been visually identifiable. They have some costume or way of moving or physical features that mark them as villains in the story. Villains look bad or evil. Villains just look like villains. This is where some of the problems start with who we assign villainy to in storytelling. A hero versus villain narrative is often an Us versus Them set up, with Us being on the side of the hero and Them being on the side of the villain.

I recognize that sympathetic villains have recently been on the rise. I, for one, have also argued there are more generous ways of interpreting villains from our literary past. Nevertheless, when we look at the big picture of villains, they are often the othered members of society who are wrong or bad or shunned.“

[sleepparalysisgeek]

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: Destiny, Romance, and Hubris in the Age of Gods and Heroes

We all yearn for immortality. For our names to be etched in the annals of history, forever remembered by the world.

Some of us toil tirelessly towards this goal, while others seem to possess an effortless magnetism. However, the manner in which we pursue this can determine whether we are remembered fondly or with caution. And despite our best intentions, we often find ourselves at odds with the perceptions of others.

In The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, we are introduced to Achilles — a demigod whose very existence guarantees him immortality. Born of a goddess, and raised by a king, he is destined for greatness, fated to be remembered as a hero of legends.

But what does a demigod desire when his fate promises him songs of heroism and valour? Does he strive for more? Or is the mere act of existing enough for him?

Through the eyes of Patroclus — a mortal man who only wishes to be seen as worthy — we witness the tumultuous journey of Achilles as he grapples with destiny, greed, war, and most of all, a love that even death cannot sunder.

👉 Read more here 👈

[reallybadblackoutpoems]

secrets of farming (1863) - john w. large

"yeowch augh taking damage ough eurgh"

[just3-p3achy]

This is me trying (book review No spoilers)

By Racquel Marie

Beatriz is a teen who lives in isolation, having lost her middle school sweetheart to suicide and her best friend who refuses to message her back in LA. She is clouded with grief, she lives just on the edge of everyone she cares about, just enough for them to see her but never know her but now that her best friend Santiago is back three years after she needed him, every feeling that she’s buried gets uprooted. Teens trying to work through their emotions, growing up in a small town, equally a romance story and friendship/familial story, these are the central themes of the book This Is Me Trying.

I wouldn’t call this book one of your Twilights or a modern chick lit but rather it’s touching and feels like a peek into real peoples lives. The romances feels real, genuine, healthy and something that’s had a lot of work put into to make happen. The novel also does an excellent job at depicting the different ways people cope with grieving, in the big ways like celebrating a passing birthday to the darker ways like building walls around yourself. To credit to Racquel Marie it’s one of the better stories surrounding mental health without the preachiness of labeling it, It’s a story better lived through than simply depicted.

I’ve never lost someone but I’ve experienced grief and the last few chapters where Bea and Santiago apologize, question and let people talk to them is a catharsis I didn’t realize I wanted in my own life. Like any good story it gives me a new perspective on life and gives me another reason to reflect on my own actions. I can Identify with Bea so much, her dark fashion and distaste for thinking about her life in any other way expect the moment she’s living in (no doubt because of my own depression) and similarly with Santiago and his habit for ignoring difficult things, Neither of these things I’m proud of but things I see and want to improve much like our protagonists. This book is making me feel in a time I didn’t know I needed it and I’m thankful for it.

[the-last-red-hot-swamis]

I finished reading the hunger games trilogy. So 2 essays about the hunger games are coming soon. The political commentary of the hunger games, and Katniss Everdeen is aromatic. Stay tuned on my blog!

[valtsv]

"i wish i could exfoliate my brain" you can. by reading things that challenge you.

[sapphia]

congrats on hbomberguy for getting the internet's highest queer honour

[joytri]

[writer-logbook]

How to introduce your character in 3 steps

A friend of mine was the source of this very pertinent question. So I decided to write a blog entry about it. Because how do you introduce your character without sounding fake ?

Remember that, in real life situation, no one calls you by your name. Have you noticed that none of your friends is adressing you by your name, unless they're trying to get your attention or that something serious is happening ? That should be the same in your story : find a situation where it is relevant to use names. Or stick to nicknames, which is a more common way to address your friends.

Use another character. If you can’t come up with a situation, you can always rely on a side character to introduce your MC. It’s also the perfect way to describe your character rather than simply using mirror, which is convenient yet very cliché. But the fun thing to do is to make several characters talk about your MC : their opinion might go in different directions due to their relationships, their own sensibility and attention to details. It’s also a good way to breath life into your side characters so please consider that option seriously.

The reader doesn’t need to know everything, especially on the very first page. Unless the info is relevant to the plot, there is no need for the reader to know MC’s favourite food or eye’s color. If you’re on character-sheet-side (which I’m not btw), you should be careful about wether the reader the story will progress or not. Try to be balanced !

What I really want to stress in this article is the importance of action when introducing your character. You want the reader to know your character is courageous ? Put them directly into a situation where they can show courage. You want to describe their hair color ? What about that moment when the light is flickering in a way that gives their hair a peculiar effect that catches the eye of another character ?

Don’t worry, your creativity will always find a way ~

[soracities]

"As an educator, I don’t just want you to feel what I feel. I don’t want you to consider me correct because I said it beautifully. I want to sharpen your critical thinking skills and your world-making capacities. I absolutely do not leave emotion out of that! Emotions are as central as the written, verbal, numeric, social, ecological knowledges we are able to gain to navigate this world and the next. I am just… extra cognizant of how much I can lead viewers to feel with me without further thought. The videos of mine that go most viral are ones where I show the most emotion, whatever that emotion is: hopeful, cheery, despondent, grieved, furious, combative. We love emotion. We live such isolated, stifled lives.

The challenge of reading is to navigate the narrative without the overtures of overt feelings. There is no face to latch onto, no music that sways you. Words on a page especially cannot compete with screen-time. They’re not meant to. The boredom opens up space in your mindscape to your own thoughts, opinions, and feelings."

—Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings on Substack

[betterbooksandthings]

“What counts as cozy fantasy is the question on everyone’s lips. Well, maybe not everyone. It is definitely on the lips of fantasy fans as 2023 proves the cozy fantasy genre is not a micro-trend in publishing, but something here to stay. Picture this: a warm fireplace, a hot beverage, and a small dragon curled on your lap, ready to snooze the day away. Maybe tomorrow you will have to take down a tyrant, or just manage the supply chain for your café, but those are tomorrow’s problems. Now, you are warm and cozy, and you know that everything is going to be fine. This is my picture of a cozy fantasy.“

[laddersofsweetmisery]

I don't see enough people mourning over the slow death of physical media. And I don't just mean TV shows, video games, or movies--which don't even get me started about how we don't really 'own' anything anymore. It includes notes, journals, and letters to one another...so much of our history is lost when we lose a password, a website goes down, a file/hardware is corrupted, or a platform disappears. History that doesn't seem important until you no longer have access to it. Physical media does a lot for memory recall. How many memories will we lose because we don't have something tangible to tie it back to? Something to hold in our hands and stir up those memories we thought were once lost? Sometimes I wonder what the difference between burning a book and losing access to physical media is when someone can pull the plug and remove your access so easily.

[lucidloving]

@heavensghost // Erin Moran, "940 Main Street" // Jason Schneiderman, "Little Red Riding Wolf" // @mah_hirano on tw // Adrienne Rich, "Planetarium" // Richard Siken, Editor's Pages: Black Telephone // Molly McCully Brown, Places I've Taken my Body: Essays // @loputyn // Mason O'Hern, "You Are Not Just Anything" // Friedrich Nietzsche, Good and Evil

[just3-p3achy]

Medusas Empathy in Athena's Child by Hanna Lynn

Why do you think Medusa was able to maintain her empathy and humanity after her transformation when her sisters no longer did?

Medusa's character is driven by virtue, she lives in a world where the gods are pillars of moral so when she's deemed worthy by Athena to become a priestess, she shares the goddesses wisdom and she unconsciously shares her own wisdom. Medusas role in life became wisdom and it's constantly proven when many are left resolved in what they need to do after talking to her, for example the man who was struggling with a thief. "Again three times a week, stealing from me. This is my family's food. Their money, their gold." The man complained, so Medusa asked "Have you offered him food?" going on to explain "Offer him food. No man wants what is can be given freely. your fruits taste no sweeter than another's. Offer food to him. I would be surprised if he continued to steal." The two go back and fourth until she concludes that if he'd give his food to the gods if they asked why wouldn't he give some to a thief? As she puts it "how could you tell if the man is mortal or a god?" The man argues that this neighbor has lived beside him his whole life "And yet you only see him when your eyes are open. Where, I pray, does he go when they are closed or your head is turned?" Medusa maintains her empathy even for the thief, courage to speak frankly with the man in front of her and is cool throughout her job as priestess. So when she is wrongly accused of defiling Athenas temple the last thing she can cling to if not the goddess for compassion and virtue than it's within herself. "Once Athena has calmed down and sees sense, seen that Medusa was not to blame the snakes would be gone." She tells herself when seeking out her family for reassurance. Upon returning home she meets her sisters again, two women who differ from her life experience.

Stheno and Euryale grew up with Medusa until she left for Athenas temple at 13, the two stayed at their families farm. Mentioned before, Medusas life as a priestess was constant work, walking men through the wisdom of gods, dissecting every problem and seeing the situation from different angles. She saw a villages worth of stories and each stories resolve. In contrast, from what we know of Stheno and Euryale they stayed beside their parents. So after their transformation their lack of experience hindered them from seeing the role they played in their transformation. Euryale openly talks about her hatred for what transpired, while on their journey on boat she actively curses Athena, spitting her name for doing this to the three of them and only stopping once Medusa raised her hand at her (fearful her sister prompting more of Athenas wrath on herself). She bickers with her sister, blaming the entire affair on Athena and subtly onto Medusa. In the pages after, Euryale never mentions how she's made Athena angry but can easily see how Medusa got Athena enraged. On the flipside Stheno does the same but in a more passive way. She's reluctant to even talk to Medusa about their families lives after she departed, she lets the dread eat her up. She becomes cold and carless to the animals around her. These two are very emotionally driven, changing from wholeheartedly believing in their sisters innocents to praising the gods for cursing them.

All three girls never lost their abilities to understand what people were feeling but instead chose to act differently on others peoples feelings.