Literature

The inspiration for this post came from an interview that I read recently with Kentaro Miura, the creator of the manga series Berserk. Miura is commenting on a particular chapter of the manga that he explicitly omitted from the tankoban collections. The chapter in question involves one of the characters encountering and conversing with the "Idea of Evil", or the Berserk universe's analog of God. When asked why he omitted that chapter, Miura said that by introducing 'God' he had 'given away' too much information about how the universe that Berserk takes place in operates. Miura said he wanted to give just enough information about how the Berserk universe is situated, as he felt that too much detail would constrain possible future developments of the story. Now, in a lot of fiction and fantasy, authors put a ton of effort into creating the cosmologies and underlying metaphysics of their fictional universes. Tolkein has an entire mythos about the creation of the world and a metaphysics about the structure of reality for his Lord of the Rings series, and many sci-fi authors ( I am thinking of Orson Scott Card and his universe of 'philotes' as an example) create a cosmological background in which their stories take place. I find myself wondering if Miura's worry is a legitimate one: does the construction of these fantastically elaborate cosmological systems in fiction ultimately constrain the possible development of said fiction? At first glance I may think so. Authors who have created these elaborate systems may feel pressure to conform every detail of their story to fit that system, and ultimately limit the kinds of events, processes, or entities that the author would feel comfortable putting into the story. Sometimes, an otherwise unspecified explanation of an event may suit the story just fine. On the other hand, having theses complex mythologies in place does give an element of consistency and realism to the fictional universe that would otherwise be absent.

What is it about Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland that has managed to endure so many remakes without audiences calling for enough? With the exception of adaptions such as the video game Alice: Madness Within and books like Alice in Zombieland, few break outside of the original story and yet, particularly throughout the nineties, every time you turn around there appears to be a new adaption.

I had to do some research to refresh my memory of this literature before starting this topic. I think children's books are a very important part of the literature world. A writer has the ability to teach a child an important lesson while also entertaining them.

One important author who transformed the way children were perceived in their respected genre was Beverly Cleary. She wrote long-standing series such as Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby. Throughout her series, where each character was under the age of 10, Cleary wrote about relatively mature conversations such a parent losing their job.

With this topic, I think it would be interesting to take a look at some fictional childhood role models and speak about their significance. Perhaps we can even broaden this to reach countries other than the United States.

This is a fairly personal topic I'd like to write myself, but will leave to more experienced Potterheads.

I was ten when the first Harry Potter book came out. I grew up in a moderate, but still observant Christian family who considered it too much of a risk to expose me and my then-six-year-old brother to a series that contained any form of witchcraft. I didn't read the books then and later, got too busy with other books. Besides, I didn't want to be labeled childish for carrying around HP paperbacks in, say, high school.

As an adult, I've finally gotten around to opening my Hogwarts letter and starting the series, and it's been a lot of fun. However, I can't escape this fact: I'm a thirty-something woman. I have a different HP experience than the average 11-year-old.

And so I'm curious to see an analysis of this phenomenon. Does age matter when you're discovering HP for the first or two hundredth time? How do children and adults view the series differently? Are there less or more "mature" ways to interact with it? Or, as I suspect, has Harry Potter bridged age gaps in a way other book series can only dream about doing? If yes, how did J.K. and Harry do it?

Analyse what a Dystopia is whilst describing distinctive characteristics of the typical dystopian story. Draw comparisons between today's societal struggles, such as the epidemic of social rebellion and political disagreements, and the dystopian story – could the purpose of this literary genre be the author's portrayal of modern day society? Perhaps the author wishes to enlighten the reader of such issues in society through story-telling, an appealing and engaging form of media. Dystopian literature also sheds light on philosophical questions which could be further explored such as 'What does is mean to be human?'. Most literature leaves the reader asking questions, however does this genre more so than others by forcing us to accept humanity's flaws? Use literary examples throughout this discussion.

Some say that being able to speak another language allows you to process your native language better and increases memory. Others say that the existence of translators already, and the rise of artificial translators are making this knowledge redundant. Some that learning another language is a trivial hobby unless you intend to live in the country of the language they speak. Is it worth the time and brainpower? Should some languages be prioritized over others? What is the worth of a second language?

Analyse the usage of absurdist elements in Adrienne Kennedy's "Funnyhouse of a Negro" and how they functioned in the course of the play.

In literature, stereotypes of alternative subcultures are rampant. Analyse the possible bases for such stereotypical depictions.