Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” takes the reader on a psychological journey through the mind of Montresor; his and Fortunato’s descent in to the catacombs of Montresor estate parallel the journey into the subconscious of the dying narrator.
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Chopin and Silko
Much of what is uncomfortable about Silko’s “Yellow Woman” and Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” stems from a clash between our traditional societal values and those presented within the stories.
You Can’t Go Home Again
I have finished re-reading, again, what is arguably F. Scott Fitzgerald’s best short story, “Babylon Revisited.” It merges the past with the present as Charlie Wales returns to Paris to try and recapture his life literally by taking custody of his daughter Honoria, and figuratively by exploring the Paris of his prodigal past that still lives in his memory if not in reality.
The Heroic Ideal
Determined by the culture that produced the literature, especially the epic, the heroic ideal represents the aspects of a hero that the culture upholds as representing its cultural ideal. Thus, while the hero represents a particular culture’s ideal located in place and time, much of how we currently observe as heroic is born of characteristics that many of these ancient heroes exemplify.
Dante the Pilgrim
Along the path to salvation, Dante must purge himself of his own sinful nature, which will eventually include the repudiation of his own self. This journey begins in Hell where Dante witnesses the stories and the suffering of many sinners, some of which he empathizes with, and most of which he pities.
The Lessons of Hell
At his lowest point as a man and hero, Odysseus looks inward — away from the living — in order to see just how he fits into the world of the living, how he got to the position he’s in, and what he can to extricate himself from hell.
Carl Sagan’s Vision: Toward a Science Fiction Epic
Carl Sagan, in his career as humanist, has encouraged and assisted his community begin to rediscover what it means to be human by bridging those gaps that separate us from each other. By employing Leonardo’s “true science” with an artistic sensitivity to tradition, Sagan envisions a present where our “intelligence and our technology have given us the power to affect the climate” of humanity and offers moral guidance on how we might use that power.