Sexism in Literature

A week or so ago I read this piece about sexism in Prince Caspian. While I wasn’t fond of the author’s editing out things she was reading to her children, she does go on to say in the comments section that she does deconstruct what she reads with her children. Whether you agree or disagree [...]

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A Paw in Each World

My middle daughter was reading to my youngest yesterday as we traveled in the car to a wedding yesterday. She was reading the first in a series of books by Erin Hunter about cats that my two oldest have been reading for quite some time. In this book, Rusty, a house cat, had wondered into [...]

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The Conscience in Us All

When Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, realizes that someone has been killed in Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes his reaction this way, “…something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did not cry. He just hung limp. He had the same kind of feeling not long ago…They were returning home…when [...]

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Just one more…

Steinbeck writes in The Pearl, “It is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what [...]

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Can you see?

At the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout has fallen asleep while Atticus is reading to her. While he is taking her to bed, she is recounting to him in broken sentences what has happened in the story to “prove” to him that she “heard every word.” The name of the book was The [...]

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Hemingway’s Style

I have finished The Sun Also Rises. Good book? Yes and no. From a literary point of view, I loved it. Hemingway’s style and craft and command of the language humble me as I seek to become a better writer. He can do things with words and dialogue that most can’t. He can speed and [...]

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Blog etiquette

I have been reading Losing My Religion for about a week now. I had made a comment on this post (read part I of the post here.) to offer another thought on the issue. I did so without bothering to read too deeply into Jeff’s blog. Had I done so, I could have crafted my [...]

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I feel; therefore, I am.

Jake says, “That was morality; things that made you disgusted afterward.”
Jake would fit in well in our culture. Morality by feeling guides the conscience of the country, bringing about the culture wars: abortion, sex, free speech, hate speech, restricted speech, the environment, capital punishment, racism, sexism, etc. Whether or not you agree with the concepts [...]

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Saving money or loving others?

I read an interesting article here and a fuller article here about the practice of hypermiling (adjusting one’s driving habits to achieve optimal fuel efficiency). While hypermiling can certainly save lots of money and gas, I have some serious reservations about the methods used. While the article did bring up some safety issues in regards to using [...]

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Throwing the baby out with the bath water

Okonkwo is the main character in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The first chapter deals with the dichotomy between Okonkwo and his father. Because his father lived a life of sloth and weakness, Okonkwo was determined not to. “And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion—to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved.” 
I [...]

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