Nerdotopia

  “Why, how now, ho! From whence ariseth this? Are we turned Turks and to ourselves do that Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites? For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl. He that stirs next to carve for his own rage Holds his soul to light: he dies upon his motion. Silence that dreadful bell: it frights the isle” This extract is excerpted from Act 2, third scene of Othello by William Shakespeare is possibly the most famous literary exploration set in the 16 th century; during the conflict between Turks and Venetians, it see the sights of the warping powers of jealousy and suspicion. Othello is concerned with the themes of jealousy and possessiveness, gullibility and blind passion, and the dangers that can arise from a failure to see beyond the surface appearances. Contrasting Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, which deal with the affairs of state and which echo with the universal human concerns Othello the protagonist of the play is the first and most important...

  ‘In the poem “War is Kind”, Stephen Crane generates satire by meaning the opposite of what he says’. Do you agree? Discuss with reference to the poem.          War is Kind is an ironical, paradoxical poem under the themes of fabricated grandeur of war and horror of war. It’s composed by the modern American poet, Stephen Crane; generating the tragedy and horrors of war which the naive humans are compelled to face. It’s a classic example that generates satire by paradoxical statements. The poem encloses three plights in war; a young maiden who’s lover dies at war, a babe whose father dies at war and a mother who loses her only son due to war. Crane attempts to console them, but can’t help but to be sarcastic and paradoxical, regarding the issue; seemingly conveying that death was certain to all who’d enter the battlefield. The battlefield is paralleled to a slaughterhouse, where none could step out alive. Men with huge pride; romanticize...

Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep of envy's stinging, and find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind.   The given extract belongs to the first stanza of the literary composition; Go and catch a falling star by John Donne; one of the most eminent poets in English Literature and of the Metaphysical period in poetry. In the uniformity of the lines the quality as a male poet privileging order and reason over chaos frequently associated with women can be distinguished. Therefore, it is more prudent to read the “Song” as a perfect example of Donne’s playfulness with metaphysical conceits and female sexuality. Its tone is light and frivolous; ‘Go and catch a falling star’ seems to endorse general theme of the poem, the inconstancy of women; the misogynistic belief that all women (or all beautiful women, to make it worse) are unfaithful and shou...

  'James Joyce explores the internal conflict that paralyzes his female protagonist, Eveline through the Dubliners' Discuss. Irish novelist, James Joyce whom contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century; composed  Eveline  as a portrait of a young woman torn between her obligations to stay and look after her kinfolk or escape with her lover to a new life across the sea, and this struggle is developed intricately and realistically through the Dubliners. This is the crisis in the story “Eveline” where Eveline Hill is uncertain if she should flee with her newfound   lover, Frank or stay at home. The entire story is Eveline convincing herself that going is the best option, but also that staying is the best option; her internal struggle leads her to decide to stay at home. James Joyce establishes the themes of epiphany, stream of consciousness and Irish social conditions emigrati...

The film, adapted from Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel, is insightful in its depiction of cultural and class clashes that spring up when a man takes his New York girlfriend to meet his affluent, disapproving Singapore family. And yet, director Jon M. Chu undercuts his modern-day Cinderella story’s poignancy and warmth by badgering us with a nonstop materialistic worldview, sending mixed messages about whether love or money matters more. Chinese-American New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a NYU economics professor who has been dating the handsome, sensitive Nick Young (Henry Golding) for more than a year, will be traveling with him, to his Singapore hometown to be at his friend’s wedding, and he wants to take the opportunity to introduce his family to Rachel — a big step in their relationship. But when they land, Rachel hastily discovers he comes from one of Asia's most wealthy, prominent families. A commoner among the social e...

The Perks of being a Wallflower, directed by Stephen Chbosky was released in 2012. Adapted from Stephen Chbosky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the film takes place in the late 90‘s revolving around the teenage impulse to be pretentious and the central theme of the struggle to understand the terrible things that inevitably happen to those who we love. A world where teens can say “We are infinite” is unfolded by the narrative of a series of letters written by Charlie (Logan Lerman), addressed to you; the reader, they detail his alternatively painful and joyous highschool freshman year,   with hopes that you will understand him because he’s heard good things about you.   Socially awkward teen Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two charismatic students become his mentors. Free-spirited Sam (Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller) help Charlie discove...