Black Swan
“Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?”
-Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
In the late 16th century, French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote the Essays or Essais (in French). It was, as the name suggested, a series (107 to be exact) of essays on the essence of human nature and other philosophical-sounding issues. What is relevant about Montaigne’s work is that it was incredibly introspective; he was tortured by the awareness of his own ignorance. His Essais reflected a tentative humility and it’s a large part of why we get the word “essay” today. The word “essay” means a speculative, modest, non-arrogant, attempt. It means taking a stab at figuring things out while simultaneously keeping a steady level of humility. It doesn’t mean writing with a lack of self-confidence, but writing with a healthy amount of self-awareness about how little we truly know about the world. In short, I know nothing, but let me try anyway: an Essais on Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. […]
A reflection on 1984, by George Orwell
Where do I start.
Every now and then I come across a book so intricate in its composition, so dense in its wisdom, and so daring in its scope, that upon attempting to synthesize it in a reflection I’m only left with four pathetic words:
Where do I start.
Constant surveillance, restriction of thought, and constant wars. These are just a few of the characteristics of this negative Utopia portrayed in 1984. We see this world through the eyes of Winston, a worker at the Ministry of Truth whose job is, ironically, to change past newspapers and pieces of literature to be in form with the thinking of the totalitarian party. Winston is the last human on earth. Of course, there are other people; there are workers and soldiers, but he is the last person left that is actually human. […]
The Little Prince
I have to admit that, until this week, I never realized how popular The Little Prince actually was. It has inspired films, works of opera and ballet, and even a Japanese Museum. In April of 2017, The Little Prince, excluding religious texts, became the most translated book in the world. A copy of this story now exists in 300 languages. It clearly has made a name for itself, and after a week in its pages, I’ve started to realize why. For those not familiar, the story is of an aviator who crashes in a desert and befriends a golden-haired prince from another world. Through the recounting of his journeys, we witness a tale told in a charmingly simplistic and almost childish style. It’s a story of multiple tiny planets, busy businessman, foolish kings, wise foxes, prideful roses, and permanent sunsets. The characters portrayed in The Little Prince’s story are so sweet and mysterious yet at the same time, scarily real. […]
Lord Of The Flies
“The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.”
-William Golding
I took a brief hiatus from the blog this past month, but since finals are over and summer has started, the reflections will be up once again.
The Lord of The Flies, by William Golding.
This novel is shocking. It’s a book that follows the improbable survival, heroic rise, and eventual downfall of a group of British schoolboys who become stranded on an island after a plane crash. […]
Where It All Began...
My very first reflection: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
This book was published in December of 1847 so I thinks it’s fair game to give spoilers, but just in case: *spoiler alert*
“My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”
-Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights is set in knotty and wild swamps of England. The gothic mansions, sombre ambience, and isolated moors of Yorkshire are the perfect setting for this romance.
It’s a romance, technically.
On Science Fiction
A reflection on Time Machine, by H.G. Wells.
“Nothing remains interesting where anything may happen.” -H.G. Wells.
The key to successful world-building is a set rules. In novels with fantastical elements, the talent displayed in good literature is not about what an author includes, it’s about what the author excludes. Anyone can write a novel with sentient cacti and fire-breathing dogs. The difficulty is connecting those fantastical elements to a set of logical rules that give the novel credibility. […]
Excellent Sheep
From Exeter, to Trinity, to Vanderbilt, I’ve been immersed in a very unique culture. It’s a culture that I’ve decided to call PrestigeWorld. PrestigeWorld, like all cultures, is messy and complex. It has it’s popular icons (Harvard, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs) as well as it’s common lingo, customs, and myths. Like most people immersed in a culture, it seems difficult to imagine a world where our customs aren’t objectively true. […]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This is my reflection on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Mr. Utterson, a middle-aged lawyer in London, witnesses a curious relationship unfold between Dr. Jekyll, a prominent doctor, and Mr. Hyde, a short devilish man of mysterious origin. Dr. Jekyll’s will, which relinquished all of his belongings to Mr. Hyde upon notice of his death, was what originally caught the curiosity of Utterson on this queer relationship. As the novel continues, we witness the development of the evil and brutish nature of Mr. Hyde and the erratic behavior of the doctor.