danielle577

danielle577

I am an avid reader of all genres of literature. My favorite authors include: Woolf, Steinbeck, Langland, Donne, Faulkner, and Eliot. My goal is to become a fluent writer.

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Latest Topics

7

Body Language as the Catalyst of Passion in Jane Austen's PERSUASION

Jane Austen is well-known for her witty dialogue, back-and-forth banter between characters, and free-indirect discourse; yet, Persuasion is a complete departure from all of her previous works. Persuasion is a more ‘adult’ novel, with the female protagonist as a 27-year-old unmarried woman. Her once betrothed, whom she denied due to his lack of wealth and societal stature after persuaded by her aunt, has returned to her life seven years later. The lack of dialogue that ensues between these two characters throughout the majority of the novel creates a level of excruciating passion and anticipation that is palpable, and unmatched in any other work by Austen. Focusing on the sensory capabilities of the two characters creates a sensual environment where the body remains in the foreground. When reviewing Austen’s breach from the traditional overload of dialogue and new reliance on body language, the power of perception and keen sensual prowess, do we in fact have a more ‘adult’ geared book, matching her own age, and possible longing for more sensuality, and less games?

  • I would compare Austen's previous works to this novel to get a better sense of what has changed in terms of story mechanics. – BMartin43 7 years ago
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Can You Teach Someone How To Become a Writer?

I have recently been faced with this question and I find that my response is not as black and white as I had originally supposed. Yes, you can teach someone the fundamental aspects of writing: thesis, introductory paragraph, syntax, diction, body paragraphs, topic sentences per paragraph, and a conclusion. But what about teaching someone to think like a writer? The love/hate relationship with writing that leaves one elated or deflated? Do you believe being a good writer is an innate gift, or something that can solely be taught? I do understand that some people need to be pushed to realize they do have the gift for writing, but what if it is not there, can it be induced?

  • As with any subject you can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn. You can teach someone how to achieve the goals of their writing. I think this idea of a good writer is an idea that has to be revisited in light of medium. Certain platforms are more conducive to various types of writing. I favor helping someone to develop their unique voice. Just like speaking and any form of communication, it is important to reach the audience that you want to reach. When rap first came on the scene, critics did not consider it to be music. Now it is accepted worldwide. Going back even further Beethoven's work was considered to be a cacophony, Picasso underappreciated etc. Digital communication has changed the status quo on traditional rules of writing. I think there are three basic guidelines for effective writing: Who is your audience and does your piece reach them in an authentic and meaningful way? Are your ideas strong and expressed effectively? Have you remained true to your voice? I recognize that sometimes people feel frustrated with editing errors but writing should be done with heart and while writing conventions can be taught, I think that transmission of ideas are the most important part of communication. Generating ideas can happen when people research their topic thoroughly and gain knowledge by examining all sides of an issue or genre. It is like movie making. When you look at a movie like While You Were Sleeping, it is a pretty conventional rom-com. But it was a hit because all the conventions were well played. It is bringing the writing conventions together with great ideas that make for effective written communication. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • Good to whom? I love Vonnegut and shake my head when I see Catch 22, which I despise, recommended for Vonnegut lovers. I love Bob Dylan's writing and roll my eyes when someone brings up Jim Morrison as a poet. I'm intrigued by John Calvin's views on predestination, but laugh when Oliver Stone "implies" - well, what word do I use for that heavy-handed hack? - the fatalism of Nixon's paranoid megalomania through flashing microscopic cells on screen. One man's meat is another man's organically-fed vegan pet. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • In all honesty, I did NOT want to use the word "good," but if I didn't, I felt as though people would just focus on the fundamentals of writing, and then think if course this could be taught. – danielle577 8 years ago
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  • Sounds good. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • There are whole books dedicated to this notion. Academics like Peter Elbow and Stephanie Vanderslice have committed large chunks of their career to exploring this thought. I don't know that a single web article can give this subject the attention it needs. See Elbow's "Anyone Can Write" or Vanderslice's "Rethinking Creative Writing." – Tarben 8 years ago
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  • Danielle, You pose a timely question. If you put it in the context of what challenges writer face today and what advantages are present due to online writing I think you may have a topic someone will pick up on as a compare/contrast piece. I find writing today much more enjoyable as I can reach a large audience, in real time and it is not impossible to get published. I also try to have a fun voice, academic voice and a persuasive voice depending on who I want to reach. Let me know what you think. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • While I don't know how the writing experience can be taught, I think a good source for showing aspiring writers what works and what doesn't would be the book "How NOT To Write A Novel," which humorously gives examples of bad writing - from poor grammar to inappropriate use of certain tropes in fiction - and explains why they're bad. Awareness of what doesn't work could be an excellent tool for bettering a writer's work, even if they feel they have no talent. Even if the writing is nonfiction, writers could still benefit from some of the advice the book has to offer (such as "don't use words you don't know the definition of," "Don't be repetitive," etc.). Sometimes common sense isn't all that common. – PressXToNotDie 7 years ago
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  • I do think with effective work and communication teaching writing styles can get better and more efficient for new writers. – sadafqur 7 years ago
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  • Teaching someone the framework to write with is the easy part. Teaching someone to express themselves effectively? I think not. Perhaps they teach themselves as they go along, practicing the act and acquiring the skill. – nwh52 7 years ago
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  • I think everyone can write. But, it really comes down to whether people want to stick with it. Like all things in life, some people are just don't match with certain things. However, I do think that writing is one of those things that people convince themselves that they can't do. It takes dedication and time to learn writing as a craft. Outside of the just grammar, I think we can encourage people to be open to writing and foster an environment that allows them to find their own desires to write, but I think that's about it. – eugeneleec 7 years ago
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  • Not to be over the top, but I think you'd have to question what it means to be a writer. You can teach someone how to write, sure. You can teach them how to write stories, articles, screenplays, etc. However, I feel like that just makes them someone who writes, not a writer. Writers want to express themselves and you cant teach someone to want to express themselves through writing. – elisetheastronaut 7 years ago
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  • There are so many ways in which one can be a writer. Anyone can learn to write well. For some, writing is not difficult to grasp. Others have a harder time with it. Then there are those with a special gift or an innate need to write. For me, writing is survival. – ajforrester75 7 years ago
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  • Thinking like a writer can totally be taught. I learned. Before I was taught I just looked at the story to determine if a book was good. Since I learned how to think like a writer, I've started to look at the craft of the writing even more than the story. The elements of writing can be taught, but I do not think the artistry can. – good1bl 7 years ago
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  • I believe a talented writer is someone who have loved writing for many years. It takes alot of skill and imagination to become a writer and it can be taught but to be a unique skilled writer you need prior experience. – bdh202 7 years ago
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9

Are We Desensitized to Human Deaths on the Screen while Traumatized by Animal Brutality?

Do you notice how a movie can feature one death after another and there is not one shriek from a member of the audience until the killing of an animal occurs? Why does the audience accept the loss of human life yet become upset and unsettled when a dog is shot to death? Is it a matter of innocence? The animal lacking the same mental faculties as the human and therefore placing it in an inferior, and therefore more sympathetic position? This is a phenomenon I have witnessed countless times across a number of different audiences, and I, too, have the exact same reaction. Another interesting aspect is when the victim is an infant or young child, though still in the process of development, clearly superior to a dog, but still conjuring a higher level of sympathy. This leads back to my prior questions: is this a matter of inferiority? A matter of innocence? Please discuss whether or not you have witnessed similar reactions and what is your thinking behind this disparate response?

  • It might be interesting to look at human babies versus dogs. I would imagine that there is a similar response between those forms of deaths because of, as you mentioned, a lack of mental capacity. Most likely we react poorly because we are socially in a position to protect dogs (and in conjunction with the last point babies as well) so seeing harm come to them is especially hard to watch. Dogs also do not have he same reasoning abilities as humans, which means often they are blissfully unaware of some dangers. – LondonFog 8 years ago
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  • Well said, LondonFog, and I do like that idea of the human baby, or young child. That would add an interesting and difficult dynamic. – danielle577 8 years ago
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  • When the charging pit bulls were killed, in "No Country for Old Men," everyone in the theatre breathed a sigh of relief. When Gayle Boetticher ate a bullet, it was a waste. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • This is such an interesting topic, and so important in today's society. I agree with TKing- I think it will be important to consider circumstances and also the connection that viewers have to both the animal and the person in question. – LilyaRider 8 years ago
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  • What might also be interesting to explore with this topic is the origin of dogs in particular, as they were bred to protect humans. Shouldn't we be accustomed to seeing our body guards die and more affected seeing our own kind perish? – rowenachandler 8 years ago
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  • Interesting topic. I think the audience cannot accept an animal being killed on screen mainly because they are living in "more civilized" society, where various groups of people speak up against animal brutality. They like animal rights and they think that mankind, as master of creatures, should have a responsibility to protect any kind of creatures. It sounds bizarre and sarcastic (because we do kill pig for pork, cow for beef, sheep for lamb.) On the other hand, we ponder human deaths to be a general phenomenon because of our nature. I mean, our nature as animals. Our society is indeed competitive. There are winners and losers. Like animals, tigers would chase their targets and kill them for healing their hunger. The laws of jungle not only belongs to the wild animal but to us. – moonyuet 8 years ago
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  • Cultural background is relevant, too. People from rural areas look at animal slaughter as normal, while urbanites - to paraphrase Aldo Leopoldo - believe food's from the grocer and heat's from the furnace. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • The way I see it, human beings are very different than all of the other animals in the world. For one thing, while other animals contribute to the environment of the planet, we humans are starting wars and conflicts out of sheer disagreement in perspective. Which is why people will have more sympathy for a creature following its natural instincts rather than one that has violent and destructive tendencies for reasons that have yet to be explained. – RadosianStar 8 years ago
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7

Are Audiobooks a Lazy form of "Reading?"

I recently read an article in which a woman was complaining about constantly having to defend herself for listening to audiobooks. People would accuse her of being "lazy," or "cheating." Sadly, this said person had brain surgery 5 years ago that left her eye sight greatly diminished and reading had become a difficult process, and audiobooks her salvation. Where do you weigh in on this argument–just skim through the internet as those for and against audiobooks take great pride in stating their stance–and why is it even necessary to discuss one’s "reading" habits? Is this a form of prejudice? Why should individuals feel the need to defend themselves? When did the format of reading–though it has been occurring on the e-reader versus paper platform for many years–become such a volatile topic?

  • I love this topic. I love reading but my husband hates it. He got hooked on audio books a long time ago and now we can discuss so many of our same interests. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • That's interesting that people are being criticized for using audiobooks. I haven't listened to one yet, but isn't it just like having someone read to you? I can see there being tension between print and online formats but I'm curious about where audiobooks fall into the mix. – S.A. Takacs 8 years ago
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  • For me and my ADD, they're more work. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • My cousin has motion sickness, so during car rides my aunt and uncle play audio books in the car since she loves to read. this way, for long car drives, she get's to experience and listen to stories with getting ill – Mela 8 years ago
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  • Seems like an interesting topic, but I can't help feeling that it might be a little too subjective to arrive at any significant conclusions (or rather, in the case of conclusions like "laziness," judgment calls). It's the kind of thing that varies from person to person. For me personally, though I've never ventured a full novel in audio format, I really enjoy listening to poetry, and often read along with book in hand. There are a lot of great YouTube videos of Sir Anthony Hopkins reading poems by the likes of W.B. Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and T.S. Eliot, which can really enhance the experience when the written word is paired with his classically tempered voice and rhythm. Again, that's just my personal taste; I have no expectation for anyone to necessarily agree with it for their own personal engagements with literature. – ProtoCanon 8 years ago
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  • ProtoCanon, I agree. Hearing Eliot reading "The Wasteland" recalled my grandpa's accent and diction while speaking of '30's bootleggers and railroad men in Northern Minnesota. The poem is one thing, the history - not quite Greil Marcus' Weird Old America - in his voice another. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • This is an interesting topic. I personally prefer reading the old-fashioned way. I've tried audiobooks a few times, but I find my attention wanders way too easily for me to retain much. I have to be in an incredibly quiet place where I can just focus on the story without any other distractions for there to be any hope for me. I don't think the use of audiobooks necessarily means one is a lazy reader. It may just mean one prefers to (or has to, as the case may be) experience the story in an auditory way as opposed to the written way. It may even encourage people who aren't avid readers into becoming more invested in literature they might have never tried before. – aprosaicpintofpisces 8 years ago
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  • As a question of lack of maturity, it could be. A person that never fully explored the experience or the importance of being self-informed rather than waiting or expecting that another will water it down or mince it into relatable morsels of ideas, perhaps. In that manner, audiobooks may be viewed as counterproductive to self-improvement. Gathering information from several paper books heightens learning activity by deepening personal understanding as well as the sheer entertainment factor of reading for pleasure. – L:Freire 6 years ago
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4

The Night Of..What Exactly is the Overall Message of the Series?

The Night of is currently airing on HBO as an miniseries consisting of 8 parts, but due to the successful following there are now talks–similar to what happened with True Detective–to now having a 2nd season. The miniseries, which began talks in 2012, with the late James Gandolfini slated to star, is based on the BBC miniseries Criminal Justices (2008-2009). The series follows the events of a young american-pakistani’s night out, and the repercussions that occur following the events of this night that, as conveyed to the audience, are a blur. Numerous themes are explored adding to the multitude of audiences responding to the series, ranging from racial prejudices, problems with the judicial system, economic hardships, and questions of morality as well as ethical responsibilities.What theme do you believe resonates most with audiences that is making this series such an overnight success? And if you are able to pinpoint one specific theme, please explain how it is able to resonate with a vast multitude of varying audience members.

  • I haven't seen this miniseries but it sounds like an excellent premise. One more reason to love Netflix. I would look forward to reading an article on this topic but first I will binge watch it. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • It's actually on HBO and I'm forced to wait a week between each episode, making me realize how dependent I've become on binge watching accessible devices such as Netflix and and Amazon Prime! First world problems! – danielle577 8 years ago
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  • Thanks! I have to watch it this summer before the fall. Thanks for the info. : ) – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • I've been watching HBO's "The Night Of" and I am enjoying it. Initially, it reminded me of the podcast "Serial" and the Adnan Syed case in that the story focuses on a Pakistani-American male murder suspect, but beyond that, the two programs are very different. I think that the themes you suggest are resonating with different audiences and the ensemble cast allows viewers to see themselves in the different characters. That's what makes it so good: there but for the grace of God go I. I haven't seen HBO's audience breakdown for the show, but I suspect it crosses genders, age groups, and socio-economic status. For example: * Young men and women see themselves in Nasir. May they had an issue in school or a bad decision that followed them around the rest of their life -- something they could never quite get out from under; maybe they've experienced racial prejudice or profiling; maybe they've been unjustly accused; or maybe they haven't experienced these things, but fear it happening. * Hard-working, middle-class parents gravitate to Selim & Safar Kahn, parents of the Nasir. Some parents' greatest fear are the wrong-place-wrong-time consequences their child may face as a result of one bad decision. These same folks may also sympathize with Jack Stone, Helen Weiss, and Det. Lucas: people who are trying to do a difficult job the best way they know how and looking forward to the day they might be able to retire. But beyond that, it's simply a good mystery, good storytelling, and quality TV content that HBO is famous for. I highly recommend it. – CSSorber 8 years ago
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Pieter Bruegel's

Bruegel the Elder’s painting depicts the famous passage from Book VIII of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in which Daedalus, the father of Icarus, provides his son with feathered wings, glued together, and warns him not to fly to close to the sun, for he will be burned, and not to fly to close to the water, for he will drown. The boy does not listen; flies too high; the glue begins to melt; and he plummets to the water in which he drowns. The moral can be understood as moderation as the key to living a successful and fruitful life.
What I am most interested in is why does Bruegel paint an interpretation of this famous passage; yet, as opposed to placing Icarus in the foreground, Icarus is placed off to the side. Why concentrate on this Greek Myth but place the workers of the present day (~1560) in the foreground, and the classical mythological component, whom the painting is based on, off to the side? What is Bruegel the Elder trying to convey? The painting can easily be found with a basic search of the title. What do you believe was the theme Pieter Bruegel’s aesthetic piece was attempting to communicate to onlookers?

  • Tower of Babel? – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • My title was completely re-worked by one of the editors, I guess? It was supposed to be Icarus as depicted in Ovid, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," (~1560) {Worded much more eloquently than that, but when reading the topic, you get the gist of the idea :-)} – danielle577 8 years ago
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Confessions of a Book Snob

I refer to myself as a book snob due to having such a difficult time approaching contemporary literature. I tend to stay in the realm of the classical cannon, Medieval Literature, and only "contemporary" authors–Pynchon, Foster, DeLillo–who I know are phenomenal and up to my standard of expectation. I bring up this topic because yesterday I finally purchased The Girl on the Train. It has taken me a year to make this purchase, every time placing the book down, and telling myself I won’t like it, but then falling trap to all of the conversations surrounding the book (then again Fifty Shades of Grey was constantly spoken of!). We tend to discuss the decline in film, but what about the decline in literature? Am I a book snob, or am I accepting the painful reality that there really aren’t many good contemporary reads available? Does anyone else feel this way? Disagree, and provide numerous examples that will have me copying down the list and enthusiastically ordering contemporary books.

  • Great topic. Shakespeare has no equal. I like some modern writing, but it's its accessibility, more than anything else that grabs me. My mom loves the poolside page turners and doesn't get my love for Hardy, Hugo, Dickens, Swift, More, Carlisle, Wordsworth, etc. Even my love of Breaking Bad is due to a fairly standard set of morals that lives in the old folk songs like Bob Dylan's "Seven Curses." I can't wait to read this article. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • There are ALWAYS good books out there, even today. You just have to find them. I found Martina Boone's series "Heirs of Watson Landing" original. I didn't want to put the book down. I recommended it to a friend, but she didn't enjoy it to the extent I did because she doesn't like stories that have a Southern setting. Every story will not appeal to all readers. Often I have purchased books that have a good summary on the back and grab my attention in the first few pages, but then I get bored halfway through. It depends on a writer's style and people's moods; many times I have enjoyed a book because I was in the right mood or frame of mind. Listening to other people's reviews of books don't always match my own. Telling yourself that you won't like a book before you've read it is the same as anything else; you won't know until you try it. – JennyCardinal 8 years ago
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  • James Joyce put it well when he said that, "Life is too short to read a bad book." From the perspective of this topic, he can be paraphrased to say that, "You are statistically likely to enjoy a book that has been thoroughly evaluated over long periods of time, both in and out of its historical context, under the scrutiny of various different methodologies of aesthetic appraisal, by multiple generations of scholars and intelligent lay-readers alike who have come to the general consensus that this is, in fact, a good book." This is not to say that new books cannot meet that same critical criteria - since, after all, every book that we now consider canonical had to begin its journey as a new work in its own time - but when you only have less than a century on this earth, and have yet to read the entire canon from Homer to Pynchon (who, despite being still alive, has garnered enough praise by the likes of Harold Bloom to earn the title of "proto-canonical"), I see nothing wrong with choosing to spend your finite lifetime with works that have better odds of pleasing you. What you call "snobbery," I call "economics," which is the science of allocating scarce resources - in this case, your time. HOWEVER, partially to play devil's advocate to the point that I just made, I must contend that there is a special value in reading new works. Because "every book that we now consider canonical had to begin its journey as a new work in its own time," the onus is on us (the scholars and intelligent lay-readers of today) to decide what will be considered canonical tomorrow. This might require us to read many bad (untested) books, but that is the price that every generation of readers pays in order to document the literary achievements of their day and play gatekeeper for the curricula of future English courses to come. Because art is, by its very nature, a form of dialectic, we will never truly achieve an "end of literary history" in the Hegelian sense. It does not matter if Victor Hugo is an objectively better writer than Donna Tartt; she represents our current age in a way that his "timelessness" simply cannot. If that were not the case, then there would have been no need for anybody to ever write anything ever again after the First Folio of Shakespeare's works was published in 1623. – ProtoCanon 8 years ago
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Breaking Bad: A Television Series Leaving Viewers Questioning the Meaning Behind it All.

Though the television series Breaking Bad has been discussed numerous times on this platform, a conversation that has yet to be broached is the amount of symbolism, allusions, and "clues," the creator, Vince Gilligan provides throughout the series. For example…In season 3 episode 7, "One Minute," the time on the dashboard is 3:07. At the same time, Hank gets a call that he has one minute, as two men are on the way to kill him. 3 7=10, or let’s look at it as one minute. Also, the episode is from season 3, episode 7–same time displayed on the dashboard. Lastly, the room number of Skylar’s room when giving birth to Holly is 307. All of these connections are intricately woven by the creator.

Other examples for discussion: the constant mentions of Icarus, The Godfather and Scarface references, the similarities between Hank (ASAC) and Ahab from Moby Dick, The meaning behind the title of the series finale, "Felina," (hint, think periodic table of elements and cooking meth; also a few other possibilities), etc. There are numerous connections and allusions, from episode titles that allude to popular movies, to songs, providing the missing puzzle pieces.

What does it all mean? It must be important or else why would the creator take great time to intricately weave every single element of the series together. Questions to consider: Why does Walt begin cutting off the crust on his sandwiches?, Look at the wardrobe evolution of characters, consider the episode title, "Grey Matter," etc. The possibilities are endless….let the explorations begin!!!

  • It sounds like some of these ideas are similar to LOST. Maybe some of these similarities could be written about, such as the significance of the numbers. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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  • I love shows like LOST, Mr. Robot, and Breaking Bad that reward multiple viewings. It's great to see that Better Call Saul isn't shying away from hiding its own Easter eggs like its predecessor. For this topic, I would suggest that the author of the article try to narrow it down. Even confining the topic to Breaking Bad leaves room for a never-ending article thanks to vast amount of clues and symbolism that Vince Gilligan worked into the show. Try to focus on explaining what the motive of a show creator could be in including all of these hidden secrets rather than trying to point out every example. – KennethC 8 years ago
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  • BB is loaded with fatalism. Gilligan is a moralist, raised Catholic. God's number is seven, three is the trinity. The bread crust trimmings, ala Crazy-8, recall the fatalism of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown": There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm, There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm, Somewhere in the distance there's seven new people born. I think amoral Walt points out Hank's white whale - the futility of law enforcement and the hypocrisy of smoking illegal cigars - over Cuban cigars and booze, while contemplating what Walt states is the arbitrary nature of laws. It's an interesting mix, fatalism and Hank's faith in imperfect but necessary laws. – Tigey 8 years ago
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  • There also seems to be connections between Walt's ages (50, 51, and 52 years), and the corresponding elements of the periodic table. – Tigey 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

danielle577

Daumants, Part of the beauty of literature is the ability to analyze it from numerous perspectives. As for our response, “remarkably poor account of the poem,” I would have to adamantly disagree, especially since your “evidence” citing the poor account is the “chain of pebble-stone.” Relating this to a form of enslavement is not being frivolous with a very serious issue, but pointing to the manner in which one may be “stuck” in a certain preconceived position in life.
As for the “hyperbolic and faintly ridiculous description of hero,” I do believe you should revisit Marlowe’s epyllion, as it is well cited by renowned literary theorists as a gross exaggeration. The roles are reversed; whereas it is usually the woman–Hero–that receives the most attention in reference to bodily attributes, Leander–the male–is the one that is described in a sensual, ethereal manner. I also think you may be mixing up the characters. Hero is the female; Leander is the male, and this was yet another jest on the part of Marlowe (As the male is typically referred to as the male). I am sorry you did not enjoy the article…I hope you find something else more suited to your taste. –Best, danielle577

Homosocial Bonding in Marlowe’s Hero and Leander
danielle577

Wonderful article! I am exceptionally thrilled to see this article in it’s finished product as it is an informative piece that allows many to learn so much more about Elie Wiesel than his just being the author of Night, or a Holocaust survivor (though these are two momentous things, please do not disregard this statement as frivolous). There was so much more to this man that the mainstream public failed to notice. When he passed, I was quite disappointed to see the lack of coverage on his numerous accomplishments. He serves as a wonderful beacon of hope and a reminder to never let hate blur one’s path in life. His continuous reminder to never forget the past was an hope of never repeating the horrific events of the past. In his speeches, he painted vivid pictures of atrocity, not for sensationalism, but to reach the audience and make them realize that this was real, not some mere statistics in a textbook. By making people feel, it makes them less likely to be able to forget. Excellent job, August Merz.

A Sage's Passing: Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
danielle577

I just began writing on this platform as of recent and I did a “Homeland” search because I’m thinking of a topic and I didn’t want to be repetitive. I came across your article, and honestly, I’m not sure if you’ll ever read this, but this is some of the best writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading, on this site. Your examples are extremely disparate–in a positive manner, while your writing is concise. Just a pleasurable article!!

Five Most Dynamic Male Television Characters of the Year
danielle577

This is a beautiful piece that truly argues for the artistic worth of gaming series’. I have always appreciated the beauty and aesthetic value of gaming series, as well as the unbelievable aspects of realism you find in sports games, but I have never caught the “gaming bug.” Amongst all whom I know, I am alone in this category. Therefore, I am around a slew of gamers–all types of gamers. The screen captures from witcher 3 are surreal. Many of them–with the exception of 1–look like the place in which fantasies are born and people would only dream to escape to.
Another point–I commend you for strictly discussing the aesthetics within the games, and sticking to those points. You do not diverge from this topic, which creates a coherent and concise piece, illustrating the topic of aesthetics in gaming and discussing a subject matter that is usually one of the last concepts discussed in this critical of a manner. Nicely done, and absolutely beautiful graphics, placed intricately well, and with the perfect pixelations.

Graphics, Pixels, and the Art of Video Games
danielle577

These images are beautiful…they’re like aesthetic works of art that make me intrigued and now I am more enticed to check out these K-pop videos. I have heard people talk about these videos, but I’ve never actually watched one. Thank you for providing a nice handy and accessible guide into the world of K-pop videos. Nice article!

K-Pop on YouTube: How the Platform Has Made it Global
danielle577

Now this is exactly why I love the Artifice!! You have a platform where you can read amazing articles by similar like-minded individuals while also getting recommendations of awesome works to read. I have to read Saga, now. I am definitely buying it, and I am absolutely looking into Paper girls! Very excited. Great article, filled with enthusiastic descriptions, and excellent images.

Brian K. Vaughan's Characters: From Lost to Saga
danielle577

I am so pleased to see this article published. When it was pending, I knew it was something special and different, therefore a wonderful addition to the forum. This article is so rich with knowledge, yet accessible and provides a wonderful amalgam of past and present concepts combining the worlds of philosophy and technology. Wonderfully done!

Lively Objects: Curating 'Broken' Electronic Art
danielle577

Wow, talk about flipping a who franchise 360 degrees. How would this one work out? And for the die hards? How will they take to this? On one hand, this is ingenious, and the way good, complicated writing works. On the other, it can completely annihilate an already established and successful franchise.

What Does a Hydra Captain America Really Mean?