'Bad guy' protagonists and 'good guy' antagonists. What fantasy heroes do you think of as anti-heroes or morally grey? What fantasy villains do you think were sympathetic or in the right? Explore the moral spectrum of different characters in fantasy and share the ones you thought were unique to the genre.
Firstly, no one "dwells into" things, they "dwell on" thoughts or "dwell in" caves. Secondly, I'm not 100% on what topic you're trying to delve into here. An exploration of the introduction of a moral spectrum in the fantasy genre?
– Austin9 years ago
I altered it to 'dwell' because of I received this:
Revision
Rather than saying 'I am particularly interested', you can reword the sentence as 'Dwell into the graying area of morality...' – YsabelGo 17 hours ago
I will return it to what it was originally and clarify the topic motive. – ChrisKeene9 years ago
In youth culture in the United States, reading has become a pastime of just that, the past. With Netflix, Hulu, and other online sources, people are now finding new ways to spend their time. But what about the book? This topic would list benefits of reading: From improving your writing skills to adding to your vocabulary.
I would also examine less immediately practical benefits or downfalls or reading vs. watching T.V., specifically as to which best forms one as a whole person – Luthien9 years ago
This can be well explored from contrasted views, like to talk about the invention by using the new technology of the TV which helps a lot to widen our views, to see more various parts of the world and save paper. However, as a traditional way of gaining knowledge, we can never give up the habit of reading. – MengjieWu9 years ago
Maybe you should include something like how people's taste or interest in shows affect whether they read or not. – dvr11389 years ago
Great idea. Maybe a list of books can also be added that would interest people. A lot of what's on tv has been created by the ideas of books and so the books that the ideas came from can be introduced. This way people are also enjoying what they read. – DSantoyo9 years ago
It doesn't seem like you will be exploring this particular side effect and maybe I am unique in this respect, but I find that when I realize a show I like is based off of a book, I go and get the book. You know? I heard The Walking Dead was based off of a comic book series, so you best believe I went and bought the comic book series. And what was great about that was the fact that things are different in the TV Walking Dead vs the Comic Book Walking Dead. So while you are still following these characters that you love and seeing both mediums stay true to the themes they have adopted, you are still getting different journeys that remain perfectly interesting and intense. What I am trying to say is that there is also this part of your topic where TV adapting a book might be leading to increased sales of that book because now millions of people know that this awesome book exists. – AishaSaleh9 years ago
Audiobooks are always an option? – Lazarinth9 years ago
I, personally, would prefer to read, for arbitrary reasons. However, many people see reading as a cognitively active activity, while watching television is seen as a cognitively passive activity. This isn't true; by learning cinematography and the art of film language, you can train yourself to actively watch television in order to see how directors subconsciously manipulate camera shots, lighting, and scripting to sway the audience to think certain ways. One time I watched Gone Girl and admired the use of warm, welcoming lighting that contrasted with the grim subject matter in an ironic finish. Don't worry,man, not all people who watch instead of read aren't dumb. – AlyssaMariano9 years ago
Analyze the extreme violence in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 epic "Blood Meridian". Specifically, how does that violence inform a regenerative motif among the characters, the landscape, the reader? How could violent/destructive actions as a whole inform our understanding of the cyclical nature of destruction/creation?
"Death is the mother of beauty" – Wallace Stevens
It might also be helpful to look at how the main character, though often barely present in the narrative, lives vicariously through the violence of the men he follows. – wmbrooks9 years ago
A discussion of popular or well-known novels that have been under fire or criticism due to their content. Perhaps even discuss why that book was banned and whether those books should remain banned or not.
Really good topic. There are loads of books to discuss. Have a look at Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil. – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun9 years ago
Since this topic is broad, it would be best to either approach it with different sub categories of reasons why they were banned or just focus on one aspect. For example, I know 'The Fault in our Stars' was banned from a middle school, and John Green had a response to that. So this could be books banned from schools, or something else. Just a suggestion! – YsabelGo9 years ago
There are lots of articles out there already on banned books -- maybe focus this one on current or recent books. I don't know that the internet needs another examination of why Huckleberry Finn was banned. – Monique9 years ago
One especially to consider is Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home that was given to college freshmen (at Duke I believe?), which many students declined to read, and even protested, because its of graphic depictions of lesbian sex. It's a complicated issue, considering there are even more liberal people who agreed that freshmen shouldn't be forced to read something of that nature. I, on the other hand, totally support the school's decision to use the book. That's just a more recent example in case you're looking for one! :) – southdakoda9 years ago
I've noticed that a lot of banned books are young adult novels. For example, Harry Potter, Thirteen Reasons Why, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Looking for Alaska, and so many more. I find it interesting that they make these books banned when each one has very important lesson and young people could benefit from reading them. – diehlsam9 years ago
Discuss what aspects of specific YA novels or YA series (e.g. The Hunger Games trilogy, the Harry Potter books, etc.) make these works interesting and engaging for adults despite the fact that they were written for a teenage audience.
Hello! I've done a bit of research on this myself most especially on the Hunger Games and Harry Potter, and have read a plethora of adult books. I can say quite surely that the interest in YA books for adults is that the books are different. A lot of those in the adult genre follow a script based on the genre and therefore they all eventually sound the same and are predictable. YA books are more unique because the authors have more freedom and are more creative and adults crave that in order to break up the monotony of real life. – cconte36129 years ago
^^Monotony of life is spot on. Books, like most media, are an escape. The core themes of YA fiction line up perfectly with the "drifting off day dreams" of adult life: Rebelling against a system, feeling of being a "chosen one" picked out of nowhere, self-importance, etc. Adults look at these stories in the scope of a fun dream reality, where as the teens and younger readers that the works are skewed towards read them as a potential future for themselves. – KJarboe9 years ago
In Vladimir Nabokov's novel, Humbert Humbert refers to Clare Quilty as his shadow, haunting him and Lolita as they travel across the United States. Quilty is also viewed by many readers as Humbert's doppelganger. Explore the relationship between Humbert and Quilty and the role of the literary doppelganger.
The word "shadow" describing Quilty could also mean that Quilty is the "bad" ephebophile to Humbert's "good" and not just as Humbert's doppleganger (at least in terms of the unreliable narration since Humbert would consider himself the "hero" of Lolita and Quilty as the real villain). – dsoumilas9 years ago
I wrote a paper on a similar topic back in high school, actually! About how Clare Quilty and H.H. are doppelgangers that ultimately unite in the end (a la "we rolled over us"). – txl9 years ago
Ignatius Reilly of the late Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces is one of the most mercilessly disgusting, crude protagonists in literature in his words and his public display of impolite bodily functions such as belching. The mention of his pyloric valve is a special motif, sometimes inconveniencing the protagonist with its pain.
How does Toole use Ignatius's digestive function and the function of the valve to convey how Ignatius preaches his blasphemous and pretentious ideas.
I think this can also be connected to other authors and works like The Marquis de Sade and Rabelais. Many of their characters use the same bodily functions in "public" for uses that have ranged from the political to the carnivalesque. – DClarke9 years ago
Each time I log into Tumblr, I see short clips of poetry written by people as young as thirteen all the way up to adulthood. There are gifsets of film adaptations of famous works, such as Pride and Prejudice, all over the website, with thousands of notes and opinions below them. People share the books they hated, the books that changed their lives, the books that have been favorites since childhood. Historical background is given on different stories and rhetorical strategies and writing styles, such as Shakespeare writing in iambic pentameter because it matches the heartbeat's rhythm. Tumblr has begun to become an epicenter of literary conversation and influence. What does this say about the digital/millenial generation, and the creation of art and passions?
I think this is interesting because of it bypasses the normal approach to literary discussion and criticism. Until now, literary criticism has been the sole domain of a particular class of respected college graduates. It will be important to explore in this article the old structure of literary discussion (based on the foundation of scholarly articles, books, and such) and compare/contrast it with the rise of tumblr as a forum for sharing ideas about literature. While I would avoid being judgmental about either the new or the old, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both, and how they might be able to coincide for a more productive and inclusive literary community. – OddballGentleman9 years ago
The Tumblr culture is one that breaks barriers in culture today. This website allows one to be anonymous and to post what they really are feeling and to express their thoughts of controversial topics within judgement (most of the time) Tumblr, in my eyes, is definitely ground breaking. It allows the expression of individuality without the fear of caring essentially. I believe this says that this opens up the gates of getting more information about views on topics and sometimes merely entertainment. out there and that is a huge thing for our society to have. – caitlinndwyer9 years ago
