I'm Eating an Apple

  What is death of the author? According to tvtropes.org, death of the author “is a concept from mid-20th Century literary criticism; it holds that an author's intentions and biographical facts (the author's politics, religion, etc) should hold no special weight in determining an interpretation of their writing.” The theory stems from Roland Barthes, a French literary theorist.  To be clear, it is not the author actually perishing, but instead, a theory. While the creator of a piece of literature is technically the author of it, death of the author argues otherwise, saying that the intent of the author should be ripped away from their work. The theory suggests that the reader, not the creator, is the ultimate interpreter of the work. Death of the author isn’t a theory stuck in writing, even though that is what this blog will be primarily discussing, it can also be applied to many different types of media, like philosophy, art, dance, etc.  Many English teachers, students,...

    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle follows Meg Murry's journey throughout space and time to rescue her father. Accompanying her in her travels is her younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O'Keefe. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which lead the kids on their adventure. The planet Mr. Murry is being held on is being taken over by a dark force called the Dark Thing. This Dark Thing takes the form of a giant brain called IT conforming everything in its control to its rhythmic sensation. The gang has to overcome this being and rescue Meg and Charles's father. I won't spoil the rest of the book as you should consider reading it soon.         I enjoyed this book and reading it was a pleasure. The ending was great and showed how powerful love is and I think that's a great message for a book as popular as this one to give out. Meg as a character develops a lot from the beginning to the end. She has to look into herself to be able to def...

  The Percy Jackson movies. Undoubtedly some of the most infamous book to movie adaptations of all time, if not the most. But how exactly do these movies fail? Where do they deviate from the book, and do they do anything better (spoiler alert: they don’t)? Disclaimer: this list is not written in the chronological order of either the book or the movie, nor in order of importance.  The age difference We know by the second line of the first book that Percy is twelve years old. Annabeth and Grover are also around this age. In the first movie, they are all sixteen (technically, Grover is 32 since satyrs age half as fast as humans). Normally, this wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But Percy’s sixteenth birthday is such an important plot point throughout the series that the age up was not a wise move had they planned to continue the series. Additionally, some of the actors look too old to be playing a sixteen year old. The director, Chris Columbus, has stated that part of the reason ...

Swallow Me Whole, a graphic novel, is another contender for the spot of my favorite book, and for the same reason as House of Stairs (last month’s book): the pure psychology of the story, as well as the way it is written, thrills me. It details the life and mental state of a girl named Ruth. She and her stepbrother, Perry, both have schizophrenia. The art of Swallow Me Whole directly reflects the world Ruth lives in and the struggles she faces. Although some scenes focus on Perry, Ruth is the main character of the book, and as such, the book shows the world through her eyes. Unlike most graphic novels, the book is drawn completely in black and white. There is not a splash of color anywhere in the book (except for the cover, which is in full color). That is exactly how Ruth sees the world: everything is either black or white, good or bad. She experiences intense mood swings, switching from completely distant to boiling mad in an instant, or being totally disconnected from the world arou...